Ashford beat Spencer by 3 wickets

Spencer 128 (Victoria Cruickshank 61, Hannah Merchant 8-2-31-3)
Ashford 129-7 (Rhianna Southby 46, Victoria Cruickshank 8-2-11-2)

The top of the table clash at Spencer produced a thrilling game in which fortunes turned first one way, then the other, leaving the spectators on the edge of their seats right up to the end. Despite missing several key players, Ashford’s confidence was running high, as the team sought to break the Club record for consecutive victories, and they got off to the perfect start. Fourteen year old Alex Travers was making her Ashford debut, starting the innings behind the stumps, and took a brilliant low catch to give Hannah Merchant a wicket with her first ball. Jenny Tippell was next to strike, an edge finding the safe hands of Yolandi Maynier at slip, and when Merchant hit the stumps in the 8th over, Spencer were 21-3. Elize Brown came into the attack and bowled beautifully, picking up two more wickets thanks to outstanding catches by her team mates. The first went to the right of Maynier at backward point, and diving one handed she held on to the ball. The next was struck hard through the covers, but Rhianna Southby flung herself forward, managing to get her hands under the ball and cling on. Spencer were now 32-5, and it looked as if Ashford were well on the way to restricting them to a very modest score. The two Browns, Elize and Katie, bowled the middle overs in tandem, and piled more pressure on Spencer by restricting their scoring. Between them, they conceded only 29 runs off their 16 overs, well supported by good fielding, especially from Kirsty Hull, playing her first game of the year. The Spencer bats were patient, however, and Victoria Cruickshank and Rachel Wilson began to put together a partnership, finding the gaps in the field, and running well together. As they got the score close to 100 it looked as if Ashford had let them off the hook, but finally they managed to break the partnership, now worth 64, when Wilson was run out, thanks to an excellent throw from Travers in the deep. She had passed the gloves to Southby at the half way mark, and in the same over, Southby had the bails off in a flash for a stumping, to give Katie Brown a well deserved wicket, and put Ashford back on track. This, however, was Cruickshank’s cue to start hitting out, and she found the boundary with ease, scoring 24 off her last twelve deliveries, before being bowled by Merchant for a fine 61. The remaining Spencer bats could not match her scoring, but defended their wickets well, with Ashford desperate to take the remaining two to score maximum bowling points. With one ball to go, Elize Brown got the reward for her excellent fielding with a run out, to secure the ninth wicket. The new bat then had a swing at the last ball, from Maynier, and Travers took a great catch on the run to complete the innings.

Opening with a new partnership of Rhianna Southby and Elize Brown, Ashford were quick out of the blocks, Southby in particular taking the attack to the bowlers. She played some beautiful shots all round the wicket to get her side off to a great start, and was only four short of another fifty when she was caught behind with the score on 71, the job more than half done, and Brown looking secure on 20. However, two overs later it was 71-3, and two new bats at the crease, Jenny Tippell and Hannah Merchant. They took their time, taking care with the bowling, and managed to get the score moving again, but when both of them fell in the space of a couple of overs, it looked like Ashford might be in trouble. Young Alex Travers had gone in at number six, and looked solid in her defence as she sized up the bowling. With Yolandi Maynier, she got the score up to 110, but then two more wickets fell in quick succession. With only three wickets left, and another 17 runs required, Ali McCreedy joined Travers. Spencer were scenting an unlikely victory now, and went on the attack, with fielders all round the bat, but Travers was not fazed by it at all, and continued to play her shots. Despite some superb stops in the field, the pair managed to work the ball through, and ran well, gradually getting closer and closer to their target. A boundary from Travers finally got them across the line with two overs to spare, leaving her undefeated on 28, and extending Ashford’s winning run to ten matches, a new Club record.

Next Sunday will be another tough game as Ashford take on local rivals Shepperton at Short Lane, both sides challenging for promotion to the Championship.

Alison McCreedy