Surrey Cricket Championship | ECC Week 4 Report

Effingham CC’s 1st XI picked up their second win in as many games while the 2nd XI yet again came out on the wrong side of a thriller.

Away at Chertsey, the 1st XI were asked to bowl first and immediately made inroads, dismissing both openers early on to leave the opposition 12-2.

Dominic Brown continued his excellent form with the ball, ending up with figures of 4-37, and the returning Alex Cooper was tipped as the pick of the bowlers, taking a match-defining 3-21 as they both helped tear through a stuttering Chertsey batting line up.

It would have been a disastrous first innings total for the home side but for the efforts of their number three batsman, who in a side where no other batters scored more than 17, eked out a battling 96 to help his side to a below par 171.

In response, Effingham were immediately put on the back foot, with opener Harry Mead being dismissed without troubling the scorers.

Despite the early struggles, Benji Thomas and Jordan Bond took stock and kicked on, the former scoring 88* and the latter 79* to ease Effingham home in 35 overs, beating Chertsey by nine wickets.

Second XI

The Effingham 2nd XI welcomed an in-form Valley End 3rd XI, again losing the toss and being asked to field.

Although the Valley End opening pair started well, the Effingham bowling attack, led by Will Darby and Nick Bond, managed to stem the run rate before the returning Adam Burlison broke the stand.

Following this, Effingham continued to take wickets consistently as the away side compiled a challenging total, led by the teenager Henry Graham who scored an aesthetic 69.

Freddie Fox was the pick of the bowlers taking 2-48, and Bond, returning from his opening salvo, managed to produce two stunning deliveries to dismiss the opposition with a few overs remaining, ending their innings on 221.

In response, Burlison and James Blair produced a strong opening stand of 52 to get the chase off to a strong start.

Led by the ever-consistent Dom Carpenter (42), Effingham were never out of touch with Valley End’s total, and when Chris Fewson came to the crease with the home side 134-4, all results were possible.

Fewson, recalled to the 2nd XI, then played what was nearly one of the all-time great knocks, smoking 58 off 31 deliveries before being run out in the last over with Effingham eight runs short of a classic victory.

Effingham 1st XI 172-1 beat Chertsey 1st XI 171 all out by 9 wickets

Effingham 2nd XI 213 all out lost to Valley End 3rd XI 221 all out by 8 runs