FOUR matches went ahead in I’Anson Division Two and there were some surprise results, with top side Pirbright going down at Fernhurst and second-placed Lurgashall losing to Harting in a high-scoring thriller.

Fernhurst did everything they could to get the game going. Covers were on from Thursday night, the groundsman worked tirelessly, and all the hard work paid off as Fernhurst brought down the leaders.

Tristan Rissik inserted Pirbright and things could not have started any better as Bruce Baxendale struck with the second ball of the match. Baxendale and Leon Fourie both bowled excellent opening spells, but it was first-change James Bristow who inflicted most damage. Swinging the ball both ways, he picked up 5-9 in 10.3 destructive overs. Rupert Howe put up some resistance, but Pirbright’s formidable line-up were dismissed for just 74 in 36.3 overs.

Mike Allen and Ashley Holloway gave Fernhurst a decent start, but the tension rose with the fall of three quick wickets. Fourie steadied his side and with staunch support from Bristow, saw Fernhurst to a resounding seven-wicket victory in 22.1 overs. Fourie, having a fine match, finished 36 not out.

Opener Aaron Carter scored a superb century for Lurgashall, but Simon Kyte’s 96 not out engineered an exciting one-wicket victory for Harting.

Lurgashall have their sights on promotion and skipper Carter (101 not out) declared straight after he had reached three figures, having received excellent support from Dan Bolton (39), Darren Hodd (33) and Ben Homeswood (20 not out). The home side, 13-2 at one stage, raced to 217-4 in 39 overs.

Rob Norris, in turn, played a captain’s innings at the top of the order for Harting, but when he was bowled by Hodd for 60, Lurgashall looked to have the upper hand.

Kyte and the solid Terry Wadey (24) kept their side in contention, with the former playing a match-winning innings. A late flurry of wickets to Dom Grove and Hodd kept the result in the balance before Kyte and last man Andy Stubbington saw Harting to a dramatic victory in the 44th over.

Hindhead’s relegation plight grew worse as they lost away to Grayshott II in a match reduced to 78 overs. Mark Babb made the positive decision to bat first and good contributions down the order ensured that the visitors used all the available 42 overs. Joe Harrison, Darren Carter, Matt Jeffs, Ali McGregor and Ben Thorne were unable to turn decent scores into a major innings, however, and ‘Extras’ top-scored with 31in a total of 170-6. Andy Lang, playing alongside dad Allan, took 4-54 and Dom Ford bowled an excellent spell without having any luck.

Early wickets for Jeffs and Harry Stokes kept Hindhead in contention, but then Rob Ward (47) and Ben Burrage (42) shared a crucial partnership, albeit helped by a number of dropped catches. Pradeep Gore caused a mini collapse, but skipper Paul Marden (29 not out) and Ford remained calm and completed a good win with an over to spare.

Badshot Lea picked up five valuable points from their draw against The Bourne. Put in to bat, Lea soon lost their openers to Matt Du Gay and Andy Rooke, but Max Morris (47) and Raziq Khan (30) got the score moving, paving the way for Tim Gray to play one of his quickfire innings.

Gray unleashed five sixes and seven fours and sprinted to 73 before giving Mark Budd a return catch. Asif Mehmood gave spirited support and Badshot Lea declared on 192-5 from 41 overs.

The Bourne received 41 overs back in the rain-reduced game and never looked like being bowled out. Matt Bent’s accuracy (14 overs for 29 runs) put them behind the clock, but the top four, particularly Nick Farr (53), did enough to make the game safe. The visitors finished on 157-6.

Cancelled: Frensham II v Elstead; Shalford v Headley II.