Surrey Championship

Division Three

Bank of England 267-6

Warlingham 237-7

WARLINGHAM put in a better performance but Bank of England run out easy winners in this match on a true Roehampton pitch with a fast outfield.

War's preparations were disrupted by the late withdrawal of all-rounder Shane Patel as a result of illness that meant their bowling attack was limited to left-arm seamer Dan Chrystie and four spinners.

Mahesh Amin opened with Chrystie and although Amin had an early success, trapping Lawrence leg before, Oliver Dunthorne and Jon Relleen made steady progress and with few alarms except for some curious running between the wickets.

Eventually Relleen was run out as had been threatened for some time and the hosts were 120-2 after the 29th over.

Damon Ridgeway then joined Dunthorne and added 73 in 11 overs in a partnership that did much to take the game away from Warlingham.

Ridgeway was well on the boundary by Andrew McNamee but Elliott Hannah with 22 from 16 balls and Tim Hoolahan with 16 from 11 balls helped Dunthorne, who finished on 109 not out, to post an imposing total of 267-6 in the allotted 50 overs.

In reply Warlingham began well enough although Nigel Field was run out for 15, but Alex Pizzey again looked in great form.

Dilpesh Amin was caught trying to force the pace and was replaced by Nishan Naidoo who looked anything but in great form.

Pizzey drove with real power and finesse and pulled two huge sixes but was caught on 46 in the 27th over.

At this point the relative scores were similar, but whereas the Bank's middle order accelerated the run-rate, Naidoo and McNamee could not get the accurate bowling away consistently enough.

Their partnership eventually reached 48 when McNamee was caught and bowled by Dunthorne for 20, and in strode Ian Pizzey, the late replacement for Shane Patel.

Although at this stage 116 were needed from under eleven overs, he soon set about hitting the bowlers to all parts of the ground.

Naidoo, by now gaining some fluency, joined in but the pair could not quite maintain the hectic rate required.

Nevertheless, 53 were added in twenty minutes before Naidoo was out for 45, leaving Pizzey and Wes Lind the small mater of 63 in four overs.

Lind connected well but found the boundary fielders but Pizzey kept smiting mightily, making the home team grateful, and his skipper rueful, that he had not come in earlier.

He fell in the final over for 44 from 35 balls and Warlingham ended on 237-7, much closer than had seemed likely, but never really threatening to pull off the win they so-desperately needed.

In the Surrey Championship second XI division two Warlingham made just 75 as they were thrashed by the Bank of England (78-5).

Only Will Kelly (13) made double figures.

Matt Cannon was the chief destroyer with 5-26. David Andrews took three wickets for the home team confirming himself as the club's second leading wicket-taker this season, but the Bank still got home comfortably in 16.5 overs.