Sat 15th Aug - 1st XI v Sunbury

SUNBURY 215 (41.4) beat DULWICH 178 (44.2) by 37 runs

Dulwich travelled to Sunbury to play the Division 1 leaders in the M.Zaidi & Co. Surrey Cricket Championship, but after a closely fought match went down to defeat by 37 runs.

Dulwich put their opponents in to bat, but failed to get an early breakthrough as the openers raced to 50 off the first ball of the eighth over. However Dan Empson, who had been the steadier of the two quickies, took the first wicket with the fourth ball of that over. Harrison Perry, who came on for the ninth over, removed the other opener with his first ball and took another wicket with his fourth, both well caught by keeper Ollie Steele, to reduce Sunbury to 51-3. Aaryan Pillai and skipper Sam Burgess restored order with a stand of 85 in 18 overs for the fourth wicket, but accurate bowling by Empson, Perry, Will O’Donnell and Joe Payne kept them in check. Payne dismissed Pillai with the score on 136 in the 27^th over, and took two more wickets in the 31^st, including Burgess for 50, to reduce Sunbury to 156-6.

The rest of the innings revolved around Colby Dyer, who had come in at the fall of the fourth wicket. He dominated a stand of 33 in six overs for the seventh wicket, but remained stuck on 40 while a wicket for O’Donnell, followed by two in the next over by Empson, reduced Sunbury to 190-9 in the 39^th over. With the last man in Dyer went on the charge, smashing 24 out of 25 for the last wicket in three overs before Perry returned to have him caught on the boundary for 64, off just 50 balls. Sunbury had been dismissed for 215, leaving 8.2 of their 50 overs unused. Payne took 3-27 off seven overs, Empson 3-38 off nine, and Perry 3-40 off 7.4.

The Dulwich reply got off to a sorry start when Tommy Wright was out in the first over, but Jason Rhodes and O’Donnell had taken the score to 50 in the eleventh over when O’Donnell fell for 28. Rhodes followed three overs later for 20 and Steele three overs after that for three to reduce Dulwich to 69-4 in the 17^th over. Lucas Parry and James Schofield lifted the score to 97 before Parry went for 14, and Benjy Marsden followed two overs later.

Schofield and Perry thus came together at 105-6 in the 26^th over, and put on 60 in 15 overs for the seventh wicket. But Perry’s dismissal, caught on the boundary for 27 off 47 balls, marked the beginning of the end. Schofield lifted the score to 177 before falling for a well-made 67, off 85 balls, that had kept his team in the hunt. The last three wickets went down for one run to see Dulwich dismissed for 178 in the 45^th over.

Sunbury’s victory ensures that they will be promoted as champions. Dulwich slip one place to third, having been overtaken by Malden Wanderers. Coincidentally Dulwich travel to Malden for next week’s match. Victory for Malden would end Dulwich’s hopes of promotion,  whereas victory for Dulwich would leave all to play for in the final week of the season.