BADSHOT Lea must have fancied their chances after dismissing Grayshott II for a modest 104 in their I’Anson Divison Two fixture.

A partnership blossomed between Andy Lang (34) and Robbie Judge (33). Despite the difficult conditions, Lang batted over an hour, while Judge clubbed anything loose to the boundary, including a huge six over midwicket.

At 79-2, a large total looked possible, but both went in quick succession and the father-son combination of Tim (5-23) and Ben (3-23) Gray cleaned up the rest with some excellent bowling.

Defending a low score, Grayshott went for all-out attack and Lang and Alex Marden had Badshot Lea 6-2 at tea, both openers caught in the slips. A decent partnership between Sam Dixon and Ben Gray was ended by Dylan Hood’s low catch at third slip and, next ball from Marden, Hood took a sensational one-handed catch in the same position.

Two wickets apiece for change-bowlers Dom Ford and Hood left the visitors on the brink at 67-8 and young Marden returned to bowl the last two batsmen to finish with 5-24 off 9.5 overs. Sam Dixon batted most of the innings for a defiant 19.

Pirbright easily beat Elstead in the clash of two sides relegated from the top division last season. Elstead elected to bat and once a match ball had been sourced by the umpires, Nathan Thomas gave the home side a quickfire start. But skipper Ian Milton struck twice in his second over and, bowling full and straight, proceeded to destroy the batting with 5-8 in seven overs. He and Rupert Howe reduced Elstead to 50-7 off 16 overs and only a late flourish by Mubarik Ahmed and Moisin gave the score a hint of respectability.

Chasing 88, Pirbright openers Awais Khan and James Thompson took their time against fine new-ball spells by Mubarik and Raliman. Spinner Feshan broke the stand at 36, but this only brought in Robbie Jones who, true to form, settled the issue with a boundary-strewn 42 not out. A ninth consecutive win for Pirbright who are streaking towards immediate promotion back to the top flight.

Frensham fielded a powerful 2nd XI against Shalford, but Tim Knight had to anchor the home team’s innings with 63 not out after Marc Callcutt had taken out the top order with a burst of 5-32 in nine overs. Jordan Frost came in at number 8 and his bold, counter-attacking 61, well supported by Hally Baldock, enabled Frensham to make an early declaration at 183-8 from 44 overs.

Shalford were equal to the challenge. Peter Unsworth and Kevin Rogers put on 60 for the first wicket and the top six all chipped in with useful scores. Bryan Winson took the helm with 52 not out and the visitors cruised to a six-wicket victory with nearly 12 overs to spare.

Harting opening bowlers Simon Kyte and Andy Wadey exploited helpful conditions to set up an easy win against Headley II. The uneven bounce made batting particularly difficult and the home team showed little stomach for the fight once both openers had gone for ducks. After a procession of batsmen, Headley were bundled out for 41 in 22 overs, with Kyte and Wadey bowling unchanged to take 5-20 and 5-21 respectively, supported by Tom O’Kelly who held five catches behind the stumps.

Rob Norris looked to finish the job quickly when Harting replied, but Dom Johnson caused some anxious moments with his consistent line and length and took all four wickets to fall, including three in four balls. However, Norris (22 not out) saw his side home in just nine overs.

Lowly Hindhead chose to bat first against high-flying Lurgashall and began brightly as Jack Hamilton took ten from the first over. But once the openers were dismissed, the host team struggled and only Matt Jeffs (22) played an innings of any note. Hindhead were dismissed for just 85 after 34.4 overs. The pick of Lurgashall’s strong attack were opener Ollie Pearce (11-5-16-3) and spinner Nathan Kemp (7.4-1-17-4).

Lurgashall were positive in reply and opener Lewis Hyde hit a number of aggressive shots before falling to Graham Cotton for 33. This sparked a mini collapse, with Matt Jeffs twice hitting the stumps and Cotton picking up another wicket. However, number 5 Oli Rose finished the match with a hard-hit 26 not out, Lurgashall winning by six wickets.

Fernhurst were again denied maximum points after running up a large total. Put in at The Bourne, Fernhurst built on a good start by Leon Fourie (41) and Mike Allen. Matt Du Gay and Andy Rooke then got amongst the wickets, but Ashley Holloway (34), Steve Tytler (27) and Josh Allen (38) shored up the innings and the visitors finished 212 all out after 42 overs.

The Bourne’s innings followed a similar pattern, with Andy Bowden making 54 at the top of the order and then Simon Clyde (37 not out) and Dhilip Lessly (38) batting well to get their side out of trouble.

After some late wickets for Holloway and Baxendale, The Bourne finished on 188-8.