Dulwich 238 all out (65.3 overs) drew with Weybridge 134 for 3 wickets (35 overs)
Another fine innings of 71 by Raza Ali Dar saw Dulwich to a competitive total of 238 in their surrey Championship Premier Division match against Weybridge but the loss of nineteen overs to rain removed any chance of victory and they had to settle for a draw.
Steve Hale and Ed Matten started confidently putting on 34 in ten overs for the first wicket. Matten fell to Dudley Graham for 10 and Chris Thompson to the same bowler for 4. Hale was dismissed by Adam Bennett for 24 to reduce Dulwich to 43-3 in the sixteenth over, all three batsmen being caught behind. Dar went for his shots from the start being well supported by acting skipper, Richard Farrow and together they took the score to 129 when Farrow was dismissed for 15.
Dar fell at 150 and Tom Savill followed for 17 at 154. Dave Burton with 38 kept the scoring moving, supported by Gareth Cornick with 15 and Stuart Ferguson with 17. Dulwich were dismissed for 238 after sixty five overs. Dar’s 71 was his second consecutive 50 and came off only 68 balls. Graham was the pick of the visitor’s bowlers taking 4-39 off 18 overs.
Weybridge were left 54 overs to get the runs but rain delayed the start of their innings, depriving them of 19 overs. A target of 128 off 35 overs for a winning draw now became the only realistic option. Dulwich’s pace attack of Burton and Savill both struck in their opening spells. Savill bowled Weybridge skipper, Gavin Franklin for 3 and Burton having Olli Slipper caught behind for 14. Opener Chris Walsh was joined by 18 year old Aki Ansari and together they saw their side to the winning draw putting on 89 before Walsh was lbw to Dar for 61 off the last ball of the innings. His partner, Ansari remained 34 not out. For Dulwich, Dave Burton had figures of 8-4-19-1 while Arshad Iftikhar also bowled an economic spell conceding only 25 runs off 10 overs.
Both sides could only reflect that the rain had ruined what might have been a very interesting match. Results elsewhere meant that Dulwich slipped back to bottom place and next week Dulwich entertain Farnham at home in a crucial game in the Shepherd Neame sponsored Surrey Championship Premier League.
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