THIS was a relatively comfortable victory for the Stags as they surge forward in the promotion race.

On a good looking strip the Stags decided to bat but Gary Martin and Andrew Roberts were unable to build a good total as Roberts was caught by the keeper for one.

James Cameron was next in and was on the attack from the off, including two masterful sixes during his first few overs.

Spinner Andrew MacDonald (0-30) and medium-pace bowler Asif Ali (1-27), and although they got to rather a shaky start against Cameron, they became quite effective in limiting the run rate for the time being.

While Cameron charged at his end, Martin continued to keep his runs ticking over, and this was to prove vital later in the game as he gradually made a decent score for himself.

With further bowling changes bringing on two more spinners, Antonnel Atwell (0-28) and James Harding (6-57), Cameron further increased his attacking mentality.

This proved to be his undoing, for as he tried to hit another six but could only find the waiting hands of Atwell, going for 77.

At this stage Ashtead were looking for a huge score, howerver Harding caused chaos for the Stags.

After his first wicket, of Cameron, it took just three more overs to find his second. Gary Martin caught by Nav Chaudry for 49, was followed by soon after by Brendan O'Connell and Jamie Powell.

The score was 168-5 after 42 overs with eight overs left and 200 plus was certainly still a possibility.

The tail wagged and John Vaughan-Davies, and Marlon Cornelius in particular helped the total up to 223 all out

After the interval, the Stags started fast and attacked from the off. Cornelius (0-31) bowled just a single before he came off, leaving Cameron (1-14) and Vaughan-Davies (2-23) to start the Ashtead charge.

The Stags continued to press their advantage, and when the spin attack of Josh Pickering (2-15) and Brendan O'Connell (2-35) came on, further wickets tumbled.

Pickering was in fine form and his economical bowling was also, in part, down to tremendous fielding by the Ashtead players.

At 62-5, Purley looked dead and buried – but then the fight-back began.

A partnership of 20 between middle-order batsmen Lucas MacDonald, brother of bowler Andrew, and Adam Windley, recently finished at John Fisher school, well-renowned for producing talented players, saw a glimmer of hope for the home team.

Although the loss of MacDonald, lbw again as O'Connell claimed his first victim, was a body-blow, the glimmer became a spark when captain Adnan Saleem continued to pile on the runs for his team.

But all too soon, the Stags struck again as Windley was deposed, caught by Cameron while attempting an overly ambitious shot.

At 105-7, still needing 119 off just 19 overs, the game looked safe for Ashtead.

Yet Purley continued to fight, and Saleem was aided and abetted by Antonnel Atwell, the score rocketed.

As the boundaries continued to rise, the score reached 171-8 off 44 overs – Purley still needed 53 off six, but they were hitting up to 12 runs an over and Ashtead were in danger of losing a must-win game.

During this 50 partnership, Deighton, Cornelius, O'Connell and Pickering had all tried to get rid of the batsmen, but had as yet failed until a run out, from a lightning throw of James Cameron, saw Asif Ali gone for 24.

The last man, Andrew MacDonald, had to survive the five remaining overs, to give Purley any hope of the match.

But it was not be, as he hooked it into the hands of Marlon Cornelius off Tom Deighton for a duck.