Horley Cricket Club five points behind leaders as they carry on good form

With four games left in the Surrey County League Premier Division season, Horley looked to carry on their recent good run of form against Newdigate and keep pressure on London Gymkhana at the top of the table.
Horley under 13sHorley under 13s
Horley under 13s

They did just that, with a 28-run win, and remain second in the table, five points behind Gymkhana and one ahead of third-placed Battersea Ironsides.

Newdigate elected to bowl first. Horley struggled to find any momentum early on in their innings, so were 55-3 after 20 overs, due to some excellent bowling and fielding from a strong Newdigate side.

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Nathan Baily played a pivotal role in getting the team up to a defendable score after battling to make 57. After he lost his wicket in the 35th over, with the score at 116-5, Ant Puttick (32*), Ross Nel (24) and Richard Waddington (16*) scored some crucial and quick lower order runs to take Horley to 186-6 from their 45 overs. The wickets were shared evenly amongst the Newdigate bowlers.

Newdigate also found it difficult at the start of the innings thanks to some fine bowling and fielding from the in-form Horley.

At 38-3 after 16 overs, they were crying out for a partnership. This came in the form of Scott Dunkerly (32) and Tinoi Christie (51).

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As Horley began to crank up the pressure, they both needed to take a few chances to catch up with the required run rate and this led to them both losing their wickets.

By the 40th over, Newdigate were 130-6 requiring another 57 to win off the final five overs. Excellent spells from Ben Davies (4-35) and Aryan Patel (2-33) at the death left Newdigate 28 runs short. Matt Gainford took 2-27 and Charlie Robins 1-18.

Horley travel to Chaldon on Saturday in hope of continuing their challenge for promotion.

Horley 2nd XI fell eight runs short in a tense Surrey County League 2nd XI Premier Division match at Woodmansterne, but remain one place and 15 points above the relegation zone, as both teams below them also lost.

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Woodmansterne, who are third in the table, were put in by Horley and tight opening bowling spells from Chris Cosham and Matt Puttick, plus more of the same from Jonathan Barnett and Ben Stewart meant the hosts were only on 50-3 after 22 overs.

They then accelerated, finishing on 141-7 after 45 overs. Stewart took 2-13 in a terrific six overs, Puttick was also excellent, taking 2-22 from nine overs, while Trevor Stevens took 2-24 from seven and skipper Darren Croft picked up the other wicket. There were good catches from Luke Smith, Barnett, Puttick and two behind the stumps from Andrew Thomas, but four or five chances were spilled.

Horley only needed 3.1 per over to secure a much-needed win and opener Thomas set them up well with 36 from 56 balls, including five fours.

At the mid point, they were on 69-2 but then lost four wickets in quick succession. Fifteen-year-old Stewart then backed up his excellent bowling by taking charge of the run chase and made a fine 43, hitting six fours but taking his time to minimise the risk of dismissal as his partners came and went.

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Horley needed 30 from the last six overs but couldn’t quite get there, with Stewart the last man out with three balls to go and the score on 133.

Horley Hackers were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Sussex Slam, losing to Slinfold by 23 runs.

The match was played at Horsham Cricket Club and Slinfold elected to bat, making 141-7 from 20 overs. Chris Cosham took 3-18 from his four overs for Horley, Charlie Robins 2-22, and Matt Gainsford and Guy Derham picked up a wicket each.

Derham was run out early in Horley’s reply, but Anthony Puttick and Jordan Robins put on 50 for the second wicket, then Puttick and Nathan Baily made a further 40 together after Jordan Robins was caught for 29 off 28 balls.

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When Puttick was bowled for 42 in the 14th over, Horley were still in the hunt. However, four wickets then fell for 15 runs and only Baily (16) made double figures among the last eight batters. Horley ended up on 118-9 and their dream of a place in the final at Hove will have to wait another year.

Horley Development XI are all but certain of a place in the knockout stages of the Surrey Trust League Tier Two after beating Dorking by seven wickets in their latest group match.

Dorking elected to bat but were dismissed for 126 in 29.5 overs.

Luke Smith bowled an excellent spell, taking two wickets in two balls in his second over and ending up with 3-16 from four overs. Jonathan Barnett took 3-35 and Matt Gainsford, Aryan Patel and Alex Field took a wicket each, the latter from an excellent catch by keeper Harry Grimwood, who also did well to secure a runout.

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Horley’s reply featured some early fireworks from George Hyde, who made 26 in 25 balls, including three sixes, one clearing the trees on the edge of the ground.

His opening partner Udith Molanguri batted beautifully to make 48 (five fours) before running himself out. Horley were on 117-3 when he fell and got to 130 in the 23rd over with a four from Ben Stewart.

After a week’s campaign in the Sussex Festival, Horley Under-13s became only the second team in the club’s history to reach the Bowl final. Having beaten quality teams from Three Bridges, Lingfield and Horsham to reach the final, they were unfortunately defeated by a formidable Brighton and Hove side.

Horley were put in to bat and faced an excellent bowling attack. There were good innings from Khyan Patel (22, including two fours), Ollie Millard (13, two fours) and Dan Sired, who returned after retiring hurt and made 16, including four fours, but the regular fall of wickets meant Horley posted a low total of 104 all out from 30.5 overs.

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That score proved to be insufficient against Brighton’s batsmen, who reached 108-2 in 21.5 overs.

Horley bowled and fielded very well, building on their success during the Festival week. Again, Khyan Patel’s spin bowling proved a challenge for Brighton and Hove, fast bowler Sam Terry bowled with greatest economy, but it was Alex Mutton from Horley’s Under-12s who got the two wickets, with a catch by Ollie Millard and a caught behind by courageous wicketkeeper Hrishi Patel.

Khyan Patel received the Horley player of the match award for his excellent batting and bowling during the final and throughout the week.

The Festival was a brilliant experience for the under-13s and something to build on as they head to Surrey’s Tier Two Cup Final at the end of the month.

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After a two-week break since their last game, Horley 3rd XI ventured to Epsom Methodist, where they were invited to field first.

Horley's bowlers started well, Chirag Patel (3-29) bowling tight lines while Joey Wildman (4-25) took a wicket with the first ball of the second over.

Dave Bunn was exceptionally economical going for only one run off three overs. All the change bowlers bowled well, with Steve Madden and Ryan Bunn taking superb boundary catches off each other's bowling, while Dirk Douglas kept it very tight behind the stumps.

The last three balls of Epsom's innings would see the sequence bowled, bowled, and a long pause for a considered lbw decision as Wildman picked up his first hat-trick for Horley.

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Epsom Methodist posted a challenging 145, with Matt Yelland the pick of their batsmen, making a useful 68.

Horley's chase mirrored Epsom's start and some steady, positive batting kept them up with the run rate to the halfway point.

Ryan Bunn fell for a very good 31 and Danny Patel posted a useful 25, with others chipping in, but some disastrous running between the wickets and good bowling put the pressure on Horley.

Chirag Patel was left stranded on 19 not out when the last wicket fell to a superb catch close in and Epsom won by 30 runs with five overs to spare.

Skipper Wildman paid tribute to the under-13s who played, with all of them contributing well.

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