Holmbury St Mary v Dorking

Dorking 250 for 4, Holmbury St Mary 90.

After opening up the league season with a strong win at Dorking, this return fixture was always going to be tough – and so it was. Nevertheless it was great to have former skipper Ian Fielder back in the side, as well as the Abinger Common Massive – Mike and Will MacDonagh.

Winning the toss, Dorking elected to bat. Turning out a strong side, Dorking’s openers each narrowly missed half-centuries, and all five batsmen scored in double figures, keeping the run rate for the most part steadily between 5-6 per over. Apart from a modest collection of wickets mid-innings we rarely troubled Dorking. Still, some energetic boundary fielding and a run-out kept the score from haemorrhaging further, with Ian taking two wickets, and Will one plus two maidens. Dorking declared on 250 for 4 after 40 overs.

Following a stellar tea from the Morris household, our openers Nick and JR strode to the crease. After a promising start with a boundary, JR edged to slip. Yours truly, in a higher-order cameo appearance, managed to fend off openers/the new ball over a further seven overs, helping Nick advance the score to 27 off 8. Monu (25), Nick (21), Will M and Martin (both 10) achieved double figures, but in the end we lost all 10 wickets within 22 overs.

Still, who said that the VCL Division One would be easy?! We have slipped into second place, just behind Ashtead. Time to put this one behind us and focus positively on our next game, this Sunday 2 June at home against East Horsley, who won a friendly yesterday and are currently fifth in the league table. If you haven’t already, please do update Will M with your availability so we can rebound with a strong side and a positive effort.