Sutton 163-9 declared (41 overs) beat Dulwich 133 all out (32.3 overs) by 30 runs.
Dulwich started the last over of their Surrey Championship Premier Division match against Sutton with their last pair together needing one run for the winning draw. Steve Hale hit the second ball for two to reach the landmark, only to fall to a good catch at silly mid off next ball to give Sutton victory by 30 runs.
The match did not start until 2.20 pm due to a waterlogged pitch, and Dulwich put Sutton in to bat. Skipper Keith Medlycott and Dave Sampson added 43 in 8.3 overs for the first wicket. Dave Burton removed Sampson for 9, and followed up with two more wickets in his next two overs. Medlycott and Gary Outram then added 48 for the 4th wicket to take the score to 112-3 in the 27th over, whereupon Burton took his 4th wicket to dismiss former Surrey all-rounder Medlycott for 45, made off 97 balls. Left arm spinner Raza Ali Dar then worked his way through the rest of the batting, taking 4-35 off 12 overs, while a direct hit by Chris Thompson accounted for former Dulwich batsman John Fry for 3. Burton bowled a marathon spell of 17 overs unchanged to take 4-65 as Sutton completed their allotted 41 overs with 163-9.
Dulwich were left 33 overs to score 164 to win, or 132 for the winning draw. Dar was promoted to open the innings, and he and Zoheb Sharif got off to a good start, adding 38 in 8.3 overs for the first wicket. Dar was run out by a direct hit for 18 off 17 balls, and Thompson followed two balls later, lbw to off spinner Bilal Butt without scoring. Sharif and skipper Mark Kelly then added 40 for the 3rd wicket, but both fell to Butt in successive overs, with Kelly out for 21 off 27 balls and Sharif falling for 37 off 60. At this stage Dulwich were still well placed, needing 81 to win or 49 for the winning draw with 14.4 overs remaining. Butt then worked his way through the lower order, aided by a succession of injudicious shots, as Dulwich declined from 78-2 to 118-8. Any hope of winning had by now evaporated and 132 for the winning draw became the main objective. Hale and Arshad Iftikhar inched the score up to 129, whereupon former Surrey quick bowler Phil Sampson returned to bowl Iftikhar for 4 with 10 balls remaining. Last man Richard Beeching saw out the rest of the over and scored a 2 to set up the one run target in the last over. Hale's 2 took Dulwich past the target, but his dismissal to Butt for 13 next ball left them 133 all out with 3 balls to go. Butt finished with the remarkable figures of 8-54 off 14.3 overs.
This defeat leaves Dulwich at the foot of the table, but the three teams above them also lost, so there are still only six points separating the bottom four with two matches to go. Next week Dulwich visit Farnham in the Shepherd Neame sponsored Surrey Championship Premier League. Farnham are only two points above them, in a game which may well determine the fate of both clubs.
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