FRENSHAM regained the I’Anson Division One lead with a notable win over Grayswood, while the closest finish of the day came at Tilford where Wrecclesham came within nine runs of a shock victory.

Frensham were inserted on a decent-looking Hollowdene track and Grayswood made a great start when Iain Jackson bowled the in-form George Breddy with the first ball of the game.

However, Alex Warren and James Wood went quietly about their business, running well between the wickets, but dispatching anything short to the boundary.

Wood fell for 33, Tom Charman blasted a quick 20 and then Sam Farncombe joined Warren in a partnership of 118. Warren went on to complete a highly impressive, chanceless 105, including 17 fours. Skipper Farncombe made 78 not out off 68 balls, and after a couple of sixes from Adam Goulder, the hosts declared on 283-5 off 44 overs, 50 runs having come from the last five.

David Soper and Tom Barnardo started solidly with a stand of 44. Grayswood were behind the run-rate, but with wickets in hand, a victory seemed achievable.

Frensham rang the bowling changes to good effect and wickets began to fall steadily, Soper going for 45. Graham Dooling (32) and Dave Handley looked a dangerous pair, but they were both out on 142 and, thereafter, Grayswood were aiming for two points. Only nine balls remained when slow left-armer Tim Knight claimed the final wicket to finish with 3-27 in 6.3 overs.

Tilford eventually secured a winning draw against Wrecclesham in a match that had a dramatic finish. Opting to bat, Tilford quickly lost a wicket to Mitch Brown. Guy Wilson and Mark Ramesar put on a valuable 58 and there were other useful contributions from Rick Seabrook and Ryan Chitty.

But it was young Wilson who held the innings together until he was bowled by Matt James for 61 off 113 balls with the score on 135. Brandon Ambrose and Geoff Coombe hit out in the final overs and their unbroken stand of 45 brought a declaration at 179-5 after 44 overs.

Jason Stones took the first three Wrecclesham wickets as the score advanced to 70 and although Brown remained resolute, the introduction of Nigel Martyn (5-46) caused a sudden collapse, with five wickets falling for just eight runs.

A Tilford win seemed certain at 110-8, but Brown found a willing partner in number 10 James. These two saw off several bowlers and as catches went down and the fielding became ragged, they put on 61 to thoroughly frustrate Tilford until, in the final over, James was run out for a valiant 31. Brown, scoring at nearly a run a ball, finished 87 not out and very nearly took his side to an unlikely first win of the season.

Chiddingfold were threatening a surprise result after putting Puttenham in and reducing their strong line-up to 64-6, with Paul Hundley, Stuart Divers and spinner Ben Evans (3-31 in 11 overs) doing the damage.

However, there was a sharp sting in the tail as Samad Ayoubi counter-attacked with a hard-hit 46. Ahsan Ahmed and Matty Hussain then shared an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 48 and the home side recovered to declare at 177-8 in 46 overs.

Aks Ilyas removed Chiddingfold’s openers for 20 and proceeded to stifle the visitors with 2-22 in 14 overs. Chiddingfold could never break free and the stranglehold tightened when the two Ahmeds bowled in tandem, Saeed conceding just nine runs in nine overs and Ahsan taking 2-25 in ten. Matt Barnett dug deep with 29 not out and after 44 overs, Chiddingfold had clawed their way to 90-6.

Witley, still seeking their first win of the season after losing the ten points gained against Alfold (withdrawn), totalled what looked a very competitive 190-9 on the big ground at Grayshott. Alex Cook (30) and Mark White gave them a decent start and then Ollie Hickman came in to make a fine half-century against some testing bowling by Cameron Oosthuizen and Danny Brown. ‘B-J’ Duddell and skipper Kurt Lyall added useful runs and Grayshott were left 42 overs to score 191.

Witley must have really fancied their chances after Hickman had dismissed Andy Wheble and captain Nathan Phillimore for a duck apiece. But that was as good as it got for Witley and the home side needed only 37 overs to get the runs as James Cavannagh joined Neil Moseley in a punishing partnership.

Witley could do nothing as the pair kept pace with each other, Moseley racing to 92 not out and Cavannagh to an unbeaten 90, making it, in the end, a comfortable third win of the season for Grayshott.