After losing the toss and being asked to field, Claygate made the perfect start thanks to an outstanding opening spell from Akram Syed. Akram ripped through Egham's top order, removing James Ramsbottom, Leo Nichols and James Sprackling to leave the visitors reeling at 30-3 and firmly put Claygate on the front foot.

Egham rebuilt through Mike Strutt and Riley Branda, who added a crucial partnership to steady the innings. However, the breakthrough was delivered by Nicky Ison, whose dismissal of Strutt for a well-made 50 broke the stand and swung the momentum back Claygate's way. Ison struck again to remove Branda for 18, finishing with excellent figures and ensuring Egham could not build a platform for a larger total.

With wickets beginning to tumble, Joe Lukens took charge of the closing stages. Supported by a sharp catch from Tim Powell, Lukens cleaned up the tail efficiently, claiming four wickets as Egham were bowled out for 128 in 34.5 overs.

In reply, Claygate's chase suffered an early setback, but Ashley Thorpe played a composed and authoritative innings of 32 to guide the recovery. After Joe Lukens contributed 23, Thorpe and Tim Powell (28* ) moved the score along confidently before Thorpe departed with the total on 89.

Any nerves were quickly settled by a fluent unbeaten partnership between Powell and Ross Davies, who struck an impressive 22 from just 19 balls*, peppering the boundary and helping Claygate cruise to their target.

Claygate reached 130-4 in 26.1 overs, securing a deserved six-wicket victory built on Akram Syed's devastating new-ball spell, Nicky Ison's key breakthroughs and Joe Lukens' tidy finishing work with the ball.

A strong all-round team performance and another valuable win for the 1st XI.

Women's Softball Continue Winning Run with Dominant Victory at Sunbury

Claygate CC Women's Softball continued their excellent form with a convincing 48-run victory over Sunbury CC Women's Softball 2s on Sunday.

After winning the toss, Claygate elected to field and immediately put Sunbury under pressure. Despite contributions from Nicola Mansfield (17) and Shreona Bhatt (13), the visitors' disciplined bowling and sharp fielding restricted Sunbury to 112-10 from their 16 overs, a net score of 262.

The standout performer with the ball was Emilia Cross, who produced a match-winning spell to claim 4 wickets, breaking the backbone of the Sunbury batting line-up. She was well supported by Kirsty Carr, who took 2 wickets, while Madelaine Jones chipped in with 1 wicket.

Claygate's fielding was equally impressive, contributing three run-outs and maintaining pressure throughout the innings.

Chasing a winning net score, Claygate batted positively from the outset and finished on 125-3 from 16 overs, giving them a net score of 310.

The innings was led by Sarah Brown, whose excellent 34 was the highest score of the match. There were valuable contributions all the way down the order, with Emilia Cross adding 17, Nicola Tavender scoring 16, Madelaine Jones making 15, and Nicola Cox contributing 13. Claygate also benefited from 18 extras as they steadily built a score beyond Sunbury's reach.

Top run scorers:

Sarah Brown – 34
Emilia Cross – 17
Nicola Tavender – 16
Madelaine Jones – 15
Nicola Cox – 13

Wicket takers:

Emilia Cross – 4 wickets
Kirsty Carr – 2 wickets
Madelaine Jones – 1 wicket

A superb all-round team performance saw Claygate dominate with both bat and ball, with Emilia Cross starring in the field and several batters making key contributions to secure another well-deserved win for the Women's Softball side.

Claygate Girls U14 Battle Hard Against East Molesey

Claygate Girls U14 produced a spirited performance but ultimately fell 27 runs short against East Molesey Girls U14 on Sunday.

After winning the toss and choosing to field, Claygate worked hard to keep the visitors in check. The bowling honours went to I Sutton, who returned impressive figures of 2-13, while M Preston also picked up 2-15. M Bailey claimed the fifth wicket with 1-8, and Claygate added a run out to restrict East Molesey to 131/6 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Claygate chased bravely, led by I Sutton's 20 runs at the top of the order. C Sewell finished unbeaten on 16, while M Preston (12) and F Mitchell-Innes (11) made useful contributions. A Williams and G Curistor both added 6 runs as Claygate continued to battle throughout the innings.

Despite their efforts, Claygate closed on 104/8 from 20 overs, leaving East Molesy winners by 27 runs.

There were plenty of positives for Claygate, particularly the bowling performances of I Sutton, M Preston and M Bailey, while several batters got starts in a determined team effort. The girls showed excellent commitment throughout and will look to build on the display in their next fixture.

Copilot said:

A tough afternoon for Claygate Sunday XI as they went down by 79 runs to Riverside CC, Surrey, despite some encouraging performances with both bat and ball.

After losing the toss, Claygate were asked to field first and Riverside made the most of good batting conditions, posting an imposing 309/6 from their 40 overs. Claygate's bowlers kept battling throughout the innings, with Juned Ahmad leading the way with 3 wickets, removing Mateo-Ur-Rehman (57), Nasrullah Khan (55) and Umair Junaid (4). There were also wickets for Waqar Ahmed (2-25), Allan Van Konyenburg (1 wicket), Matt Green (1 wicket) and Harry Cross (1 wicket) as Claygate continued to chip away despite Riverside's strong scoring rate.

In reply, Claygate produced a spirited chase but ultimately finished on 230/7 from their 40 overs.

The standout performance came from Scott Labacik, who anchored the innings superbly with 95, narrowly missing out on a deserved century. He was well supported by Joe Moore (42) and Juned Ahmad (32), while Mark Prickett's unbeaten 23 helped Claygate finish strongly. Useful contributions also came from Michael Cross (13) and Ben Webb (7).

Despite falling short of the target, Claygate can take heart from Labacik's excellent knock and the wicket-taking efforts of Ahmad a against a strong Riverside batting line-up.