Claygate do the double!
Claygate secured both the first and third division championships of the Surrey Downs league with double success on the last day of the league season!
Already leading Division 1, the 1st XI successfully achieved the 7 points required to win the title at South Nutfield.
Fielding first after losing the toss, Claygate’s bowling looked tired and South Nutfield raced to 62 for no loss after 11 overs. The introduction of Luke Webb (1-25) and Nuwan Jayasena (3-36 ) put the brakes on and Scott Kanther then took a well judged tumbling catch at long-off to dismiss danger man Brown (35). Wijesekera and Prabhakar further dried up the runs as the innings progressed to 139 for 4 after 34 overs when Duncan Murphy (3-25) polished off the tail to leave Claygate a target of 205 from 43 overs.
Opener Sanjeewa Wijetunge (80 with 15 fours and 1 six) anchored the Claygate innings in three substantial stands with Lance Mayer (27), Scott Kanther (16) and Chris Howe (29) before being dismissed to leave Claygate at 165 for 4 from 25 overs. Jayasena and Wijesekera knocked off the balance to end the season on a winning note which brought Claygate the league title.
In Division 3, and already assured of promotion, Claygate‘s 2nd XI had to win their final match to make sure of first place. Tadworth won the toss and put Claygate in to bat at Dalmore Avenue which meant that Claygate would have to take all 10 Tadworth wickets later in the day to win the game. But it was the batting that didn't go smoothly early on, as Claygate found themselves teetering at 43 for 4, but a sensible partnership of 131 between veterans Damian Ross (91) and Russ Guyatt (60) steadied the ship and laid a platform for quick runs at the end. The final total of 239 represented an excellent recovery.
In reply, Henry Vincent took a wicket in the first over of the innings and Claygate rarely had to wait long for another wicket to fall as Justin Hannaford (2 for 23), Seb Huff (4 for 11) and Henry Vincent (3 for 22) ran through the batting line up with 8 of the 10 dismissals "bowled" as Tadworth were all out for 86.
A great season for a side that had come so close to winning the division in the previous two seasons. The league double was celebrated with an end of season curry at the clubhouse later in the evening. Well done to both sides for an excellent season.
