7 wickets including a hat trick for Rose as Ashtead outplay Spencer

Another hot day as Ashtead travelled to Spencer hoping for revenge for their defeat earlier in the season. The hosts won the toss and, perhaps surprisingly, elected to bat. Amartya Kaul fell lbw to Jake Martin on the second ball and fellow opener George Roberts went lbw to Aaron Rose in the sixth over. Rose was in devastating form and the tenth over saw him take a hat trick leaving Spencer reeling on 33-5. Sticking with the seam attack, Ashtead’s opening duo were replaced by Henry Elburn and Chris Douglas, who continued to keep the run rate down. Although not rewarded with a wicket, Elburn gave away just 8 runs off his seven over spell, while Douglas captured the wicket of Sameer Khan for 10 with the score on 53-6.

The Spencer captain Simon McConnell was the only one who seemed able to cope with the visitors’ bowling, patiently adding to his score as his partners came and went. Taylor Young and Marcus Caprano-Wint took over the bowling, but McConnell, with some help from Cameron Ponsonby (12), gradually added the runs as Spencer’s score crept up to 91 at the end of the 30th with no further loss of wicket. However Ashtead were to bring back Rose from the opposite end to have immediate effect, capturing the wicket of Ponsonby, caught behind by Feeney, and bowling the incoming bat next ball leaving Spencer on 91-8.

The spin of Caprano-Wint had number 10 Asad Bajwa caught by Sanderson for a duck and Rose bowled number 11 Charlie Bowden for another duck on the last ball of the 37th over to take his seventh wicket. Rose finished with his best figures to date of 11 overs, 5 maidens, 7 for 19. McConnell was there to the end, making a well-deserved 53, but Spencer’s score of 102 fell far short of what they would have hoped for.

It being too early for tea, a ten minute break was taken between innings and then Ashtead openers, captain Michael Sanderson and Ahson Bukhari took to the field eager to make headway towards the target before tea. A series of boundaries took the score quickly to 36 when Bukhari was bowled by Bowden for 16. Sanderson was joined briefly by Sam Gale, until Gale was caught by McConnell on the last ball of the tenth over with the score on 50, almost half way to the target, and a break was taken for tea.

Jake Martin took to the field and hit a quick fire 18 (including the only six of the game) off 14 balls before being caught and bowled by Anil Iqbal in the fifteenth over with the score on 73 and Sanderson on 31. Sanderson was joined by Ben Sidwell, but managed to largely keep the strike. By the start of the 21st over, with the score on 97, he had taken his total to 48 and was on strike. A dot followed by two fours and Sanderson had made 56 (off 69 balls) and Ashtead had reached the target. A welcome early finish for the visitors on a hot day and a useful 24 points.