As August comes to an end, so the Ashtead Stags continue to impress. And the hosts needed all their skill and talent, as they came from behind to take a dramatic 2-wicket victory against league leaders Reigate Priory in Round 17 of the 2024 Surrey Championship Premier Division.

The hosts won the toss and elected to field first, with one eye on the conditions (overcast, so good for the seam bowlers and a pitch that looked good but getting better throughout the day) and another eye on the team (with several successful chases in the bag already in 2024). And the going proved tough for the Reigate Llamas in the early overs, with pros Simon Keene and Sean Hunt both causing early problems. Lots of tough leaves, lots of play and misses, but Ashtead could not find a wicket.

That breakthrough would come with the change bowlers, as Aaron Rose extracted an edge from Luke Haughton that was well grabbed by Jevan Kher. By this time though, the visitors were already on 58-1. The wicket also brought the brutal strokeplay of James Crosthwaite, and he wasted no time in going on the attack. Neither seam nor spin could halt the advance, and at drinks, the Llamas were cruising on 112-1.

As before, the batters looked to steadily increase the scoring rate after the break, and the return of the opening bowlers failed to stop the advance either. As the final block of overs approached, Tom Homes (skippering the side this time out) struck to remove Crosthwaite lbw for 71. At 197-2, with 10 overs to go, a target of 300 was possible – and they nearly made it. Skipper Richie Oliver, who had anchored the innings, found his stride and George Ealham, new to the crease, showed no fear. 91 plundered off the last 10 overs left Ashtead chasing 289 to win.

The chase would have to be something truly special, and it appeared to start in an unhelpful way, with both Ashtead openers returning to the clubhouse in the opening 10 over PowerPlay. The task looked to be an even greater uphill battle from this point, but the Stags remained unbowed, and the attacking pairing of Daniel Geddes and Conor Young got the scoreboard moving.

When Geddes fell into the trap set by erstwhile Llama Michael Munday and was removed for 30, Simon Keene came to the crease – and set his stall out early by smacking Munday back over his head for 6 off his third ball faced. Young also decided to head up the gears at this stage (remember, he’s a T20 master) but would be removed for 38 just before the midway drinks. 121-4 at the interval still looked an impossible task for the Stags to come back from.

Keene had been joined at this stage by Sean Hunt – the opening bowling partnership together again – and both of them decided to have some fun. The first over of spin after drinks went for 20, with 3 balls out of the Lane, and that set up some brutal strokeplay over the next 10 overs. The pair took 104 runs off those 10, to leave the equation at 64 required off 15 overs. Advantage Ashtead.

This team never do things the easy way, and the double strike of Keene (for 87 off just 46 balls) and Sam Homes threatened to derail the chase. Hunt, however, continued to strike hard, and the total continued to tick down at a sensible rate. The hosts hoped that would end the drama, but Hunt would depart (another Munday trap) for 75 and Aaron Rose, albeit with sweeps aplenty, following for a quick 13. The match was all but over at this stage, but it would end up going to the final over of the game, Jevan Kher hitting the winning boundary to finish the chase with 3 balls to spare.

That result sees Ashtead retain 4th in the league and guarantees a top-half finish in the table for only the 3rd time in the club’s history. Next week is the final match of the 2024 season, seeing Ashtead travel to bottom club Weybridge. Weybridge are already facing Division 1 cricket in 2025, and the long format match saw a comfortable 6-wicket win for the Stags.

You can follow Ashtead CC’s 1st XI matches live on our website (www.ashtead.play-cricket.com) or at our YouTube channel (Ashtead Cricket Club Live). We look forward to next week! Join us then.