AFTER a series of narrow defeats Stoke Academy finally scored a win over Wimbledon by an emphatic eight wicket margin.

Unsure as to what to do, home skipper De Silva chose to bat first.

Toby Tarrant used his height from one end, Alex Bond had the chance to pitch the ball into the ridge from the other as both bowled incredibly consistent lines and only 26 runs came from the first 10 overs they shared.

Bond struck first when Andrews edged to Will Gudgeon at slip, Tarrant then castled first XI keeper-batsman Morris for just 16 as both batsmen were beaten outside the off stump repeatedly.

Croker and Whittaker dug in hoping for a release of pressure upon arrival of the change bowlers, but they were disappointed to find another set of accurate overs from Jake Lavender and Nick Embling.

At the mid-innings drinks break only 62 runs had been scored.

Six runs later both were back in the pavilion, both having scored 20, but taking 47 and 53 balls respectively to get there. Whittaker played on to Raimondo, then Croker cut Will Frost to Sonny Cott.

Frost found savage turn and bounce out of the ridge, and conceded just 13 runs from his allotted eight overs.

Raimondo bowled his usual mix to concede just 25 runs from seven.

Mention must be made here of Stoke keeper James Whitmarsh who showed great hand-eye co-ordination.

No byes on a pitch with such bounce was a remarkable effort.

With the rare bad ball being the only source of runs, Tarrant and Bond returned to resume their earlier stranglehold.

Bond was rewarded with wickets of Eaves, who burned 52 deliveries for his 24, and last season's nemesis Urquhart skied to Whitmarsh having hit 37.

Bond returned excellent figures of 3-27, Tarrant completed a good weekend with the ball and bowled much better than his figures of 1-32 suggested.

The innings closed on a half-way house position of 133-6. So with little scoreboard pressure and a deep batting line-up, the post-tea mission was simple: bat the overs and win the game comfortably.

Stoke lost Cott early, but Whitmarsh and number three Gudgeon cashed in on some erratic bowling at the other end to move the score quickly on to 41 before Whitmarsh, who had scored 18 of them, slapped a full toss from the same bowler to mid-off.

Andrews' figures of 2-20 stood out by a mile from the rest.

Gudgeon used his height and power advantage to the full.

He reached his first half-century of the season when he crashed a four from just the 48th ball faced.

Will Patrick provided solid support, making 29.

Gudgeon hit a second six shortly before the win was secured.

He was denied the winning hit when a wide was bowled with the scores level.

His unbeaten 63, made all the more special as it was made in front of his father, who was back in the UK for a brief visit, and his brother who was one of many Stoke supporters on hand to cheer the boys on to the win.

Stoke now join a posse of clubs behind table toppers Ashtead, but victory in the games in hand, starting with Burgess Park at the Rec next week, would go a long way towards potential qualification for the latter stages.