2s lose concentration

Cheam won the toss and looking at the enticingly smooth field chose to bat. It was a very hot day and not fun for the team in the field, who at times worked well and at other times seemed to be suffering from heat stroke or a lack of concentration. A few catches and stops were missed and wides bowled allowing Banstead to amass a challenging total of 245. The major contributor to Banstead's score was G Dann who batted for 38 overs to make a score of 91 before finally being bowled by Tom Homes in the 49th over.

Other notable batsmen were Chohan (29), Yeats (20) and captain Liam Burns (33) and "Extras" 31!

The pick of Ashtead's bowlers were Tom Williams with 4 for 34 and Tom Homes 3 for 47.

Ashtead ventured out after tea with a higher target than they had faced thoughout the season thus far. The early loss of Michael Sanderson (5) to a flying catch by Pearce, followed by the fall of Luke Mursaleen (22) bowled by J Mann and the unnecessary run out of captain Steve Tyson (23) meant that Ashtead found themselves on 70 for 3 after 16 overs. Some resistance was put up, in particular by Colin Pitt who made 50, and for more than 3/4 of the match Ashtead were up with the required run rate.

Unfortunately by the time Pitt was out with the score on 162, there was a distinct lack of wickets left and although Prashanth Srinivasan gamely put up a stand of 17, including 3 fours, there was no real chance of Ashtead meeting the target at that stage.

The pick of Banstead's bowlers was Michael Condie with 3 for 26 but that apart they gave away as many extras as Ashtead had.

Thus the 2s suffer their first loss for a long time. Although they still remain at the top of the table, there is no time for complacency and hopefully they will regroup and go all out for a win next week, which would clinch the title.