Surrey Championship Division 5
Oxted & Limpsfield 198 for 9 (50 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon 199 for 5 (40.3 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon won by 5 wickets
A second bonus point win for Stoke D’Abernon’s 1st XI from two matches as they restricted Fuller’s League Champions Oxted & Limpsfield to 198 for 9 in their fifty overs; then knocked off the required runs with almost ten overs to spare.
With the threat of rain later in the day, Stoke skipper Matt Gottschalk chose to field on winning the toss, but a benign strip and good weather meant that openers Fletcher and Durrany posted an opening stand of 52 in good time.
The partnership was broken by Gottschalk who brought himself on first change and pinned Fletcher, (22), leg before with his first ball. Fourteen runs later Durrany, who hit 31 and struck the ball cleanly whenever he went on the offensive, picked out Alex Bond at mid-off to give Gottschalk a second wicket.
Smith and Curtis batted with little trouble to the drinks break, moving the total to 111 without further loss, but found scoring difficult against the accurate Gottschalk, and the miserly Hiken Shah.
Shah would ultimately return figures of 10-3-15-2 and his first wicket, in the first over after the resumption, was all his own work as he held a return catch from Smith who took 58 balls to score his sixteen runs.
In the very next over, Alex Bond ran a delivery across the well organised Curtis, (27), to give Tom Frost a catch at the wicket. Bond bowled with great heart and was rewarded with a second wicket at a personal cost of just 20 runs from seven overs, when Boxshall slashed to point where James Whitmarsh held a stinging catch. 120 for 5.
With no addition to the score, Will Gudgeon took a very sharp slip catch off Shah to account for Bowles; and when the returning Gottschalk had a leg before appeal against Lack answered in the affirmative, Stoke were in a strong position with the visitors on 136 for 7.
Visiting captain Barney proved to be a frustration, however. He hit an unbeaten 41 from just 36 balls faced and found good support from Trayner, Singleton and McIlwraith; nursing the tail through to a final total of 198 for 9; late wickets for Gottschalk, who finished with league career best figures of 10-0-29-4, and Ralph Coleman.
After the usual big tea from Jayne; Hiken Shah and Paul Prichard got the run chase off to a good start, posting the 50 in the tenth over, and moving their partnership to 85 by the fifteenth when Prichard, who found the fence seven times in his knock of 41, mis-pulled and gave Barney a return catch.
Barney struck for a second time in his next over with the score on 89 when Shah holed out in the deep to Smith. To that point Shah had made a chanceless 41 and hit eight fours.
Shah and Prichard had forced the introduction of spin. Boxshall started economically, and ironically collected the wicket of Tim Handel with his only poor delivery, Handel somehow managing to sky a waist high full toss to Smith at mid-wicket. 99 for 3 – repair work needed.
James Whitmarsh and Jack Raimondo came together, and posted a fourth wicket partnership of 58 to put the hosts back in control. Raimondo was rewarded for his hard work in the nets in the week and hit a well constructed 30 with five fours before surprisingly being bowled by Boxshall, (10-4-30-2), moments after appearing to have hit him out of the attack.
Tom Frost hit a quick eleven before edging to keeper Trayner off the returning Singleton with the total on 175; but Whitmarsh made light of his hand injury sustained taking his catch earlier in the day and steered Stoke home to victory with an unbeaten 49 with five fours and two sixes.
It was fitting that Whitmarsh and Gottschalk, who again led the side well, were together when the latter made the winning hit.
Next week Stoke travel to Godalming in what will be the first of two meetings in quick succession following the teams being paired in the second round of the Surrey Championship T20 knockout competition.
Scorecard : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=11137903