Dulwich travelled to Oxted & Limpsfield last weekend, but lost their Travelbag Surrey Championship Division 2 match by eight wickets.
With all four of the previous week’s four batsmen missing, Dulwich had a new-look top order as they were put in to bat on a damp pitch.
Tom Savill returned, and he and Oliver Steward withstood the opening attack to put on 30 together in 10.2 overs before Steward fell for a resolute five, off 34 balls.
Kristian Williman came in for his first Championship match, and he and Savill added 84 for the second wicket in 15.3 overs. Williman had reached 39 off 49 balls when he ran himself out going for a third run off a wide, which caused some confusion for the home scorer whose computer app hadn’t been programmed for such an event. Savill followed two overs later, adjudged lbw for 56, having faced 75 balls.
Guy Skinner and Will Bancroft were more circumspect in their approach, adding 25 in 7.3 overs for the fourth wicket. Bancroft’s dismissal then sparked a middle-order collapse in which four wickets fell for eleven runs in 5.1 overs.
Salaar Waqar and eighteen-year-old Sam Ellison came together with the score on 151-7 and ten overs still to bat. The pair added 40, with Ellison confirming his promise by making 24 off 33 balls before being caught off the second ball of the last over.
Waqar was run out two balls later for eighteen, and skipper Alex Gledhill was also run out going for an ambitious second run off the last ball. Three wickets fallen in the last over meant Dulwich were dismissed for 195, having lost their last nine wickets for 81 runs.
Dulwich got off to a good start in the field when Jon Lodwick had Stuart Fletcher lbw off the last ball of his second over, but this was to be the last wicket for 35 overs as the second wicket pair added 166.
Skipper Simon Jackson got 71 off 103 balls before being bowled by Waqar. At the other end Jack Lloyd seemed more vulnerable, with several mishits that just evaded the fielders. But he didn’t give a genuine chance until the match was as good as won, and saw his side home with an undefeated 96 off 123 balls.
Lodwick and Waqar both bowled their full ten over entitlement to finish with 1-30 and 1-44 respectively, but only Ellison of the other bowlers was able to summon the necessary control.
Dulwich ended a disappointing day with just two points. This weekend they will look for an improvement when they visit old rivals Esher.