Surrey Championship

Division Five

Croydon Municipal Officers 125

Stoke D'Abernon 68

A COMPREHENSIVE 57 run defeat against Croydon Municipal Officers leaves Stoke D'Abernon still needing a result to ensure Surrey Championship status for 2010.

Earlier in the season, Stoke successfully chased 270 against the same opposition, but were unable to pass the home side's moderate total of 125 all out.

Credit to the Stoke bowlers who put in a fine performance after Andy Page won the toss. Tim Handel bowled a good line to the openers, and his good work allowed Tom Gudgeon to take the first wicket, Ali mis-pulling and James Whitmarsh made good ground from behind the timbers to take a fine catch.

Hussain and Khan moved the score to 60, but Ralph Coleman accounted for the latter, bowled off the inside edge for 16, and next man Shah who fended off a delivery that spat off the suspect surface to Hiken Shah at gully.

Coleman returned figures of 2-21 from seven overs, and the returning Gudgeon took a second wicket before the drinks interval to leave Croydon 86-4 at the half-way mark.

The introduction of spin after the drinks break put Stoke firmly in the driving seat. Ian Hopton trapped opener Hussain leg before for 41, and in the same over Khan was bowled with a peach.

Shani dug in, but ran out partners quickly as the 35th over from Hopton yielded three wickets.

A last wicket stand of 22 delayed matters, Shani moving to 35 before falling leg-before to the returning Shah. Hopton returned career best figures of 4-26 from eight overs, Gudgeon 2-44 from his allotted 10.

With 50 overs at Stoke's disposal, the home side simply had to take wickets to force a result and chose to bowl out their leading bowlers Butt and Sharif.

Hopton and Gresse fought hard on the deteriorating surface and posted an opening stand of 25 before Gresse spooned a return catch to Butt. Then four runs later Hopton (10) steered a rising delivery from Sharif to Ali at slip.

This brought Shah to the crease, but after an imperious boundary through the covers, he fell to a quite appalling leg before decision off the bowling of Sharif, a fate that also befell Raimondo in his next over. Incredibly Will Gudgeon departed the same way in the next over to the disbelief of the spectators.

But that was not all. The Shah and Raimondo wickets were sandwiched by the dismissal of Handel for eight, and Stoke were reeling on 43-6.

Tom Frost hooked paceman Butt for four, but was cleaned up later in the same over, leaving Whitmarsh and Page to see off the remainder of the openers' 10 over spells.

In an attempt to move the fielders, Page was caught at the wicket off change bowler Shah and despite Whitmarsh and Tom Gudgeon each hitting splendid cover drives to the fence, both fell within the space of two runs as Stoke's misery was completed with the total on 68.

Whitmarsh top scored with 12 and bravely continued after suffering a nasty blow to the hand.

Stoke will hope for better fortune when they entertain Chipstead on Saturday, whose win over Chertsey keeps them very much in the promotion picture.