Drama at the summit as Sunbury and Guildford fight it out into the penultimate over for the AJ Sports Surrey Championship Premier Division title, reports Richard Spiller.
Guildford v Sunbury
Sunbury snatched back the top spot in a thrilling finale to the Premier Division season, winning by three wickets with 11 balls to spare at Woodbridge Road.
Guildford had gone top by four points a week earlier, being able to finish off Normandy while their opponents were rained off against strugglers Cranleigh.
So whoever prevailed would claim the title, a situation few would have predicted at the start of the summer given Sunbury finished eighth last year and their hosts had just been promoted.
Olly Birts chose to bat first and was rewarded by Guildford’s best start to the season, fit again Freddie Geffen and Oli Soames (44) putting on 131 in 23.1 mainly untroubled overs and putting their side in sight of a score in excess of 300.
Leg-spinner Colby Dyer made the breakthrough, taking a return catch off Soames, playing a vital role in slowing down the charge. Don Bouchart (11) was run out by a fine piece of work from Matthew Arnold, who also pulled off a superb low catch in the deep to remove Geffen five short of a deserved century.
Adam Thomas (5) was bowled cutting Dyer and when Ben Garrett (12) fell to a direct hit run out from Amar Virdi – Guildford were in danger of falling well short. But Jason Soames (32), Fred McMillan (27) and Alex Sweet (21no) put them back together, Birts using the shorter boundary on the riverside to thrash 18 runs from the final over, bowled by Virdi, lifting his side to 283-8. Dyer’s 2-39 from 10 was augmented by Martin Andersson’s 3-59.
Would it be enough to earn Guildford their first Premier title since 2001 and fourth overall?
Sam Burgess’s typically ferocious assault, taking 41 out of 49 off the first 5.9 overs was terminated by Birts bowling him next ball and James McMillan struck twice in the following over, Rajan Soni (7) caught low down by wicketkeeper Garrett and Nico Reifer pulling his first delivery vertically. Middlesex all-rounder Andersson (34) and Dyer set about repairing the damage, their alliance worth 51 until the former aimed a mighty drive at pacer Zac Donohue only Oli Soames to take a magnificent running catch in the deep.
If Colby and Arnold – a South African all-rounder who has contributed richly for Sunbury both on and off the field – were nervous about their task it did not show, taking command and exploiting Guildford’s lack of a recognised fifth bowler. Still needing 125 from the final 20 overs, they crashed the next 10 for 92 and the celebrations were all but ready to start.
Guildford’s resilience has been magnificent this season and they finally broke through in the 41st over, Arnold departing to Birts for 63 from 65. When Dyer’s superb 107 was ended by him holing out to Fred McMillan in the deep off Birts, seven runs later, there was just a tremor made larger by Kristan Baumgartner being trapped leg-before next ball.
There were still 20 needed with 7.2 overs left, wicketkeeper Conor Fulton (17no) managing the strike superbly and relying on Virdi (5no) to remain calm as they inched Sunbury towards victory, achieved when Fulton slashed through the offside to claim victory and Sunbury’s fifth title. Guildford’s runners-up spot is their best position since 2002 and a remarkable achievement.
Hard fought throughout and drawing excellent from both clubs, the match – and spirit shown by both sets of players afterwards – were a great credit to the Surrey Championship and a worthy climax to the season.
Weybridge v Normandy
Survival for Weybridge was guaranteed by trouncing Normandy, who were despatched to Division One.
Whoever lost this match was going to need to rely on Ashtead losing and gaining enough bonus points along the way but the visitors – who started three points behind Ashtead and nine adrift of their hosts – collected only one and suffered the ignominy of being dumped into bottom place through a defeat by 220 runs.
Weybridge took a bad blow seven days earlier when Australian Test player Will Pucovski suffered a broken thumb but they did him proud by amassing 327-5 after choosing to bat first.
Opener Haydir Ali (42) and Stuart Van Der Merwe (37) paved the way for Craig Meschede’s 80 from 69 balls and Ben Curran’s run-a-ball 69. And Nathan Tilley, who has had no easy task in his first year as captain, ensured those efforts were not wasted by crashing an unbeaten 58 from 30 balls including eight sixes.
Runs have been in short supply for Normandy all season, losing Oscar Kolk for a first-ball duck. Olly Batchelor threatened briefly by making 35 but the rest melted away to be all out for 107, Brent Kay claiming 3-24.
Reigate Priory v Ashtead
Ben Geddes led Ashtead’s charge to survival, overcoming Reigate Priory by four wickets.
Even before the visitors completed their chase they knew safety was assured following Normandy’s crushing defeat at Weybridge. But it was a rewarding way for them to finish a difficult season which they spent in the bottom reaches.
Priory’s 242-7 owed most to opener Sam Hall (39), Australian Alex Ross (40) and Andy Delmont‘s 51 down the order, Sam Homes pegging back the hosts in a 10-over stint returning 2-34.
Kieran Powell, having often threatened without going on to major scores, was on song as he cracked 65 at the top of the reply, hitting five fours and three sixes in adding 104 for the second wicket with Surrey stroke-maker Geddes. Conor Young (27) proved a handy partner and even though Geddes departed for 86, at 197, Harri Aravinthan (29no) saw Ashtead to their target alongside Homes (10no) with 10.1 overs to spare.
Ashtead finished eighth, 21 points above the drop zone, Reigate’s late charge only good enough to earn them fifth.
Esher v East Molesey
It was thin gruel considering their title ambitions for so much of the summer but East Molesey pinched third place on the back of a low-scoring victory at Esher, despite David Brent’s hat-trick.
The hosts – whose own ambitions had faded, finding themselves and locked out of the top half of the table – were dismissed for 118 after collapsing from 94-3 as good work from Will Edwards (48) and Daniel Old (30) was wrecked by Michael Sheen (3-36) and Jamie Southgate’s 3-1.
The Moles knew victory would not be easy as soon as they lost Mac Wright for a duck to the second ball of the reply, Sam Burge (28) and Shean (38) adding 74 only for Brent to transform the match with four wickets in an over. He had Burge and Cole Campbell caught in successive deliveries and then bowled Luka Woods to complete his hat-trick, claiming a return catch from Shean in the same over.
It needed Andy Westphal (15no) and Toby Porter (11no) to scramble their side home by three wickets, enabling East Molesey to leapfrog Wimbledon into the top three.
Cranleigh v Wimbledon
It might have been a pyrrhic victory but Cranleigh at least went out on a high.
Stuck in the basement for so much of the season, their relegation confirmed a week earlier, they beat the outgoing champions by one wicket to climb off the bottom of the table.
Three wins from the final four games will at least give them some momentum going into the winter. Wimbledon’s 283-5 was founded on a third wicket partnership worth 189 between skipper Jack Boyle (112) and Tim Lloyd (81), David Scott’s 47 adding further fuel.
Jack Scriven’s 70 got his side’s reply off to a good start, South African Clyde Fortuin taking charge of the chase and almost fighting a lone battle given the best support down the order was veteran Matt Crump’s 18. Fortuin prevailed to finish unbeaten on 127, which included 13 fours and four sixes, seeing Cranes to a one-wicket success with 19 balls in hand.
Defeat cost Wimbledon third place but they can now concentrate on the Vitality Club T20 final at Derby.
Best of the rest
There was another battle of the top two for the Division One title but Banstead had few worries in skating to an eight-wicket victory over Sutton.
Starting three points behind, the hosts could only muster 104, with Cameron Tanner (34) and Fabian Cowdrey (27) resisting the longest against an attack led by Paul Byrne (5-35). Neil Baker’s 53no saw Banstead over the line in the 19th over, accompanied by Arjun Gill (24no).
Chipstead’s exciting six-run victory at Spencer came too late to save them from relegation but Wimbledonians saved themselves from the drop – condemning opponents Camberley instead courtesy of a 77-run margin.
A tense final day in Division Two saw leaders Hamptonians secure their move up with an eight-wicket victory over Stoke d’Abernon, Bank of England paying dearly for slipping up against Rutlishians as they saw Beddington pinch second place thanks to a 31-run triumph at relegated Dorking. They were joined in the drop by Worcester Park.
It’s three promotions on the trot for Horsley & Send, who completed the hat-trick in emphatic manner. Sanderstead slumped from 66-2 to 91 all out against Zia Ashraf’s 6-5 from five overs, Tom Fleming’s 78no – including 10 fours and four sixes – dominating a reply which took just 11 overs. Sanderstead’s day only got worse when they found out that Streatham & Marlborough had stolen past them to safety, going alongside Chertsey, while Addiscombe move up with H&S.
No such dramas at the top of Division Four, SinjunGrammarians and Maori Oxshott already assured of promotion.
Division Five saw already-crowned Trinity MidWhitgiftians joined by Ashford – who just saw off Egham’s bid – with Churt & Hindhead and Staines & Laleham moving in the other direction.
How they finished
Premier Division – champions: Sunbury; Runners-up: Guildford. Relegated: Cranleigh & Normandy. Division 1 – promoted: Banstead & Sutton; Relegated: Camberley & Chipstead CW. Division 2 – promoted: Hamptonians & Beddington; Relegated: Worcester Pk & Dorking. Division 3 – promoted: Horsley/Send & Addiscombe; Relegated: Sanderstead & Chertsey. Division 4 – promoted: SinjunGrammarians & Maori Oxshott; Relegated: Kingstonian & Paulines. Division 5 – promoted: Trinity MidWhitgiftians & Ashford; Relegated: Churt/Hindhead & Staines & Laleham.
