Surrey Championship Division 5
Maori Oxshott 152 all out (47.1 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon 158 for 1 (21.3 overs)
Stoke D‘Abernon won by 9 wickets
Hiken Shah hit his first century of the season to lead Stoke D’Abernon’s 1st XI to a nine wicket victory over neighbours Maori Oxshott.
With groundsmen around the country struggling to prepare surfaces after the week’s rains, Stoke skipper Matt Gottschalk won an important toss and chose to field. Alex Bond and Will Frost opened the bowling and opening bats Hewitson and Freeman took them on, going at a run a ball for the first five overs.
Ralph Coleman replaced Bond, and in partnership with Frost they started to stem the flow of runs, but a breakthrough was proving elusive. The opening partnership reached 71 before Hewitson, who was batting with a runner after pulling up running a quick single, was bowled by Coleman for 35. Left-hander Freeman followed in Coleman’s next over for 32 and honours were even at the drinks break.
This match then followed the pattern of the earlier fixture between the sides as Stoke moved into a position of dominance with a cluster of wickets after the drinks break. Coleman doubled his tally for the afternoon when Jarrett was bowled offering no shot for 6; then Wood fell to a smart leg-side catch by Tom Frost standing up to the stumps. Frost completed a stumping for good measure but the batsman was already walking off without waiting for the caught decision.
Hiken Shah replaced Frost in the attack and gave little away. He collected two quick wickets when home skipper Driscoll hit to Jack Raimondo at cover, then Harper chipped an easy chance to Coleman at mid-wicket. Coleman’s good day, which started with a bottle of champagne from Stoke Chairman & Secretary duo Drew & Jo Patrick to mark twenty years since his debut for the club, continued.
119 for 6 was soon 133 for 9 when Will Frost, reintroduced to the attack after Coleman ended his 15 over spell with figures of 4 for 36, took the wickets of Patel and Salt, catches by Raimondo at cover and Shah at slip. Shah took his third wicket when Saker was adjudged leg before, but last pair Mushtaq and Murphy cleared the boundary on the full three times between them. Frost was the unfortunate bowler and bowled much better than his final figures of 17-2-67-2 suggested.
Shah closed the innings on 152 when Mushtaq was bowled for 14. Shah tormented all the batsmen and returned figures of 12.1-7-14-4 – in two matches against Maori Oxshott this season he has taken 9 for 31 – but the overall fielding effort contributed to this modest total.
Stoke’s pursuit of 152 to win started badly when Adrian Taylor uncharacteristically skied the fifth ball he faced from Saker to mid-wicket where Mushtaq made good ground to hold on to an excellent catch over his shoulder.
This would be Maori Oxshott’s only success, however as Shah took on the bowling with Paul Prichard dropping anchor, content to score off a plentiful supply of loose balls.
Shah took just 45 balls to reach his half-century; and then turned on the style taking just 22 more balls to complete his hundred. He walked off moments later unbeaten on 108 from 70 balls, a knock that included sixteen fours and four sixes, three of those timed beautifully over extra cover to delight the visiting support that included Chris & Will Gudgeon, Shireen Chima, Duncan & Vanessa Howorth and Gordon Meredith in their number.
Victory was completed in just the 22nd over. Shah and Prichard had added 154, the latter leaving the field unbeaten on 36 from 54 balls faced with six fours.
The win moves Stoke above Maori Oxshott in the table and they hope to consolidate and/or improve their position next week in the last of the ‘timed’ matches at home to Godalming at the Rec.
Scorecard : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=11137867