It’s that time of the week again where we have a round up from Sandilands and the brave men that go out in search of victory. A highly successful weekend ended unbeaten and here’s how it happened.

The 1st XI took on Cranleigh at Sandilands and they were in need of a victory in the first of the declaration 100 over games. Winning the toss there was little hesitation for the skipper Andrew Poulton to field first. In the early stages this did not look inspired as Cranleigh rattled along to a fantastic start. However the game changed with the introduction of Naeem Anjum who bowled excellently to finish up with figures of 7-29. It was Anjum’s ninth 5 wicket haul since he joined the A’s in 2008 and meant that Cranleigh struggled to only 135 all out. Needing just over two an over would seem an easy task on the face of it but the A’s took nothing for granted. An opening partnership of 61 came to an end when Ben Cox departed for 24. Docherty managed to record his half century but fell for 59. From 95-3 Addiscombe collapsed to a threatening 114-6, however Steven Cox (12*) and Jason Moore (14*) saw the A’s home to a 4 wicket win. The 1^st team are now fifth in the table after two wins in three games.

The 2^nd XI travelled to Esher knowing that a win would keep them right at the top of the table. However it was never going to be an easy task with Esher having been the relegated side dropping into the league. The day started badly as skipper Braganza lost the toss and was inserted. However with first innings totals of 257 and 281 there this season it was not a bad omen. A belligerent start from Ryan Polley (44) saw the A’s reach 57-1 in the 10^th over. Lineker (2) and Moore (0) soon came and went until Chris Hurrion entered the fray. A superb innings saw Hurrion despatch bowlers to all parts whilst accumulating a league best of 114. He was ably supported by first Stevens (23) and then Barry Dean (52). A superb total of 282-9 declared from 50.5 overs meant that all the pressure was now on Esher. Starting with the old ball D Lineker and Braganza opened the bowling and the Esher openers came out on the offensive. The new ball was taken after 10 overs and although it wasn’t the bowling that brought the breakthrough wickets started to fall. First a run out, then an attempted pull shot gloved down the leg side and suddenly 85-0 had turned into 88-3. Contributions from the middle order made the Addiscombe attack toil until another clutch of wickets took the score to 157-4. A spirited fightback from the Esher numbers 8 and 9 was enough to seal a draw for Esher, despite a wicket in the penultimate over leaving a few nervy moments. Addiscombe secured a winning draw now sit fourth in the table.

The Addiscombe third string set off for Merstham after a mixed start to the season and determined to bring success home with them. After winning the toss Robbie Naraine chose to bat and it seemed to work well, as despite losing an early wicket Taylor Hughes (32) and Lewis Noble (54) set about giving the A’s a big target to bowl to. 103-3 became 117-6 and a mini collapse saw the A’s worrying that the target would be a small one. However in came James Ramsey with a knock of 67, along with Dan Jones (11) and Mahendra Karunanayake (34) to make sure a very good total of 242 all out from 47.1 overs. Definitely something to bowl at! The Merstham top order looked assured with all the top four getting starts. However the A’s managed to break the partnerships, mainly down to the Karunanayake brothers, to make sure that they had a good crack at the middle order. It was particularly pleasing to see Sudesh Karunanayake take 5-28 from 10.2 overs to bowl Merstham out for 199 from 45.2 overs and secure the victory. Other wicket takers were Bhav Desai (2-53) and Mahendra Karunanayake (2-52). The 3^rd XI are now safely in mid table.

Steve Hasler took his unbeaten 4^th XI to Caterham for a home game against Alleyn & Honor Oak. The changing nature of the team under Hasler means that the unbeaten record thus far is even more impressive and it is going to be tough to maintain it throughout the season. However Hasler got things off to a good start by winning the toss and deciding to bowl. Early wickets were tough to come by and A&HO reached 100-2. However a minor collapse saw them 133-4, and then 157-9 from their allotted overs. A brilliant effort from the Addiscombe bowlers meant that the batsman only had to chase down at 4 runs per over. Particular mention has to go to Nathan Mascoll who collected 3-25, with Joe Henderson getting 2-17 and Stu Godfrey who weighed in with 2-31. In reply the A’s looked good enough for the win however consistently lost wickets and thus the scoring rate faltered. The scoring rate of just about 3 runs per over did not help and Hasler (31*) had to settle for seeing his side to a losing draw. It was however another week unbeaten and the bandwagon rolls on as the A’s still sit at the top of table, now by only a point.

Into Sunday and two sides were out for the A’s. The development side wrapped up a comfortable win against Cheam after bowling the opposition out for 125. All the bowlers chipped in but most impressive were Dan Lineker with 3-25 and Cephas Azariah with 2-3 (from 6 overs!). The score was comfortably with Steven Cox 39 not out and Jack Docherty hitting 64 not out. The A’s winning by 8 wickets and with really encouraging contributions from the youngsters.

The Sunday 2^nd XI took on Norwood away from home and Pete Cowlin risked the wrath of his players by fielding first. However good bowling throughout kept it tight and Norwood were restricted to 180-9 from their 40 overs. Dan Jones was particularly impressive with 3-21. The A’s lost steady wickets too until Cowlin (51*) and Hash Parera on his club debut (28) steadied the ship. Last minute wobbles meant that the target was chased down 9 wickets down but comfortably after only 32.3 overs.

Another great week for the A’s and let’s all hope it continues. The 1^st team take on Woking & Horsell away this week, the 2^nd XI are at home to Met Police, the 3^rd XI are away at Old Tiffinians and the 4^th XI are at home Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians. Sunday sees the Development side take on Newdigate at home whilst the Sunday 2^nd XI travel to Bec Old Boys.

Good luck for the weekend everyone and it would be good to see the clubhouse packed for the England game in the evening.