HASLEMERE, after five straight wins in the Surrey Championship Division Five, came within one wicket of losing their unbeaten record on Saturday.

Kempton, always tough opponents, fought their way to 138 all out in 53 overs and then put a stranglehold on the home batsmen.

After 50 overs, Haslemere had crawled to 66-9 and salvaged five points to Kempton’s seven.

Conditions clearly favoured bowlers at the Rec. Between them, Simon Eastment and Sam Williams yielded just 34 runs in 23 overs, while Chris Spooner had the most success, taking 4-51 in 14 overs.

Kempton showed gritty application, skipper Andy Ward leading the way with 40, and their eventual total proved to be more than competitive, especially after Ellis and Joel Miah had reduced Haslemere to an alarming 3-4.

Williams and Pederick stopped the rot and with victory out of the question, Alex Hooker (16 not out) and Pete Dudley also dug in.

It was a laborious backs-to-the-wall struggle, but Hooker and captain Leigh Thayre eventually saw out time. Haslemere still undefeated, but they drop to second behind Chertsey.