Hat -tricks on the Menu

Claygate 206 all out
Newdigate 186 all out.
Claygate win by 20 runs.

Sixteen-year-old pace bowler Tom McKinley was the toast of Claygate on Saturday as he produced a match-winning hat-trick to beat Surrey Downs League leaders Newdigate.

The youngster struck with a trio of  classic yorker-length deliveries to mop up Newdigate's last three wickets in a dramatic final scene at Dalmore Avenue.

Earlier Claygate had totalled 206 with Nuwan Jayasena hitting a half century,  Matt Weston 43 and Chris Howe 32.

It did not look enough when Matt Ross, arguably the top batsman in the league, was dropped twice on his way to an innings of 66.

But with Mark O'Connell, Jayasena and stand-in skipper Ben Lane all producing impressive spells,  Claygate gradually took control.

Newdigate still had a squeak with 20 needed and three wickets remaining - until McKinley produced that sensational hat-trick to give Claygate victory.

The Saturday second team secured a  winning draw from their game at Newdigate, with skipper James McPhail smashing  a rapid 54 in a total of 235 for six declared.

Russ Guyatt was back on song with 52 , supported by Murphy's 43 and Salmon's 46 not out.

Newdigate were well placed to win on 150 for one, but were pegged back by a miserly spell from the metronomic Aussie Justin Hannaford, whose ten overs cost just 17 runs.

Even more impressive was Dave Price's magnificent bowling for the Sunday first team.  He did not concede a run in his first six overs and finished with four for 16 from 13 overs in the draw at Horley.

But Claygate , who had totalled 192 for 9 with Chris Howe bludgeoning 42 and Henry Vincent 33,  lost their chance of forcing a win with  dropped catches in the last hour.

Claygate's weekend ended as it began with another hat-trick - this time for popular  veteran Andy Spector, who returned handsome figures of 5 for 47 in  the Sunday second team's 23-run win over Parkhill.

Ex-skipper Marshall Nicholls marked his comeback season  with a memory-jogging 35 and Jake Dear hit 33 in Claygate's 183 all out.

Claygate's improving colts side beat Avorians with skipper Charlie Briegel making an outstanding 25 and Patrick Conway hammering 32 not out as well as effecting two run-outs with direct hits. 

ENDS