Surrey Cricket Championship | ECC Week 9 Report

The Effingham 1st XI continued their surge up the table of the Surrey Championship Division 4 West in a dominant victory against a struggling Valley End side, encapsulated by the individual performances of Benji Thomas with the bat and Ben Shaw with the ball.

Winning the toss and choosing to bat, despite losing an early wicket, in-form Thomas and Jordan Bond were quickly on top of the home bowling attack.

Thomas, the 1st XI captain, led from the front, striking his Effingham-best 143 in an innings that included a remarkable 26 boundaries.

Bond (72) played a fantastic support act, scoring his fourth half-century of the season as the pair put on 198 for the second wicket – Effingham’s highest 1st XI partnership in over 10 years.

Despite losing a flurry of wickets at the back end of the innings, the damage had been done with the bat, as the Ships posted an imposing 260.

In response, the home side started well, putting on 66 before the first wicket fell. From that moment though, the show was run by the Effingham seam attack who never let the opposition settle, picking up wickets at regular intervals.

Aside from their number three who added 53 in the chase, Valley End ended up bowled out for 190 with no one else managing to replicate the brilliance of Thomas and Bond with the bat.

Shaw spearheaded the cartel of Effingham quicks, picking up his first five wicket haul for the Ships taking 5 for 45.

Second XI

The Effingham 2nd XI sadly couldn’t make it a 40 point weekend for the club’s Saturday teams, coming out second best against a strong Normandy 3rd XI.

After being asked to bowl first, and despite creating early chances, Effingham came up against two clinical opening batsmen who took advantage of a flat deck.

Putting on 221 for the first wicket, the Normandy pair made the home side chase leather despite the 2nd XI featuring a strong bowling unit.

Eventually the partnership was broken by 14-year-old seamer Connor James, whose spell of 2 for 44 was the highlight of the day, as he bowled with the control and skill of a seasoned league cricketer.

A chase of 288 was always going to be tough, but the opening pair of the returning Joe Roberts (32) and James Blair (28) got the Ships off to a strong start before a flurry of wickets curtailed Effingham hopes.

Sadly, despite strong starts from Ollie Wright (39) and Jack Jones (24), and an excellent 22 from James, it was always going to be a miracle of a run chase and the batters were unable to capitalise on the favourable conditions, falling 98 runs short and keeping the 2nd XI rooted to the foot of the table.

Effingham 1st XI 260-5 beat Valley End 2nd XI 190 all out by 70 runs

Effingham 2nd XI 189 all out lost to Normandy 3rd XI 287-4 by 98 runs