A new poster boy for a Sunday XI match report as Saud Ahmed hit 87 on home debut, (after a second ball duck the previous day on Club debut), to help Stoke post a formidable total that, one player aside, the opposition looked unlikely to chase.

A paucity of oppositions looking for away games this week almost led to us going for an away game, but Chichester, (as we will call them), blinked first, cancelled their pitch hire and announced they were coming to us. Not sure what their reaction would have been had we agreed another game with an alternative opposition(!) but in the end we didn’t have a game without each other and it was a nice spirited match.

Chichester’s opposing captain earned more points by asking to field first making the toss nothing more than a mandatory one to constitute a game, (read the laws!), and what turned out to be a 10-a-side match started just after 2pm.

Moumer Khara and Hamza Hafeez feasted on anything errant and added 47 in just over eight overs before they departed in successive overs for 24 and 19 respectively.

The Stoke total was then given substance by Ben Townsend and Ahmed; the former given a chance to show his growth as a batsman, which he took in full; the latter, (pessimistically – and how wrong we were), to get more of a game after limited opportunity the previous day.

Townsend struck the ball cleanly and with authority and ran well, smashing his previous personal best score for the Club. Ahmed started with a Chinese cut for four, could have been bowled a number of times but connected with anything heading for the stumps to utter bemusement of the opposition – and his team-mates who saw his display the previous day – and seemed to hit the ball anywhere a fielder wasn’t.

A partnership of 84 was ended when Townsend was bowled for 43 from 45 balls faced when deciding which part of Surrey to hit a horrible pie that then rolled. The bowler, Somesh, then picked up Carel Ferreira’s wicket, but not before Stoke’s keeper for the day took out his frustration at South Africa’s performance against Bangladesh on the same bowler, hitting him for a big six and two fours in a quickfire 20 before holing out.

With the field spread, new arrival Alistair McMillan pushed the gaps in a nicely constructed 24. Having the day of his life Ahmed continued with his method and hit a third six to add to his eleven fours before he was stumped 38th over. He faced 80 balls for his runs.

Sameer Khara clubbed a couple of fours of his own, but the innings was over eight balls after Ahmed’s dismissal, J.Holder, (no, not that one), taking three wickets with the first four balls of his 7th over, the 39th of the innings.

Jo restored normality back to Sunday tea preparation and Stoke were fuelled up and ready to defend their total.

Openers Newman and Richardson played nicely against Mashood Naeem and Khara Jnr until Naeem took exception to being hacked off the stumps across the line by the latter and sent him packing with a nasty bouncer next ball that could only be fended off to Ferreira who kept well. (No byes.)

No.3 Bruce joined his captain and advanced the score to 48 by the end of the 10th over; prompting the first bowling changes. The first one was Ralph Coleman bringing on himself and he made a great start as he tailed one through Newman’s defences with his fourth delivery, then next ball he found one to lift from a generally benign but good surface that next man Pike could only glove to Ferreira.

At the other end debutant Malik Rehan bowled a couple of nice overs before a previous shoulder injury returned leaving Stoke a small issue of 4th/5th/6th bowler combinations. Ahmed tried a couple of overs before drinks; but Stoke still had work to do with the board showing 99 for 3 and two batsmen having got themselves in.

The double-change afterwards had the desired effect. Townsend pressured Wallace to punch to Naeem in the covers; Alistair McMillan tempted Medhurst down the track and he was duly stumped; then Townsend, (4-0-21-2), took his 50th career wicket for the Club when he castled Somesh.

Although Stoke had scoreboard control these were important wickets as Bruce was going well at the other end and the asking rate was little more than a run-a-ball.

Clearly worried that he was running out of partners Bruce then played more shots and having finally worked McMillan out, he was then unable to get another sight of him as Khara Jnr was reintroduced in to the attack and he ended the second innings in near identical fashion to the first.

First ball, J.Holder skied to Townsend at point, last man but one Lander played and missed at his first but was bowled by his second; and last man N.Holder was leg-before next ball. Game over more than eleven overs early, Bruce left stranded on 77 not out.

Khara Jnr finished with career best figures of 3 for 25; but five of the seven bowlers used took wickets when called upon to complete a good session the field, made more impressive by the fact that it was a ten man fielding effort.

Sadly the opposition – who in fairness had come a long way – saw the opportunity of an early train combination meaning they shot off before the bar shutters were lifted; but we thank them for providing an opposition for the Sunday side to continue their winning run. Next week our friends the Epsom Methodists come to The Rec.

Scorecard : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/website/results/4055670