U17 versus Ashtead, 02/06/2017

Horsley U17 - 121 for 6 (20 overs)
Ashtead U17 - 125 for 4 (19.1 overs)

On arriving at the ground we were amazed to be greeted by a soggy outfield and small puddles at each batting crease. Headley CC clearly has its own micro climate as the surrounding villages all seemed relatively dry! With such a surface captain Collett was keen to bowl first. Needless to say so too were Ashstead so it came as no surprise that on winning the toss Horsley were asked to bat!
Hafiz (Yusif) opened with Stewart (Michael) and with a delightful cut through the covers for four off the first ball of the game the former lit the fuse for what was about to unfold. A nicely taken single brought Stewart to the strikers end; crash, bang, wallop as the next three balls were mercilessly dispatched to the boundary. One over and 17 on the board; a great start. Having looked assured at the crease Hafiz then misjudged the pace of the ball and was caught in the covers. Stewart, joined by Fox was in imperious form and no matter what Ashtead threw at him he gave it back with interest. Drives, cuts, pulls; all were on show. Fox joined in the fun but after a sweetly timed lofted drive he was run out the very next ball when going for a second. With Stewart busy plundering the ball to all areas of the ground captain Collett was content to push the ball around and keep him on strike. Stewart was unforgiving, 4 followed by 6 followed by a rare ‘dot ball’ followed by 6 followed by four saw him reach his 50 off only 22 balls. It was a masterful innings especially given the conditions and Ashtead were clearly delighted to see the back of him as he walked off to a well deserved ovation from all around – well done Michael. Dennis joined Collett but almost immediately a mix up in the middle saw the captain slip and in trying to get back to the non strikers end was to be adjudged run out! Throughout the innings we had noticed that due to the conditions the Ashtead bowlers had greatly reduced their run ups preferring medium pace and spin to all out pace. A tactic Horsley would also adopt. Both Dennis and Coppen struggled early on to adapt to the conditions and clearly getting frustrated the latter in trying to force the ball through the covers off the back foot misjudged the length and was bowled. This brought Tim Stewart to the crease (younger brother of Michael). Immediately he looked settled and recognising the situation played responsibly and with great maturity and together with Dennis they steadied the ship. The Ashtead bowling was tight and Dennis, like Coppen, was getting frustrated that he could not play to his normal tempo. Stewart meanwhile was keeping the scoreboard ticking over and picking the gaps for nicely taken singles. However in the process of trying to up the run rate Dennis was the next to be adjudged run out! Identifying the need to up the tempo Kerr went on the attack from his first ball but having struck a sweetly timed boundary he was caught a few balls later when trying to force the score. Stewart then played the most audacious shot of the day when he played the ‘Dilshan’ to great effect quite literally scooping the ball over the bemused keeper for a couple – a shot I will never forget. Both Yalden and Stewart swung at each of the remaining deliveries to get Horsley to 121. Tim Stewart finished on 17 not out which was a tremendous effort – well done Tim.
Even on this wicket 121 seemed light. To protect this total Horsley would need early wickets.
Hafiz (Yusif) almost had a wicket in his first over but for a very sharp chance to go to ground. Collet then preferring spin to his normal pace due to the conditions found the outside edge and saw Stewart (M) take a wonderful catch behind. The celebrations were not over as the next over Hafiz was to get his man. A wonderfully flighted delivery deceived the other opener who looked back in dismay to see his middle stump pegged back. At 7 for 2 after three Horsley were well in the game. However realising the situation the number three and number four batsmen played with great authority and were content to simply pick up the ones and twos. Zain Hafiz (younger brother of Yusif) entered the attack and like his brother was able to maintain the pressure with some cleverly flighted deliveries. Dennis (Robbie) too looked composed. However Ashtead, realising they needed to up the run rate started to take risks and unfortunately for Horsley they paid off and the boundaries started to leak. To provide some variation Coppen and Kerr entered the attack. Again due to the conditions Coppen reduced his run up and pace. The change paid off as the number four followed one outside off stump and Stewart (M) gleefully accepted the catch. It should have two for Coppen but for a mix up between the bowler and mid-off which saw a skier go to ground! Between them Coppen and Kerr slowed the run rate. Kerr was bowling a tidy line and length and was unlucky not to get a wicket himself when a ‘chinese cut’ missed the stumps by millimetres! Captain Collett re-entered the fray and soon accounted for the number 5 batsman by returning to pace an uprooting the off stump; much to his satisfaction. Yalden came into the attack at the end and like Kerr bowled a tight line but unfortunately the cause was all but lost as Ashtead sealed the match with 5 balls remaining…
A great effort boys in difficult conditions. Had we won the toss would the result have been different – who knows but it was certainly a good toss to have won.
A special thank you to Robbie Dennis (U13), Zain Hafiz (U14), Liam Kerr (U15), and Tim Stewart (U13) who stepped in to help us put out an eleven. Each should be proud of their contribution and would be delighted to have them play again in future games should the need arise – thank you boys.
Finally thanks to Caroline Yalden for scoring and to you for all your support.
That’s it

Rgds

NIgel