DORKING travel to Stoke D'Abernon on Saturday with the two sides still in the promotion hunt at the halfway point of the Surrey Championship Division Five season.

It is the visitors who harbour the more realistic ambitions of division four cricket next summer, but with things so close in the table, a win for Stoke could push them back into contention.

Dorking sit in fifth place with their hosts on Saturday one spot, but 12 points, behind.

League leaders Addiscombe already have one hand on the title, with a points advantage of 33 over second placed Chipstead, Coulsdon & Walcountians. However, from second spot down things are a lot tighter with just 20 points separating CCW and Stoke in sixth.

With 13 points for a win and nine games of the summer to go, there is still much to play for. Indeed, had it not been for the smallest of margins over the past two weeks Dorking would already be sitting comfortably in the second promotion position, much to the annoyance of captain Graham Dymond.

"It's been really frustrating, but for a couple of wickets the week before against Chertsey and a couple of runs on Saturday against Thames Ditton we would be well clear in second place," he said.

The match with Thames Ditton was a real thriller. With 17 needed for victory in the last over, Francis Chadwick smashed the first four balls for four to leave just one required. However, some good fielding saw Chadwick run out on the last ball of the match with the scores tied.

It is those kind of margins that can be crucial at the end of the summer, but Dymond is still confident his side can fulfil their promotion target.

"We're in a good position and we're very much in the hunt," he said. "We're playing good cricket at the moment and go to Stoke in confident mood.

"The game gives us a chance to put some real distance between them and us. As I said a few weeks back, it's these sort of games that we should be winning comfortably if we're serious about promotion."

While struggling slightly with life in the Championship, following their rise from the Fullers League last summer, Stoke have picked up some encouraging results this season.

And a win over third placed Staines & Laleham last weekend gives them the perfect fillip going into the clash with Dorking.

"We're now halfway through our first ever season in the Surrey Championship, and while we've won fewer matches than we'd hoped, we are certainly not out of our depth and have been competitive every week," said Stoke seamer Ralph Coleman.

"As the table stands, it would take a huge effort to catch runaway leaders Addiscombe, but with the other sides around the promotion places failing to put a run together, things can change very quickly in a 10 team division, and we're confident that when we play our best cricket, we are more than a match for anyone.

"The match against Dorking is, like all the matches we play, one we are keen to win. Although we have other clubs nearer our doorstep, this is the closest that we will get to a derby this season, and any extra spice to get the boys even more up for it than they already are can only be a good thing."

The game starts at Stoke's Recreation Ground at 1pm.