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Saturday 2nd September at Cheam Road, Sutton CC 1st XI vs. Banstead CC 1st XI.

The eagerly awaited clash of the 1st Division giants ended in an anti-climax when Banstead CC 1st XI swept to an eight-wicket victory over hosts, Sutton CC 1st XI.

The Surrey Championship Division One top-of-the-table clash, and title decider, between Sutton CC 1st XI and Banstead CC 1st XI at Cheam Road, was something of an anti-climax. Sutton went into the game without two recognised first-team bowlers and duly ended up beaten well by the visitors.

After torrential rain the day before, the start was delayed by 30 minutes to allow moisture at the tennis court end of the wicket to dry out. Unsurprisingly, after winning the toss, Arsalan Abbas, the Banstead skipper, had no hesitation in asking Sutton to bat on a wicket that was bound to have added spice after the rain, and which was effectively still drying out.

Sutton never recovered from a poor start, losing skipper Sam Seadon, and Josh Blake, cheaply, leaving the home side 24 for 2 after 7.2 overs. Fabian Cowdrey and opener Cameron Tanner rallied until, at the end of the 16th over, Tanner top-edged to Neil Baker off the left-arm spin of Tyler Meyer for 34. Rehan Ratna and Ansh Bansal went quickly leaving Sutton struggling at 59 for 5.

Harry Gardner joined Cowdrey, both gaining in confidence as they played the ball and pitch thoughtfully, until another top edge saw Cowdrey dismissed, caught Gareth Macaskill off Harawal Wassam for 27. Gardner fell soon after, stumped Baker, bowled Paul Byrne for 13. The next 3 wickets went quickly leaving Sutton all out for 104 off 34.2 overs: Byrne finishing 10-2-35-5.

Logically Sutton didn’t have enough on the board; just 104 runs and bowled out with almost 16 overs of the available 50 entirely unused. This was hardly the stuff of potential champions. Nevertheless, with the wicket temperamental, there was a chance; but Sutton would have to be on it, right from the start.

In Banstead’s reply, Baker nudged a single off the second ball of the first over, Connor Griffin delivering; but then with his third ball Griffin immediately dismissed the dangerous Ayush Patel for a ‘Golden,’ caught behind by Josh Blake. Exactly the start that Sutton needed if they were to have any hope of defending the target.

Unfortunately, when Cowdrey, Sutton’s other opening bowler, gets tapped for 32 off his first 5 overs, something must be done. However, with Baker in imperious form none of the bowling changes stemmed the flow by much, as Baker kept finding the boundary at will.

The game was getting away from Sutton, although there was a glimmer of hope at 58 when off Gardner, Patrick Rowe departed for 13 after finding the hands of Jay Evemy at mid-wicket. Except that was it. Arjun Gill (24no off 29 balls) joined Baker (53no off 47 balls) at the crease and the two simply blasted their way through the target in 18.2 overs, leaving Banstead winners by 8 wickets and, consequently, 2023 1st Division Champions. Congratulations.

With both clubs promoted, the next time they meet in a league contest is in the Surrey Championship Premiership during 2024 season. A great prospect for all involved.

1s Scorecard here.

League table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 26th August, at Windlesham Road, Valley End CC 1st XI v. Sutton CC 1st XI

Gripping win in a remarkable, low-scoring game, sees Sutton secure a return to the Premiership in 2024.

It’s one of the many paradoxes of the game of Cricket that low scoring encounters can be more exciting and tense than high scoring ones. This was certainly true at Valley End on Saturday in this clash between promotion contenders. On a bowler friendly, slow, and sluggish track, the home side were skittled out for 134 and the visitors edged very nervously across the finishing line, after a titanic struggle against Valley End’s attack.

Few low-scoring thrillers could have topped this encounter which saw 272 runs scored for the loss of 19 wickets. Fabian Cowdrey (10-4-10-4) and George Jackson (6-1-23-2) first reduced Valley End to 65 for 6 after Sutton skipper, Sam Seadon won the toss and elected to field.

The hosts simply never managed to recover from that early barrage. Only four batters managed to touch double digits as a clinical effort with the ball saw Valley End fold for just 134 in 44 overs with only Ralf Beer 37, and skipper Tom Nevin 33, providing decent contributions.

A target of 135 looks straightforward on paper but the reality was a touch more complex. By the 23rd over, Sutton found themselves acutely rattled having lost 7 wickets for just 86 runs, a few of them with shots that some might describe as injudicious!

A 37-run eighth wicket stand between Cowdrey and Jackson did ease the nerves, but the pressure was back on with the score at 123 when Jackson was LBW to Joe Hill for 16. Cowdrey’s wicket fell immediately after; his defiance ending with a Nevin catch off Charlie Dunnett for 42 runs from 62 balls.

The visitors, standing at 123 for 9 wickets and requiring 12 runs to win, were staring defeat in the face. Their last pair, Conor Griffin (13 no) and Aneesh Jhalla (2 no), were having none of that though. Incredibly, whilst the whole of Valley End was preparing to celebrate an unlikely victory, two colossal sixes by Griffin drove Sutton over the line in thrilling fashion albeit by the finest of margins.

In low scoring games it’s the side who can hold their nerve that comes out victors. Sutton’s performance where everyone chipped in and contributed with bat, ball, or in the field was exactly what was required to win the game.

Given fellow promotion rivals Malden Wanderers’ loss yesterday at the hands of Camberley, Sutton’s win sees them bouncing straight back to the Premiership in 2024 after just one season away, whilst consigning Valley End to another season in Division One.

After this weekend’s results Sutton and table toppers, Banstead, secured promotion. Fitting then that for the season’s final league game, both clubs meet next Saturday, at Cheam Road, in a title decider, starting at 11:30am.

After Sutton’s 2nd and 3rd XI triumphs on Saturday, both sides are still in the hunt for promotion to their respective Premiership divisions. Good luck to all the players involved next week; there’ll be a pretty good do at the club afterwards, whatever the outcome.


Saturday 19th August, at Cheam Road, Sutton CC 1st XI v. Chipstead Coulsdon & Walcountians CC 1st XI

Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 16.

Sutton maintain second place in Division 1 but needed a devastating Seadon bowling spell to help secure the 20 points.

With the weather set fine for once, Sutton’s skipper, Sam Seadon, won the toss and elected to bat on another decent looking Cheam Road wicket; but a score of just 199 all out in 45.1 overs would have disappointed the home side.

The Sutton innings advanced modestly, struggling in the main with Chipstead’s accurate spin attack.  Angelo Jayasinghe (10-2-41-3) opened the bowling with his off spin, partnered by the pace of Leigh Padfield, soon to be replaced by the leg spin of Aamir Raza (9-1-35-3). Helped by quickie Nathan Heal (8.1-1-34-3) Chipstead’s bowlers continually hassled Sutton’s batting to such a degree that only Cameron Tanner, with a characteristic knock of 63 runs off 63 balls, including 9 x 4 and 1 x 6, and Chris Morris, 39 runs off 43 balls, including 5 x 4, offered genuine defiance although Harry Gardner’s 21 runs later in the innings certainly helped Sutton reach an acceptably challenging target.

Having to defend 200, Sutton needed alert fielding combined with resolute and accurate bowling, but it was not going their way. Chipstead were completely at ease with the scoreboard reading 42 for no loss after 9 overs as Pravin Kiritharan and skipper Joel Walker played comfortably; that is until the partnership was broken by, it must be said, a bit of luck.

In cricket, the fall of a wicket is very often a random event. And there was nothing more random than the dismissal of Kiritharan in the 10th over, Connor Griffin’s 2nd. Facing, Walker hit Griffin’s 4th ball straight, fast and firm, only for Griffin to deflect the ball’s passage directly onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end where the luckless Kiritharan, backing up, was judged run out, for 19. Chipstead 42 for 1.

Anyone in sport can have bad luck; the art consists in knowing how to exploit it and from that moment on Sutton, energised, gradually worked their way through the visitor’s batting. Younsters Jay Evemy (6-1-6-2) and Gardner (8-1-21-2) helped open the innings initially but a devastating 5-over spell by skipper Seadon turned the game completely Sutton’s way.

Chipstead fell away, losing 9 wickets for 68 runs, skipper Walker the only batter to present any fight before being trapped LBW by Gardner for 45, the 4th wicket to go with the score at 75. In a spell that lasted all of 5 overs, Seadon (5-0-12-5) toyed with the Chipstead batsmen, and they had no answer to his seam movement.

The final wicket fell at 129, fittingly a Seadon caught and bowled dismissing Heal, leaving Sutton winners by 70 runs. The 20pts gained enabled Seadon’s men to remain in second place in Division One, maintaining their promotion push with just 2 games remaining in the season.

Next Saturday the 1st XI travel to Valley End. It’s a vital game for both clubs. Sutton will look to maintain their push for promotion back to the Premiership. A good game is in prospect. Start time 11:30am; 50/50 over format.

The 2nd XI had a superb result on Saturday, beating Div 1 table toppers Valley End CC by 2 wickets. Once again George Duckworth shone, scoring 53 runs. A 7th wicket stand of 85 runs with Sahil Sheth 36 not out, was the highlight of the game and ensured the 2s still have a chance of promotion back to the 2nd XI Premiership.  Scorecard here.


 

Saturday 12th August, at Coombe Road, Old Wimbledonians CC 1st XI v Sutton CC 1st XI.

Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 15.

Sutton surged to second place in Division 1 but were given the fright of their lives by lowly Old Wimbledonians at Coombe Lane on Saturday.

Despite being dismissed for just 73 runs lowly Old Wimbledonians put up spirted display against Division 1 promotion chasers, Sutton, on Saturday. They were finally overpowered by a match-winning innings of 41 not out from Sutton skipper, Sam Seadon.

Electing to field after winning the toss, Seadon opened with the pace of Connor Griffin, (8-0-15-3) and Aneesh Jhalla’s off spin (10-2-24-1). On an awkward, slow wicket, both bowlers consigned OWim’s top order to immense pressure early on; so much so that by the end of the 11th over the home side were reeling at 24 for the loss of 4 wickets, including an excellent Cameron Tanner assisted run out.

After 16 overs Jay Evemy (7-1-23-3) replaced Griffin and although OWim’s steadied things a bit, wickets continued to fall regularly. Fabian Cowdrey nipped in to finish off the opposition with a couple of wickets (1.3-1-0-2) and the innings ended on 73 runs after 32.3 overs.

In reply, Sutton were rocked by an excellent spell of pace from OWim’s opening bowlers, Mudasir Haq, (8-1-36-3) and Cameron Flack, (3-0-15-1) which left the visitor’s staggering at 16 for the loss of 4 wickets after just 5 overs.

At this point, Rehan Ratnasapabathy, 2 not out, was joined at the crease by skipper Seadon, with the visitor’s run chase now looking decidedly tricky. Nonetheless, both steered Sutton to victory with little trouble. Seadon took the game by the scruff of the neck, leading the way with a splendid 41 not out off 45 balls, ably supported by RR’s resourceful 18 not out. Sutton reached their target in 17.1 overs to win by 6 wickets, gaining 20 points and 2nd spot in the table.

After enjoying OWim’s post-match hospitality for a short while everyone left for Cheam Road to see how the 2nd XI were progressing vs Old Whitgiftian’s CC 2nd XI. Chasing 196 to win we found the 2s under pressure at 114 for 6. We then witnessed a marvellous 7th wicket counterattack between George Duckworth and Anuj Srivastav, achieving the 82 runs required to win the game by 4 wickets. Both batted beautifully: Duckers producing the innings of his club career, 63 not out; and Anuj delivering the perfect supportive innings of 27 not out.  Well played lads. Wonderful to see.

A happy George Duckworth after playing his match winning innings on Saturday at Cheam Road against Old Whitgiftians 2nd XI. Supported admirably by Anuj Srivastav, they achieved together the 82 runs required to win the game by 4 wickets. Played lads!

Next Saturday the 1st XI welcome Chipstead Coulsdon and Walcountians CC to Cheam Road. It’s a vital game for both clubs. Sutton will look to maintain their push for promotion back to the Premiership, whilst CCWCC will want points to help them move away from the relegation zone. A good game is in prospect. Start time 12:00pm; 50/50 over format.

Score card here.

League table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 5th August, at Cheam Road, Sutton CC 1st XI v Malden Wanderers CC 1st XI.

Round 14: Game cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. 5 points each.


Saturday 29th July, at Upper Verran Road, Camberley CC 1st XI v Sutton CC 1st XI.

Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 13.

Sutton made to work hard for their 4-wicket victory.

A belated and brief match report this week due to foreseen circumstances, i.e., the Oval Test match!

Sutton stay seriously embroiled in the Championship’s Division 1 promotion chase. A 4-wicket win (20 points) at Camberley confirmed a move up to third place. Next Saturday’s opponents, Malden Wanderers gained just 11 points from their draw at home to leaders Banstead (6 points) who, consequently, had their lead at the top cut.

Winning the toss and fielding first, Sutton were made to work hard for their victory after removing the home side for 217. Young off-spinner, Sahil Sheth, ended a mammoth spell of 19.1 overs with 2 for 61; but a destructive 13 over bout of spin from Harry Gardner saw him take 5 for 37, helping the last 4 wickets of the innings to fall for only 28 runs.

In reply, Sutton owed their victory to a couple of excellent half-century knocks; Cameron Tanner (50) and Dan Peall (58). In addition, a fine 7th wicket stand, of 41 between Dan Edwards (30 no) and Skipper Sam Seadon (15 no), ensured Sutton, not without a few struggles on the way, passed the 217 target set, to secure the winning points.

Next Saturday at Cheam Road, Sutton face Malden Wanderers in a vital fixture where the home side will look to revenge their 7-wicket, timed game defeat at Cambridge Road, in early June. It’s one of Sutton’s, ‘games of the season,’ given the two club’s respective position at the top end of the table; and a challenging yet stirring game is expected. Start time is: 12:00 as for the final five league games, the Championship reverts to the 50/50 format.

Score card here.

League table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 22nd July, at Cheam Road, Sutton CC 1st XI v Spencer CC 1st XI.

Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 12.

Weather affected game frustrates all….again!

Game abandoned with Sutton standing at 75 / 3 (28.3 overs).

Score card here.

League table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 15th July, at Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames CC 1st XI v Sutton CC 1st XI.

Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 11.

Weather affected game frustrates all.

A lot of outdoor sports are affected by weather, but cricket is probably one of the most sensitive. A perfect weather recipe for players and spectators is a dry day with sunshine, but getting games completed that are interrupted by adverse weather can be a problem. At Ashley Park yesterday, regular showers throughout the day led to endless breaks in play delivering ultimately, a frustrating game for all involved: players, officials, and spectators.

Scheduled to start at 11:00am, the game was held up for almost three hours due to poor ground conditions, the square and surrounds suffering from persistent rain overnight and early morning. With the resultant number of overs lost calculated at 46, the umpires sanctioned a 2:15pm start, the game now one of 74 overs, with a 41–33 split.

Walton-on-Thames skipper, James Madoc-Jones, won the toss and taking into consideration the green looking wicket, elected to field. A wise decision as initially, steady pace bowling with a new ball, strong winds and the wicket’s state in their favour, led to an early Sutton batting collapse.  Cameron Tanner, Rehan Ratnasapabathy and Fabian Cowdrey, were all dismissed by the 9th over, with the score standing at 27 for 3.

Sutton skipper, Sam Season, in at fall of Tanner’s wicket, and Etinder Bopara at the crease after the 3rd wicket went down, resisted a tad until the 16th over when Bopara was caught in the deep for 16 runs. The visitors now stood on 52 for 4.

Seadon was joined by Conor McKerr and the pair were going well until the drinks break at the end of the 20th over with Sutton on 66 for 4. During the break, a shower kept the players from returning and a further 2 overs were lost.

Starting again 20 minutes later, Seadon and Mckerr batted effectively, reaching 115 before, off the final ball of the 29th over, McKerr fell for 30 neatly made runs. The next ball, Seadon was bowled for 39. Sutton now stood at 115 for 6 wickets.

Harry Gardner and Dan Edwards steadied the ship with a 39 run partnership, not before the covers were on again as another shower interrupted the game. Tea was taken early, after which Edwards fell for 20, Gardner 19 and the rest departed cheaply leaving Sutton all out for 159 off 38 overs, leaving the hosts with 34 over to reach the target set of 160 runs.

Walton’s response was stymied by McKerr and George Jackson. Their excellent opening spells, with Seadon’s support from the 10th over, restricted Walton to just 21 runs off the first 14 overs. Subsequently, a bit of excitement.

Jackson, with the first ball of the 15th over, saw Jimmy Greenslade edging to Cowdrey at second slip, for 8. Next ball Sam Gorvin popped one straight to Tanner at short mid-wicket. At 25 Oliver Pascall was snapped up by keeper Edwards, off Jackson, the bowler’s third wicket in the over.

In the next over, Seadon dismissed opener Toby Hernandez and number 6 batter, Jack Hunter-Lees. The hosts now stood on 25 for the loss of 5 wickets. With 18 overs remaining in the day could Sutton dismiss the last five wickets and claim a surprise victory from the challenging day? Regrettably, no matter how many bowling changes Seadon tried, it was not to be.

The fall of the 5th wicket was the end of the fun as Walton’s Rhythm Bedi and James Madoc-Jones manoeuvred the hosts home towards the losing draw, finishing on 95 for 5 at the completion of their 34th over. An irritating day’s cricket concluding at 8.23pm!

On some days there will be frequent showers, on other days you may just catch one brief shower and then it stays dry the rest of the day. Sadly, at Walton yesterday there were many brief showers which inevitably led to many delays. Weather is weather and there’s nothing one can do about it, other than just accept it and deal with it, especially where cricket is concerned. The umpires have a job to do and on days like yesterday, no one can envy their role and the decisions they must take, many of which are dictated to them within the playing rules.

From Sutton’s perspective, to see other promotion challenging clubs fulfil their fixtures, suffering less from the weather, and gaining points, is naturally galling. But that’s the game. It might be our luck next time!

Nest week, Sutton entertain Spencer CC, start 11:00am.

Score card here.

League table table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 8th July, at Cheam Road. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 10.

Sutton’s excellent form continues, enjoying another Championship success, crushing Dulwich by 135 runs.

It was Sutton’s fifth game without defeat and keeps them flying high towards the top of the league table.

Put into bat, Sutton opened with regular pair Cameron Tanner and Rehan Ratnasapabathy, (RR). They made a decent start to the innings, scoring 26 runs from the first 5 overs.

Without adding another run, Sutton were dealt the blow of losing Tanner to an LBW decision in the 6th over. Last Saturday’s top scorer was removed for just 15 runs by medium pace bowler Jonathon Lodwick.

Fabian Cowdrey joined RR at the crease, both working patiently to build a good total. They put on 84 runs for the second wicket before in the 24th over, RR was caught by keeper Michael Harms for 25 off the bowling of Simon Harwood.

Sutton skipper, Sam Seadon, then joined Cowdrey and a good partnership (68) was developing quite nicely when Seadon was bowled in the 36th over by leggie Ahmed Khan for 33, with the score on 178.

At the fall of Seadon’s wicket, the threatened thunderstorm arrived. The covers came on and the umpires called for an early lunch. At 2:30pm they inspected conditions, announcing that all was good to start again at 2.45pm. However, 26 overs were lost to the day’s play.

At the re-start Etinder Bopara joined Cowdrey in the middle. On 6 runs, Bopara attempted a hit over the long on boundary off Harvey Booth’s bowling, only to find James Schofield, who took a good catch just inside the rope. The score was now 191 for 4.

In the meantime, Cowdrey was building a substantial innings, manipulating the bowlers’ line and length, rotating the strike, not allowing any of the bowlers to achieve their goal of creating pressure.

At the fall of the previous wicket in the 39th over, Conor McKerr strode to the crease, while Cowdrey stood at 95 runs off 98 balls. Cowdrey eventually fell in the 44th over to Khan, caught by Robbie Keaton, for a magnificent 111 runs, and with the score now at 225 for 5. It was Cowdrey’s second century of the season, and his 5th for the club.

Harry Gardner became Khan’s 3rd wicket, caught Kaif Ramzan for 7, whilst Mckeer, nudging and nurdling his way to 16 not out, (including 16 singles) and Dan Edwards, 13 not out, took the score to 251 as skipper Seadon declared the innings closed after 48 overs. The declaration guaranteed the visitor’s a minimum of 46 overs to score the 252 runs needed to win.

Sutton’s opening bowlers, pace men, McKerr (6-1-14-1) and George Jackson (6-1-19-2), tore into the Dulwich batting, including an absolute Jacko beauty to bowl opener Ollie Steele for 9. By the end of the 7th over the visitors were reeling at 13 for the loss of 3 wickets. Dulwich rallied a bit. Captain, Chris Purshouse on 18 and Booth on 48, had driven their side to 78 when, in the 19th over, Connor Griffin struck, trapping Purshouse plumb LBW.

The introduction spin into the Sutton bowling attack heralded an almost total collapse in the Dulwich batting line-up. Booth went soon after Purshouse, falling to a stunning Cowdrey catch at mid-on off Harry Gardner’s off-spin for 50. Dulwich were now 88 for 5 wickets.

At 103 in the 24th over, Khan was next to go, caught Tanner at mid-wicket, off Gardner (9-3-35-2) for 16. At 107 in 27th, Harms nicked to keeper Edwards, off Cowdrey (7-1-16-3), for 11. The final 3 wickets fell for a total 9 runs. Sam Ellison bowled Cowdrey, 0. Ramzan, LBW Sahil Sheth (2-2-0-1), 0 (off 26 balls!) Harwood was caught McKerr at short mid-on, off Cowdrey, 2; with Lodwick remaining not out 5.

Dulwich were all out for 116 off 35 overs: Sutton winning conclusively, by 135 runs. The 4th wicket partnership between Purshouse and Booth, which put on 65 runs for the visitors, was no more than a frustration for Sutton before their spinners got to work.

Next Saturday Sutton visit Walton-on-Thames CC, who beat us in the overs format fixture earlier this season. Walton, promoted last year, were one of the early frontrunners this season. For Sutton, another must win………again!  The match starts at 11:00pm, and again a 120-over timed game. Your support at Walton is most welcome.

Score card here.

League table table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 1st July, at Avenue Road. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 9.

Exceptional bowling performance upsets table elites!

Outstanding bowling and a terrific team performance in the field meant Banstead were limited to just 99 all out off 37.4 overs.

Having won the toss the home captain, Arsalan Abbas, elected to bat first on a decent looking wicket; but Banstead were soon in trouble as 2 wickets fell before the completion of the 4th over.

Neil Baker, without bothering the scorers, lost his middle stump to a fine George Jackson yorker off the first ball of the 3rd over. Baker was followed back to the dressing room soon after by Ayush Patel, well taken by Zatyab Khan at mid-wicket, off Connor Griffin for 8, leaving Banstead standing on 16 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.

The home side’s plight did not improve as Sutton’s bowlers simply tore into Banstead’s order. In the 11th over, with 30 on the board, Dan Newton, returning to the fold after a year and a few games away from cricket, nicked to keeper Dan Edwards, off Jackson, for 4 runs.

Banstead’s keeper and Aussie overseas, Patrick Rowe, resisted gamely until the 22nd over. Sam Seadon, the visitor’s skipper, nibbled away at Rowe for a few overs, who eventually couldn’t hold back. Attempting to pull to leg, Rowe skied a top edge towards mid-on, where Sahil Sheth took an outstanding catch diving forward. Rowe left with 34 runs and with Banstead stumbling at 65 for 4.

Freddy Clinton departed shortly after in the 27th over, deceived by Fabian Cowdrey’s off-spin, caught Edwards, for just 5 runs and with the score now 70 for 5.

Much to his annoyance, just before lunch, Harawal Wassam, who entered the fray at the fall of Newton in the 11th over, succumbed LBW in the 31st over to Cowdrey for a vigilant 23. Lunch was taken at the conclusion of the 32nd over, a maiden by Sahil Sheth, with the home side reeling at 92 for 6 wickets.

Play resumed at 1:35pm. In the 34th over Sheth’s off-spin nabbed the first of his 2 wickets, Seadon producing a superb slip catch to dismiss Abbas, no score. Next over, Cowdrey picked-up his third of the day, clean bowling Mohammad Shahid for 1. Next over, the 36th, Rahul Desai was run out for 10, and in the 38th over, Seadon performed wonders again, capturing Paul Byrne with another miracle catch at slip, off Sheth, for just a single.

A special bowling performance supported by first-rate fielding gave Sutton an ideal opportunity to enhance their promotion hopes. Just 100 runs to win and 82 overs by which to score them; an inviting prospect for the away team if ever there was one.

Cameron Tanner and Rehan Ratnasapabathy resumed their regular opening partnership with Tanner, taking strike, facing the right arm off-spin of Paul Byrne. All was going effortlessly for Sutton until the final ball of the 5th over. Ratna, entwined by Byrne’s spin, was caught behind by Rowe for 2 runs: Sutton now standing at 22 for 1 wicket. Replacing Ratna, Cowdrey came to the crease.

From that moment on, Tanner took over, as he has done for much of the season so far. Ably supported by Cowdrey, 21 not out from 31 balls, the opener rattled off a powerful 78 runs in only 62 balls, (8 x 4, 2 x 6), leading Sutton to a memorable 9-wicket win in 17.1 overs, against the table front-runners.

A marvellous result for Sutton which puts them right back into the mix for promotion to the Premiership. Great preparation for the challenge that newly promoted Dulwich CC will no doubt present next week.  The match is at Cheam Road, starting at 11:00pm, and again a 120-over timed game.

Score card here.

League table table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

Archive of previous 2023 match reports available here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 24th June, at Cheam Road. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 8.

Sutton survive late Valley End onslaught as promotion clash ends in exciting draw.

Sutton 1st XI played out an entertaining draw with Valley End 1st XI on Saturday as both teams kept their respective promotion hopes alive.

Sutton were looking to leap-frog their rivals, while Valley End were aiming to consolidate their credentials further by stretching the points gap between the two clubs.

Another lovely, warm Cheam Rd day greeted the players and officials; and a sizeable crowd, anticipating a day of good, exciting Championship cricket.  They were not disappointed!

Sutton skipper, Sam Seadon, won the toss and elected to field but took to the field with several key players unavailable, especially in the fast bowling area.  However, George Jackson, (17-0-73-4), fast becoming the club’s pace bowling pillar, and Connor Griffin (14.2-2-42-2) bowled admirably for the first 15 overs: Jackson snaring Josh Jayasing LBW in the 9th for 17 runs. VE 31 for 1.

Seadon brought himself on for the 16th over, replacing a fine opening Griffin spell. With his second ball Seadon (16-0-75-3) presented Josh Blake with his first catch of the day behind the stumps, capturing Freddie Brennan for 11, with VE now standing at 54 for 2.

Seadon bagged the 3rd wicket in the 24th over when opener Josh Dodd snicked to Blake for a well-constructed 47. VE now stood at 99 for 3 with Ed Young on 14 not out. Young was joined at the crease by Charlie Dunnett; he and Young advancing the innings to 186 when the returning Jackson bounced Dunnett. Blake took a stupendous catch, diving to his left and Dunnett was dismissed for 41.

Wickets fell regularly thereafter. Dunnett’s brother Oliver, presenting Rehan Ratnasapabathy (RR) with a comfortable catch at short mid-wicket, off Jackson’s bowling, for just a single. 188 for 5.

At 199 Joe Hill became another caught Blake bowled Jackson victim: going for just 6 runs. In the 49th over with VE on 226 for 6 and looking good for a 300+ total, Sahil Sheth (10-0-60-1) surprised the ever consistent Ed Young, on 79, with the bounce and aided by another Blake catch, Young was gone.

Soon, at 231, Ben Smith, VE’s keeper, was trapped LBW by the returning Seadon for a duck and now VE were 8 wickets down. At this stage Sutton were happy they had restrained the visitors, to a reasonable extent. However, VE’s skipper, Tom Nevin, and spinner Jamie Stephens had different ideas, adding 37 runs for the 9th wicket. At 268 runs Nevin turned out to be Blake’s 6th victim of the day, stumped off Griffin for 33. At 279 the innings came to an end off 61.2 overs, when Griffin bowled Stephens for 25, leaving Elliott Coggins not out 4.

Given 58 overs back, Sutton’s chase started superbly. Cameron Tanner, simply carrying on from last week’s magnificent display, and RR, the perfect foil again to Tanner’s explosive batting deeds took the score 139 runs before the first wicket fell in the 26th over. Tanner was caught by Freddie Brennen on the deep mid-wicket boundary, off Stephens, for a wonderfully expressive 105, which included 16 x 4 and 3 x 6, in just 74 minutes. RR, doing what he does so well, stood on 33.

At this stage Sutton were well up with the required rate but the introduction of spin for the remainder of the innings slowed the host’s progress. That said, Blake’s dismissal, a lucky run-out for 3 runs, had nothing to do with spin bowling!

With Sutton on 144, Blake was replaced by Etinder Bopara. RR and Bopara stayed together for 20 overs, moving the score to 210 when Bopara fell to Stephens, caught in the deep, by Brennen, for 29 runs. To win, Sutton needed 70 further runs off just over 11 overs and with 7 wickets remaining. Nevertheless, due in the main, to the unyielding spin bowling of Stephens and Nevin, the rate required to win had shot up to well over 6 runs an over.

From 210 for 3 wickets, Sutton found themselves struggling to get anything out of a game they were odds on to win.  Wickets fell quickly and the home side were staring at a loss as the score reached 244 for 8 at the end of the 55th over.  In the end it was down to Seadon’s resilient 10 runs off 28 balls, assisted by Sheth (2 runs), defending the 9th wicket, that gave Sutton the losing draw.

A game that could have gone either way, with passages of quality and exciting cricket. The draw was a fair result, landing Sutton with 9 points and Valley End 13.

Next Saturday another tough one is anticipated as Sutton travel via the ‘Mad Mile’ to Banstead, who currently sit comfortably, top of the division.  Again, a timed game, (120-overs) starting at 11.00am.


Saturday 17th June, at High Road, Chipstead. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1 Round 7.

Rapid Tanner ton secures exhaustive Sutton win.

Sutton’s 1st XI maintained their good form on Saturday by winning convincingly at Chipstead Coulsdon & Walcountanians CC, by 8 wickets.

Sutton’s captain, Sam Seadon, won the toss and elected to field. The wicket looked respectable, the weather cooler than recent, and muggy.

Although Sutton’s batting was diluted by the loss of Josh Blake, called-up to the county’s T20 squad, (congratulations JB), their bowling was bolstered by the return of pace man, Conor McKerr.

McKerr and George Jackson opened the bowling for the visitors and combined to steadily quell the home sides top order.  By the end of the 9th over McKerr (11.2- 6-16-3 wickets) and Jackson (10-3-22-1) had reduced Chips to 15 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.

Fabian Cowdrey replaced McKerr for the 15th over and soon had an impact, snaring Angelo Jayasinghe LBW, 10, with the last ball of the 17th over. Chips now stood at 31 for 4 wickets and looked, for all intents and purposes, a team facing total collapse.

A nicely constructed 5th wicket stand of 45 between Manny Johns, (29 off 96 balls) and Aamir Raza, (19 off 41) did help the hosts cause to some extent but once Raza was dismissed in the 31st over, with the score on 76, Ansh Bansal taking a well-judged catch on the deep mid-wicket boundary, off the bowling of the right-arm spin and 1st XI debutant, Sahil Sheth, the residual batting, aside from Alex Lane’s 30 run resistance, simply fell away. Chips ended on 137 all out in 54.2 overs.

All bowlers took wickets.  Sheth walking off with 2 for 26 off 10 overs, and Cowdrey 3 for 24 off 13 overs.

With 65 overs to bat it seemed a sure bet that Sutton would reach the target of 138 runs to win with ease. And so, it proved, both quickly and dismissively, Cameron Tanner relishing the hosts bowling to such a degree that his ton came in just 54 balls, and 57 minutes (17×4, 2×6), finally ending on 106 not out. It was Tanner’s second Championship century this season; his first, 126 runs, coming in the game at Malden Wanderers earlier this month.

Saturday’s innings perfectly showcased the explosive nature of Tanner’s remarkable displays of batting prowess. The ability he has to dominate the game and score runs at an astonishing pace. It is a testament to his batting skills, timing, and power.

Playing the perfect foil to his more expressive partner, was Rehan Ratnasapabathy, typically steadfast and resolute again. He’s a bit of a warrior, is Ratna. He chips in and applies himself with great determination and a sense of restraint. Perfect for the situation. Sadly, on this occasion, he lost his wicket near the end, bowled Raza for 31 runs, off 40 balls, including 4×4; but not before an excellent reassuring innings.

At 4.10pm, and in the 16th over, Sutton reached the target of 138, taking just on the hour to do so, whilst gaining 20 points for the win.

Next week brings Valley End CC, also vying for promotion, to Cheam Road. A titanic tussle in prospect. Start time 11.00am.


Saturday 10th June, at Cheam Road, Sutton. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1 Round 6.

Devastating opening bowling spell destroys Old Wimbledonians top order.

Sport’s new mantra: ‘A quick game’s a good game,’ is purely subjective. If you’re on the winning side in a quick game, it’s a good game; if you’re not, as Old Wimbledonians found in Saturday’s Surrey Championship fixture at Cheam Road, it’s not such a good game!  For Sutton, it was.  A powerful bowling display laid the foundation for the home side’s third win of the season, keeping them in the pack hunting promotion to the Premiership.

On a lovely, warm day, Sutton skipper, Sam Seadon, won the toss and elected to field. Again, the Cheam Road wicket looked in excellent order; but Seadon must have seen something in it that whet his appetite, sharing the bowling for the opening 16 overs with George Jackson his pace partner.

At the end of that opening spell, Seadon had picked up 3 wickets and Jackson 2, leaving the visitors stranded at 51 for the loss of their top 5 batters. Jackson continued until completing the 23rd over, claiming one more on the way. Replacing Seadon at the end of the 17th over, Jack Sissons, making his initial 1st XI appearance of the season, manufactured a superb spell of left-arm pace bowling from the tennis courts end. His 6 overs producing 4 maidens, a wicket, whilst going for only 3 runs. So good to see.

Fabian Cowdrey came on just before lunch for the 25th over, replacing Jackson who finished with final figures of: 13-3-36-3 wickets.  Lunch was taken at the end of the 28th over with Old Wims standing at 67 for 7 wickets.

Post lunch there was a brief flurry from the visitors tail. The score had reached 98 by the time Cowdrey (7-2-18-1 wicket) snared his one for the day. Ansh Bansal, also making his first appearance of the campaign, replaced Jay Evemy’s encouraging spell (4-1-16-0) from the tennis courts end, and in no time had finished off the innings, ending with figures of: 1.1 overs, 2 wickets for 3 runs.

At barely past 2.00pm, Old Wimbledonians were all out 105 in 39.1 overs; plenty of time for the home side to knock-off the 106 runs needed to win. By 3.25pm the game was over. Cameron Tanner and Rehan Ratna had made 44 together before Ratna fell in the 8th over, after delivering a more aggressive than late 22 runs from 24 balls. Josh Blake replaced Ratna at the crease, ending the day not out 11 off 19 balls.  Tanner departed in the 13th over, accruing 42 stylish runs on the way off 34 balls.  Sutton now stood at 81 for 2.

The game ended in the 14th over with an archetypal Chris Morris innings. Entering play once Tanner fell after the 3rd ball of the 13th over, Morris took just 9 balls to reach 22 runs, including 5 fours; and with the help of a couple from Blake and a no-ball extra, the winning runs came at 3.25pm after 13.5 overs.

‘A quick game’s a good game,’ and it certainly was for Sutton, this time!  The home side back on track with an all-embracing display in the field, and at times, explosive batting.

Next Saturday Sutton visit Chipstead, Walcountians & Coulsdon CC. 11.00 start.

Score card here  League table table here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 3rd June, at Cambridge Road, New Malden. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1 Round 5 (the first of the Championship’s ‘nine timed games’ series).

Stunning century from Zac Elkin guides Wanderers to thrilling victory.

Despite excellent individual centuries from Sutton’s Cameron Tanner, (128 runs including 19 fours and 3 sixes, in 136 balls) and Josh Blake (100 runs including 12 fours and 1 six, in 90 balls), Malden Wanderers, manoeuvred expertly by overseas Zac Elkin, (134 not out, including 13 fours, in 156 balls) cruised to a 7 wicket victory which, in truth, looked on from the initial stages of their innings.

On a day that started a little overcast before developing nicely into a gloriously sunny and warm afternoon, Wanderers skipper Andrew Carson, won the toss and elected to field. The wicket looked decent which, as the game forged ahead, was clearly demonstrated. Even Sutton’s riches of 308 for seven did not look like being enough when Elkin and fellow opener, Nick Gohff, set off like a train in reply.

The visitor’s final score was attributed, in the main, to Tanner’s explosive hitting and Blake’s skilful placement.  The contrast in their distinctive batting styles was self-evident yet resulted in both providing significant contributions to Sutton’s tally.

Tanner, assisted by the valuable, watchful support of fellow opener, Rehan Ratnasapabathy, (37 runs including 5 fours, in 100 balls), played within himself for the first 25 overs, taking Sutton’s score to 85, although the pace and skill of Wanderer’s Joe Lavender, (20-2-53-1 wicket) did hold the visitor’s partnership in check.

A poorly judged second run led to Ratnasapabathy’s dismissal in the 36th over, with the score on 137, run out 37. At this stage, Tanner had begun to accelerate rapidly to 87, scoring 29 off the previous 19 balls.

Blake now joined Tanner at the crease and in the next 10 overs pushed to the score to 208 before Lavender broke through Tanner’s defence, bowled for a hard-hitting128. At the end of the 47th over, Blake stood on 31 not out and Sutton on 208 for 2.

Despite Sutton’s batting dominance, the host’s bowlers were gaining in confidence as they held Sutton at bay, restricting the batting at this stage to a run rate of under 4.5 an over on what was beginning to prove a friendly wicket.

Wanderers bowlers seized their opportunity to make inroads whilst Sutton attempted to hoist the rate. Blake did the job skilfully, reaching his ton in the 61st over, whilst wickets fell regularly around him. Blake was run out off the 60.5th ball; and skipper Sam Seadon immediately declared the innings closed on 308 for the loss of 7 wickets.

Wanderers were given 59 overs back to chase 309 to win; a tough ask that was achieved surprisingly, without too much trouble. Openers, Elkin and Gohff, were quick off the blocks at once. By the end of the 14th over, when Gohff was caught by slip Dan Edwards, off Aneesh Jhalla, for a rapid 49 off 39 balls, Wanderers had already reached 92; a rate of over 6.5 and more than sufficient to win the game if they maintained the numbers and wickets. This they achieved with ease as Elkin, batting cleverly, and assisted by Pete Young’s 45 and Alastair Curran’s 67 not out, dealt with Sutton’s bowling effortlessly. Wanderers reaching the target with 17 balls of the game remaining. As it happens, Sutton’s bowling plans were hampered by the early withdrawal from the attack of Fabian Cowdrey (10-0-32-0 wickets) in the 29th over. Cowdrey twisted his left ankle and found movement difficult from then on. His left-arm spin was sorely missed.

Given the excellent position in the match they had established after their innings, this was a hugely embarrassing defeat for a Sutton side determined to regain their Premiership status at the first attempt. Two wins and two defeats from the four games played so far is not exactly promotion form, even though it’s still early days in the competition. Division one is proving to be highly competitive as we continually see ‘surprise’ results week in, week out. Sutton shouldn’t fear anyone, but they need to respect that this is a tight competition where any team can beat any other team, on any day.

Perhaps this result should be remembered more as a triumph for club cricket.  It’s not often you see three centuries and over 600-runs in a day.

Next Saturday we welcome newly promoted Old Wimbledonians CC to Cheam Road; start time 11:00am.

Score card here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

League table table here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 27th May, at Cheam Road. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1 Round 4.

Cowdrey fires Sutton to emphatic win against Camberley

In Division 1 of the Surrey Championship on Saturday, Sutton’s 1st XI earned a 96-run victory against Camberley 1’s which saw the hosts maintain their challenge near the summit of the league table, (see here.)

Two victories, one cancellation and a defeat in their opening four league encounters has earned the Cheam Road club a haul of 48 points to lie just 2 behind the early pacesetters, Valley End. It’s certainly what Sutton were aiming for as they bid for an early return to the Premier Division.

Skipper Sam Seadon calling the coin flip correctly set the tone for Saturday’s fare as Seadon elected to bat first on another excellent Cheam Road wicket. It proved to be the right decision as Sutton went on to post 289 for 7 in their 50 overs at the crease.

The stars of the innings were Josh Blake, who made 61 off 79 balls, Fabian Cowdrey, who hit an undefeated 113 off 103, and George Jackson, swashbuckling his way to 37 off just 15, during the latter stages of the batting.

After Sutton’s 3rd wicket had fallen at 66, Cowdrey and Blake, with a brilliantly constructed stand of 109, turned the game Sutton’s way, reaching 175 runs by the 38th over before Blake surprised us all and himself, bearing in mind the way he was batting, by losing his wicket, bowled, to Max Carter. Nevertheless, at that fall the pair had pushed the host’s run rate up to 4.60 with another 12 overs to go.

Despite losing 2 wickets quickly, the rate continually improved as Cowdrey set about the visitor’s bowling with relish and a corresponding torrent of boundaries. Standing on 220 at the fall of the 6th wicket in the 45th over, Jackson took centre stage, entertaining an excellent Cheam Road crowd to his stirring effort before, at 280 going down to a Lauchie Johns stumping off Paul Stephens, with 4 balls left of the innings, That was still enough time for another 9 runs before the close of the 50th over, leaving Sutton at 289 for 7, and not out batters Conor Griffin on 2 and Cowdrey on a magnificent 113.

Facing a challenging task of just under 6 runs an over to win, Camberley started confidently, maintaining the required rate until the 9th over when an excellent caught and bowled by Aneesh Jhalla, who opened with his left-arm spin, trapped James Copeland for 15, leaving Camberley standing on 41 for 1.

Copeland’s opening partner, Johns, kept up the rate, assisted by Todd Hutcheson. Then with Camberley positioned confidently on 98 for 1 in the 20th over, a wonderful Cameron Tanner catch on the mid-wicket boundary, off the bowling of Griffin, heralded a batting collapse. Johns departed for 60 quality runs; Hutcheson stayed resolute but all around him, other than Paul Stephens helpful 24, fell regularly, adding just 95 runs before Hutcheson was the last man out, caught at mid-wicket by Jackson, for a determined 59. The visitor’s ended on 193 all out off 45.3 overs.

Sutton’s attack was accurate and penetrating, with all bowlers collecting a wicket or two. Even Blake’s mythical leg-spin got into the act, securing the win for Sutton by capturing Hutcheson with the last ball of the match.

This was another all-embracing win for Sutton, continuing their fine form from last week and keeping them near the summit of the table. Sterner tests will surely follow, starting next weekend with the visit to Malden Wanderers in the first of this season’s timed games (120-overs). Start times now revert to 11:00am; and all support is welcome.

Score card here.

All the club’s results available via Play-Cricket here.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our Play-Cricket website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 20th May, at Fieldview. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 3.

A comprehensive win by 83 runs at Fieldview yesterday v. Spencer CC, puts Sutton back on track after their disappointing defeat last Saturday against Walton.

Sutton’s captain, Sam Seadon won the toss, and he needed no second look to take the opening use of a good looking surface.

Sutton were immediately on the front foot, with Seadon and partner Rehan Ratnasapabathy racing to 41 off the first 5 overs. The hosts opening attack of Martel Evans and George Loyd both bearing the ferocity of principally, Seadon’s attack.

Pace gave way to spin soon after, as the visitors stood at a decent 58 off 10 overs without loss. A calm to proceedings resulted as the spinners, Spencer captain Gus Grant, and Alex Spencer, gained an element of control and gradually drove the hosts back into the game.

The fall of Seadon’s wicket in the 20th over, caught Grant, bowled Horler for a lively 50 off 64 balls, including six 4s, heralded the onset to a regular feature of Sutton’s recent cricket: the customary batting collapse!  From 92 without loss, the following 7 wickets fell for just 71 runs. At 163 for 7, Sutton were way off placing a challenge to the hosts that would be worthy of the wicket.

Taking nothing away from Spencer’s bowling, though. Horler, (10-2-38-3 wickets) and Evans, in a far more efficient second spell, (10-0-55-4 wickets) continually forced the batting into rash shots or were simply beaten by Evans’ pace or the control of Horler’s spin.

With the wickets falling regularly, it was Fabian Cowdrey who held the rest of the innings together. On 28 not out he was joined by Conor Griffin; and their stand of 69 runs for the 8th wicket was, to all intents and purposes, match winning.

The pair came together in the 41st over and with a mix of experience and no mean skill, settled Sutton’s anxieties. Griffin fell to the penultimate ball of the innings, caught Horler, bowled Evans, for a well-assembled 25 off 30 balls; and the innings ended on 233 for the loss of 8 wickets.  Cowdrey’s fine-looking 65 not out, off 75 balls, included seven 4s and one almighty 6.

The chase began calmly, reaching 31 at the end of the 9th over, as Spencer’s openers, William De Cani and Toby Pratt played Sutton’s pace of Conor McKerr (7.1-2-8-2 wickets) and George Jackson, (7-0-37-1 wicket) cautiously. However, the introduction of Cowdrey’s left-arm spin in the 8th over, altered the game’s complexion, almost immediately.

In Cowdrey’s 2nd over, the 10th of the innings, he trapped Pratt, LBW, for 14. The next over, McKerr had De Cani caught at mid-on by Griffin for 11; and now the hosts were in a bit of trouble.

12 runs later, keeper Josh Blake snared Hugo Darby off Cowdrey for 6. Spencer now definitely in trouble at 43 for 3 down. Wickets were falling at regular intervals, with only Will Harris 62, resisting. All the Sutton bowlers contributed positively to the hosts final total of 150 all out. Cowdrey bowled splendidly, (10-2-41-4 wickets), and was backed-up nicely by Aneesh Jhalla (10-1-44-3 wickets). [Scorecard here.]

This result sees Sutton steadying the ship. A much improved all round display from the previous week which we hope, is followed-up by victory against Camberley CC next Saturday, 27th May, at Cheam Road; start 12.00pm.

You can follow Sutton CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter feed (@SuttonCricket), and live on our website (www.sutton.play-cricket.com)


Saturday 13th May, at Cheam Road. Surrey Championship 1st XI Division 1, Round 2.

Sutton CC derailed, losing to Walton-on-Thames CC.

Sutton 1s went down by 2-wickets at Cheam Road on Saturday to newly promoted, Walton-on-Thames CC, getting their Surrey Championship Division 1 campaign off to the worst possible start.

Sutton were not helped by the absence of Fabian Cowdrey through COVID and by county restraints not allowing Conor McKerr’s to bowl; but skipper, Sam Seadon, will still have been disappointed by his side’s display.

On a decent wicket, considering the recent adverse weather, but with overcast conditions prevailing, Sutton were put into bat by the WOT captain, Dan Roberts. Nevertheless, there were signs that the Sutton batters would triumph over the circumstances, despite losing Seadon for 13 runs early on. Opener Rehan Ratnasapabathy and partner Josh Blake, batted shrewdly, taking the score to 80 for 1 before Blake, on 37 and driving to mid-on off the wily Mark Bainbridge, saw Roberts grab a good catch, low down. Next in came new member, Cameron Tanner, who looked comfortable until LBW to Roberts for 15, leaving the hosts at 101 for 3.

Depressingly, in a period of the game not too dissimilar to that seen a few times last season, the Sutton batting collapsed leaving them limping to 166 all out, short of the demanding target they would have expected to set after the early exchanges.

It looked like WOT’s reply was taking the game away from Sutton, as opening pair, Yusuf Hafiz, 19, and Roberts, 49, reached a total of 72 in 16.2 overs, before Roberts fell, LBW to another new SCC member, leggie Dan Peall. WOT then contrived to lose the next 7 wickets for 48 runs, as Peall, 3 for 26 off 7, Aneesh Jhalla 2 for 17 off 10, and our third new member of the day, Thisara Sethunga, 2 for 22 off 6, set about the WOT order with relish. At 120 for the loss of 8 wickets, it appeared Sutton would defy the odds and conjure an unlikely win given the situation after WOT’s first 16 overs.

It was not to be, though. Keeper, James Madoc-Jones, 33no off 68 balls, and Bainbridge, 18no off 33, came together during the 36th over of the WOT innings, when 47 runs were required for the win. With plenty of time and overs left to reach the target, both batters performed resolutely, steering the visitors to victory by 2 wickets in the 48th over.

Early days, of course; but with only net practice available prior to this game, the lack of match preparation did show in Sutton’s performance. They will obviously need to be better, and iron out the mistakes. Oddly, the batters did look in reasonable touch but there were too many brief cameos as the wickets fell.

The challenge is to go on and make a few 50s, and more. 50 overs do give ample time. That’s what Sutton need to do as a team to make it count, as it gives the bowlers something to bowl at. They are not far off getting it right, but the team can’t repeat their mistakes when they travel to Spencer next Saturday, for what will truly be one of the most testing games this season.

Scorecard here.

Saturday 20th May, 12:00pm start: Spencer CC v Sutton CC, at Fieldview, SW18 3HF.