Ashtead triumph in low scoring game

Losing the toss yet again captain Josh Pickering seemed happy with East Molesey putting Ashtead in to bat. However this thought was probably short-lived when the Stags soon found themselves reeling on 16-3. A quick fire 17 from Paul Cohen was rapidly curtailed and it was 34-4. Time to welcome back Simon Feeney, who together with Pickering steadied the ship and for the next hour they put together a promising partnership of 57 before Pickering was caught for 25. When Feeney fell for 34 in the 35th over with the score on 112-7 and with little batting left in Ashtead’s line up it seemed clear there would be an early tea. However the tail duly prodded and valiantly defended their wickets as the overs ticked by. A 20 run partnership between Aaron Rose and Connor Caprano-Wint for the last wicket made it into the 55 over and took the score to an almost respectable 150.

Very tidy bowling by Ashtead’s openers Aaron Rose and Jake Martin kept East Molesey’s score low and a tremendous direct hit on the stumps by James Culff resulted in an early run out, but 20 plus overs went by and the seamers had no success in taking wickets. Time to try a two pronged spin attack in the form of Paul Cohen and Connor Caprano-Wint and three wickets fell in the next two overs. Some resistance was shown by Neil Campbell and Paul Lawford and East Molesey’s score reached 90 before the 5th wicket fell. However another two each for Cohen and Caprano-Wint for the addition of only 5 runs and suddenly a win for the home side looked likely. Molesey’s captain Jack Miller tried to put up a fight but it was short lived and the final wickets fell at 118. A good team effort in the field from the Stags with some impressive catches taken and a valuable 24 points in the last of the timed games this season.