Sat 30th May - 1st XI v Valley End

VALLEY END 244 (48.5) beat DULWICH 214 (47.2) by 30 runs

Dulwich travelled to Valley End for their fourth match in Division 1 of the M.Zaidi & Co Surrey Cricket Championship, but after a fluctuating match were defeated by 30 runs.

Valley End chose to bat on another very hot day, but lost their first three wickets for 38 runs in 7.3 overs, with Dan Empson taking two and Tommy Clout one. Former Gloucestershire all- rounder Ed Young led the recovery, while three more wickets fell at the other end. Tight bowling from Harrison Perry, who took the fourth wicket while conceding just 21 off eight overs, and Will O’Donnell, who went for 19 off seven, held them in check. Young, having hit two boundaries in the powerplay, then scored 24 consecutive singles before a second run broke the sequence. Lucas Parry took two wickets in successive overs to reduce Valley End to 108-6 in the 30^th over.

But Young was still there, and he now took part in a stand of 59 in 8.3 overs for the seventh wicket with skipper Jamie Stephens before falling in Henry Goodwin’s first over for 67, off 90 balls. Hopes of wrapping up the innings quickly were thwarted by Stephens and Joe Hill, who put on 55 in nine overs for the eighth wicket. Stephens reached his 50 off 55 balls before losing a race to the stumps with O’Donnell to be run out without facing another ball. Hill went on to reach 40 off 33 balls before giving a return catch to Parry, and a second wicket for Clout brought the innings to a close on 244 after 48.5 overs.

The Dulwich reply started disastrously as Perry fell to the first ball of the second over and O’Donnell went for 10, falling to a stunning one-handed slip catch high above his head by Stephens. Parry also went cheaply, and opener Jacob Rhodes, who had started to open up after a slow start, fell for 25 off 38 balls. Skipper Ollie Steele was now joined by Peter Frettingham, making his first team debut, with the score on 53-4 after12.2 overs.

Together they turned the innings around, adding 113 in 26 overs for the fifth wicket. But tight bowling kept them under pressure, and by the time Steele was out, having made 67 off 99 balls, 79 runs were still required from 12 overs. Frettingham fell two overs later for an impressive 47 off 70 balls. Goodwin made 5 off seven and Clout clouted 10 off five. With eight wickets down and 57 still wanted off 6.4 overs, Chris Purshouse made a spirited attempt to keep up with the rate, dominating a ninth wicket stand of 26 in 3.4 overs with Empson. But his dismissal, caught on the boundary for 26 off 29 balls, was quickly followed by that of Empson to end the innings for 214.

Dulwich slip two places to fifth after a day when all five matches in the division were won by the side batting first. Next week the format switches to timed games when they have a home fixture against Old Rutlishians, who had an unexpected win against leaders Camberley on Saturday after losing their first three matches.