Stoke 2s stay top with win against Farncombe

Jonny Lawes led Stoke D’Abernon to an 8th victory of the league season.

After acting skipper Falcon won the toss and chose to field; Bondi took a wicket in each of his first 2 overs; the first a simple catch lobbed up to Tufty, the second a ball which beat the batsman for pace as he could only play it on to his off stump. Po was back from injury in his usual place at the railway end, but with a shorter run up and even less pace than we’re used to and nearly had an early wicket too when visiting skipper Paterson was put down off the edge of his bat. Not long afterwards Bondi had a third, thanks to an edge held and Stoke were well in control with Farncombe on 26-3.

After Bondi finished his spell with 3 for 17 from 7 overs, Jonny was brought into the attack. 4 of his first 5 overs began with full tosses and while 3 of these were thumped to the boundary, this clearly served to lull the batsmen into a false sense of security. The 4th full toss was lifted to a grateful Tufty at mid on for his second catch of the day. This seemed to settle Jonny who bowled superbly from then on.

Ben was playing his first league match in 3 years and replaced Po at the railway end, settling into a good rhythm. His skiddy bowling style took a wicket in his 4th over, bowling Durrant. After Paterson passed 50, Jonny took 2 more quick wickets before Po was reintroduced for a stingy second spell.

Farncombe looked for the gaps in the field, but found our fielders in superb form, Ali Mac in particular patrolling the pavilion boundary and turning numerous 2s into singles. Po took a wicket when Charman middled the ball at Ben at square leg who took what he described later as “a dominant catch”. Gav swooped to pull a run out straight from the text book to dispose of Swansborough and when Jonny dismissed skipper Paterson for 78 Farncombe had taken the score to 159 all out. Jonny finished with 4-63 from 19.3 overs.

In reply Steve was the only batsman of the top four to register double figures as Hattley and Bray claimed early wickets. Steve (28) and Falcon (23) put on 44 for the 4th wicket, before they were out in almost identical fashion (given the use of a mirror) to Charman, both caught at mid wicket.

81-5 meant that despite all the hard work in the field, our batting depth would be put to the test in order to win this one. Fortunately our 6th wicket partnerships this season have been very healthy and this one was no exception.

Peter and Jonny proved to be a perfect batting pair with their naturally contrasting styles proving hard to bowl to. Jonny hit regular boundaries, going aerial when necessary, and Peter made sure the strike ticked over regularly, whether the runs were from bat or from pad. Jonny hit the only 6 of the match and his 50 came up in 39 balls with his 9th 4 of the innings. Peter made a vital 15 from 56 balls – with only JT to follow before 3 genuine tail enders Stoke were more than grateful for his unbeaten contribution. Jonny hit the winning runs with a boundary over the covers as the partnership swelled to 80, beating the previous 2 week old record 6th wicket stand for Stoke 2s in the Championship.

We now enjoy a 16 point lead at the top of the table, and with just seven games to go a 23 point lead over third place means that this coming Saturday’s game at promotion rivals Oxted & Limpsfield takes on huge importance for both sides.

Scorecard Link : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=10912412

Table : http://surreychampionship.play-cricket.com/leaguetables/divisionTable.asp?id=6734&seasonID=23