AFTER four weeks of ‘coming second’ against the I’Anson Division One big guns, Pirbright broke their duck by beating fellow promoted side Lurgashall, thanks to a captain’s innings by Ian Milton.

He was no doubt relieved to bowl first on a damp track and after Aman Khan had struck in the first over, Milton got amongst the wickets himself. Lurgashall managed only 31 runs in the first 18 overs, with Dean Burditt and Ryland Kelly also bowling well, but Alex Wadey (30) and the lower order battled back. Over 70 runs came from the last 10 overs and Lurgashall reached a competitive 166 (Dom Grove 20 not out).

Jonathan Swinney batted with assurance and he and young Bailey Milton seemed to have things under control for Lurgashall with their third-wicket stand.

But then 70-3 became 110-7 as Darren Hodd (4-26) and Drew Clark tore into the batting and with 57 runs still required, the game was in the balance.

Ian Milton, passing his son on his way back, immediately found the middle of the bat and boundaries flowed while further wickets fell until nine were down in the 43rd over, with Pirbright needing 10 runs for victory.

The captain took a positive approach and knocked off the remaining runs with an over to spare to finish 40 not out. Disappointment for Lurgashall, but it had been a great game of cricket.

Headley, after back-to-back wins, lost a hard-fought local derby at Grayshott by 18 runs. Stuart Kennedy’s side were inserted on a moist track and openers Andy Wheble and Gary Hunt did well to grind out 45 runs before Matt Hall trapped both in front. The top order all got starts, but none could go past 21, and when Robbie Judge was caught off Graham Badland, Grayshott were 115-5 and in danger of collapsing. Cameron Clarke had other ideas and struck the ball cleanly for a vital 46 before falling to Hall (4-27) and Grayshott posted a challenging 174-9.

Stuart Smith made a solid 30 for Headley before falling to the new-found off-spin of Judge and when he also accounted for George Ellis, Headley were teetering at 63-4. Charlie Corbett, supported first by Gavin Arend and then Callum Hawtin, brought the visitors right back into it and although Corbett was seventh man out for 48, all three results were possible with five overs to go.

Danny Brown had ramped up the pressure with nine miserly overs and now Mark Richards returned to blast out the tail, twice wrecking the stumps. Grayshott had notched up their fourth win in five games.

Grayswood emphasised their title potential this season by crushing Puttenham. The champions were missing Sohail Awan and their skipper, Aks Ilyas. The latter was apparently carrying an injury, but still managed to score an unbeaten 89 and bowl nine wickets for the 2nd XI.

Puttenham won the toss and with the ball tending to stop on a soft pitch, ‘Sid’ Ahmed and James Crouch promptly reduced Grayswood to 25-3 and then Imran Khan (4-27) removed Andy Major with only one more run added.

Opener Tom Barnado and skipper Alastair Gloak then steered the visitors out of trouble with a superb stand of 117. Gloak was at his best with 85 off 101 balls (nine 4s, three 6s) and Grayswood’s 191-9 looked more than a decent total in the conditions.

So it proved, although Puttenham’s collapse, with a strong batting side despite the absentees, was still unexpected. Iain Jackson and Andy Gloak – perhaps miffed at being put in number 11 by his brother – immediately put the batsmen under pressure. Rhys Dodson picked up two key wickets and three run-outs hardly helped the cause. Spinner Jon Ashworth weaved his magic by taking 3-7 in nine overs and Puttenham were bundled out for 81 in 35 overs.

Chiddingfold, asked to bat on a green track at Frensham, recovered well after Jordan Frost and Nick Green had reduced them to 7-3. Paul Harrison, formerly of Leicestershire, came in at number 5 and made batting look easy with a classy 93, while the returning Richard Day hit a swift 36 at the other end.

Harrison was seven short of his century when, like many a good batsman before him, he was dismissed by Ray Clarke who conceded just 19 runs from nine teasing overs. Sam Farncombe picked up 3-31 and the visitors were all out for 182.

George Breddy and Sam Charman gave Frensham the start they needed in bowler-friendly conditions. Breddy, in fact, batted for most of the innings until finally giving a return catch to Harrison who kept Chiddingfold in the match with 4-37. However, Breddy’s disciplined 63 set up a four-wicket win with seven overs to spare.

Five games, five losses for Witley. It looked a good toss for Ben Dobson to win, but Blackheath openers Josh Milton (32) and Rob Parrott (36) knuckled down to put on 66. Then Darren Bell joined the attack and the visitors slipped to 107-5. Alex Bertola hit a rapid 24 and Ronnie Harrison marshalled the late order. Dobson struck twice in the final over and Blackheath were held to 164-8.

Rob Weston and Danny Harrison reduced Witley to 1-3 after three overs. A disastrous start, but the innings revived with a partnership of 53 between the returning George Dale and Greg Lyall. At 101-6, with 18 overs to go, the home side were in with a chance, but the aggressive Dale was bowled by Weston (4-26) and that heralded a swift denouement. Parrott knocked over the tail and Witley were all out for 126.

Dale’s fast bowling (he previously played for Farnham) has been put on hold while he recovers from a series of injuries, but there is nothing wrong with his batting. He hit 60 off 55 balls, including nine fours and two sixes.

Tilford beat Dogmersfield by eight runs in a thrilling contest. Put in on a drying pitch, runs came at a trickle at first for Tilford as skipper Mirash Shinwari bowled four consecutive maidens and Samad proved equally testing at the other end. Nathan Sprittles and Mark Ramesar put on 52 for the second wicket – the highest stand of the innings. Sprittles was eventually bowled for 32 off 100 balls and Ramesar fell two overs later for a patient, and crucial, 52. The middle order tried to raise the tempo, but Tilford had to settle for 152-7, with Shinwari and Illyas each taking two wickets and Imran Abbas yielding only 12 runs from his nine overs.

Dogmersfield lost both openers for ducks and a good partnership of 47 between Dalwari and Dan Bunter was broken by Ryan Chitty’s unerring throw. Dalwari, top scorer with 39, fell to the first of two excellent catches by Guy Wilson and the visitors seemed out of contention at 66-6.

Samad and Patan then added 46 before the returning Huw Town-Jones struck in successive overs. With 35 needed off less than five overs, Samad and Shinwari added another 20 until Geoff Coombe took a vital boundary catch.

Town-Jones began his last over – the 44th – with Dogmersfield requiring 15. He bowled Samad with his first ball and although Shinwari hit the next for six, he missed the next going for the same shot. Town-Jones 5-32, and the limited-overs format shown in its best light.