Ashtead dominates as White, Deighton and the Homes brothers steal the show

Top half of the table is here again. Ashtead dominated a shortened game at Banstead to win by 85 runs and move to 5th in Round 15 of the Surrey Championship Premier Division.

With heavy weather on Friday, the start was always going to be delayed, but it took an extra hour of drying time to make sure the pitch was fit. It would be a 46 over game, rather than the usual 50. Banstead won the toss and, unsurprisingly, elected to field first.

The Ashtead innings began slowly, with Ben Geddes and Hayden Storey electing for care in the early overs. Unfortunately, this didn’t pay off for Geddes, who found the outside edge and departed in the 5th overs. This would set the stage for the Ashtead skipper, David White, to bring his A-game.

Hayden and David would partner each other for the next 18 overs, and with some steady accumulation (and powerful hitting – David’s first scoring shot was a beautifully timed glance over backward square leg for 6), the score trundled. Both frontline spinners, while economical, were ineffective, and a platform was set. It would take a change of bowling to claim the breakthrough, as Story was bowled for 48. 88-2 at drinks, almost at halfway.

More spin after the interval would slow the scoring rate down, as White and Harri Aravinthan started the building process again. Chances were available, although few and far between, and the hosts just didn’t have luck on their side. With 11 overs left, the Stags had reached 137-2. It didn’t seem enough.

But hold on. The return of the opening bowler Barnwell started the charge, and although the further return of Lancefield and Meyer initially halted the charge, the fuse had been lit. It exploded in the 42nd over, with 14 runs off it. The 43rd went for 13, with the wicket of Aravinthan. This crucially brought gun batter Conor Young to the crease. The 44th went for 11 runs, the 45th for 14 – including White’s century – and the last for 11. 73 runs off the final 5 overs, a partnership of 49 from 22. White finished on an unbeaten 108, Young hitting 29 from just 14. 236-3 at the close.

The chase was always going to be tough, but skipper Dan Newton has an excellent record against Ashtead, and he continued that fine form. It was not to be, as wickets fell round him. His 66 contributed over a third of the Banstead score, with the next highest score of just 23.

Those wickets were initially hard to come by. Harri gathered his wicket of the day as Conor Young (yes, him again) snared a sharp catch at slip. Seam didn’t seem to be the answer. Enter Tom Deighton. The specialist spinner has not had the easiest of seasons, but Banstead has been, and was his hunting ground again. He claimed his first before drinks. 67-2.

Then came the Homes brothers. Younger brother Tom was the first to strike, with a sharp catch at extra cover the undoing of Sanjay Patel. Newton would next to go, LBW to older brother Sam for 66. Tom provided a further wicket to lower the hosts to 130-5.

The partnership of Lancefield and Neil Baker was always a danger, but Deighton was on hand to provide crushing blows. Lancefield to an attempted sweep for 23, and the next ball found the stumps to see 2 in 2. The hat-trick was denied.

In the next over, Sam Homes would pick up 2 wickets in 2 balls – including a frankly ridiculous caught and bowled (in 15 years, one of the best I’ve seen) – and again the hat-trick was denied. Deighton found Baker’s stumps to finish the job. 5 wickets in 13 balls for 3 runs. 151 all out with almost 10 overs to go. Deighton would claim the best figures of 4-21, with the Homes boys combining for 5-69.

This result sees Ashtead rise to 5th in the table, and guaranteed safety for 2020. Next week sees East Molesey travel to the Lane. The timed fixture went the way of the visitors, and last year’s game was rained out. They need a win to continue their lead in the run for the title. Join us then.