Double win for Claygate

A double win for the two Claygate League teams kept them both in a good position to stay in the top half of their respective divisions and therefore places in the higher divisions of the new league structure for the 2006 season.

To maximize the chance of victory, Claygate 1 st XI stand-in skipper Ben Lane put Ockley in at Dalmore Avenue. Good bowling from Tom McKinley (4-32), Ben Lane (3-31) and Chris Howe (1-34) restricted Ockley to 179 all out. Matt Weston continued his remarkable run with 54, passing 500 league runs for the season, well supported by opening partner Lance Mayer (43), Jamie Henderson (43 not) and Damian Ross (19 not out) as Claygate raced home to win by 7 wickets with more than 10 overs to spare.

With inclement weather around Claygate 2 nd XI captain, James McPhail also opted to field first at Ockley. This looked an inspired decision as Ockley slipped to 11 for 5 with superb opening spells from Justin Hannaford and Chris Lewis. But the support bowlers lacked penetration and Ockley’s 6 th wicket pair added 87 before the opening bowlers returned to finish the Ockley innings on 120 all out in the 48 th over. Hannaford finished with 4/28 and Lewis, in his debut season at Claygate, 6/26 off 14.2 overs. Claygate lost two early wickets but Rufus Legg (34 not out) and Russ Guyatt (29) steadied the innings with a laboured 66 run partnership on a dry and dusty pitch before Alan McKinley blitzed 32 not out of the last 39 runs to earn a 7-wicket victory with 10 overs to spare.