Nick Procter hits his first ton for Effingham

Effingham 1^st XI .v. Horley 1^st XI

Fuller’s Brewery Surrey County League – 2^nd Division

Lying 4^th in the table, Effingham set about improving their position, choosing to bat first in order to set a challenging total. When their first wicket fell in the fourth over, with only seven runs on the board, it was time to settle the innings down and Jake White, with a careful 24, helped lift the score to 53, before he was bowled. At that point, Nick Procter had reached 22 and then shared a partnership of 90 with Mark Collin, who was bowled for an excellent 37 from 35 balls, including seven boundaries.

Another partnership of 102 with Jeff Hardman (39 not out) saw Nick Procter reach his century and he was the last wicket to fall when he was caught for a very stylish and accomplished 122 off 102 balls, striking 11 fours and 7 sixes; this took the home side’s total to 245-4 declared in 42.2 overs.

Wickets fell steadily when Horley batted and having got a bit behind the clock, they never really recovered enough to look like reaching the required 246. Nick Bond, opening the innings, picked up 2-42, both wickets being caught behind by his brother, Jordan. Mark Collin bowled economically for his 2-14 off 7 overs, but the real bowling credits go to Nick Procter, who returned outstanding figures of 4-13 from just 14 overs, including 8 maidens. The visitors held out for as long as they could, and with only a couple of overs left, they were all out for 130, Effingham picking up a valuable 20 points with a 115 run win.