Ashford lose to Chertsey by 9 runs

Chertsey 131-8 (May Pender-Greib 26*, Gayatri Sunkersett 4-0-12-3)
Ashford 122-3 (Lakeesha Walia 52*, May Pender-Greib 6-1-22-2)

The sunshine of last Sunday was still at Short Lane this week, but this time the infamous Ashford wind was back with a vengeance. Always a problem for bowlers, the wind was so strong this week it even made it difficult for the batters trying to hold their stance in the crease. Despite the difficult conditions, the two sides produced a close game, a good old fashioned friendly played in a good spirit, which gave everyone the chance to get involved.

Winning the toss once again, Ashford Skipper Jenny Tippell asked the opposition to bat first, and with her regular wicket keeper missing, she swapped her bowling boots for a day behind the stumps. Using her bowlers in short spells of two overs gave her the chance to let some of the newer players have a go, and they didn’t disappoint. In her first over, Gayatri Sunkersett clean bowled Chertsey’s opener for her maiden wicket, and to say she was pleased would be a bit of an understatement! Her next over was even better, with two more wickets, and with Tippell showing her all round skills to take the faintest of edges off Ali McCreedy, Chertsey were in trouble at 22-4. They slowly began to rebuild, and had added thirty more before Lakeesha Walia did a good job to take a high catch off Gill Bonham, judging the ball well in the swirling breeze. Amy Evans got a rare chance to show what she could do with the ball, and it didn’t take her long to hit the stumps and open her wicket account for Ashford. Fourteen year old Krishna Rathod, in just her second game, had struggled a bit with her run up in her first spell. However, she put all that behind her, coming back for two more overs, and also getting on the board with her first wicket. Elize Brown was not to be left out of the wickets, and at 80-8 after 19 overs, it looked likely that the visitors wouldn’t reach three figures. Their numbers nine and ten had different ideas, though, and continued playing confident shots, May Pender-Greib especially strong on the leg side. Ashford fielded well throughout, Kathryn Ringshaw, Charmers Greig and Mary O’Farrell (borrowed from Chertsey, as Ashford were a player short) cutting off many more runs, but they couldn’t stop the last pair adding an unbroken partnership of 51 for the ninth wicket.

Chasing 132 for victory, Ashford opened with the experienced Gill Bonham and fifteen year old Lakeesha Walia. They found it hard going, with no sign of the wind dropping, some good fielding, and the bowlers struggling to find consistency. Bonham was adjudged lbw in the 10th over, with the score on 26, which brought Ali McCreedy out to join Walia. Slowly they began to get to grips with the conditions, and after a few hiccups, ran well together to make the most of byes and wides. Their partnership of 52 came in just nine overs, when McCreedy was out lbw, bringing Krishna Rathod to the crease for her first senior innings. She soon had her first runs under her belt, but the responsibility was now with Walia who found herself as the senior partner. She showed great maturity, trying to keep the scoreboard moving and give her side a chance. Rathod was bowled with 38 runs still needed from just under five overs, and Kathryn Ringshaw took the attack straight to the bowlers with a few big shots. Chertsey, however, sensed their chance and weren’t about to give up. Their spirit was demonstrated when one of their fielders took a ball in the face in the last over, but refused to leave her team mates to go off for treatment. They held their nerve for the last few balls to deny Ashford by 9 runs, and secure their first ever win as a senior team.

The Chertsey celebrations of their first win will have lasted, deservedly, long into the evening, but it was a successful day for both sides, with several Ashford players stepping up with personal best figures. Gayatri Sunkersett’s bowling shows great promise, but the star of the day has to be Lakeesha Walia who knuckled down in horrible conditions, batting with great patience for what will surely be the first of many significant scores.