Rain can’t stop Dulwich

DULWICH 75-2 (25)
beat
EPSOM 99 (38.3)
by 8 wickets (D/L)

Dulwich Cricket Club are off to a good start in the new season, reports John Lewis. Their next match is against the only team to rival their winning start

cricket bat, ball and gloves

In a showery day with several interruptions, Dulwich overcame the weather and their opponents to secure victory by eight wickets in their AJ Fordham Surrey Championship Division 2 clash with Epsom.

Dulwich put their opponents in to bat and got off to an ideal start when skipper Jon Lodwick and Simon Harwood each took a wicket in his first over to remove both openers.

The score had advanced to 15-2 in the sixth over when the first rain shower drove the players from the field for 50 minutes, to reduce the match from 50 to 43 overs per side.

On the resumption the two opening bowlers each took another wicket and left arm spinner Frankie Brown picked up the next three to reduce Epsom to 50-7 after 23 overs.

An eighth wicket partnership of 34 in 11.3 overs offered some resistance, but Harwood returned to break the stand, and Sam Ellison needed only nine balls to take the last two wickets and dismiss Epsom for 99 in the 39th over.

Harwood took 3-16 off his nine overs to give him nine wickets in two matches for just 31 runs. Brown finished with 3-20 off his nine overs, while Lodwick had 2-19 off seven and Ellison 2-6 off 1.3.

Rain during the tea interval delayed the start of the second innings and reduced it to 30 overs, for which Messrs Duckworth and Lewis (via the PlayCricket app) gave a revised target of 80.

Paul Selvey-Clinton fell for a single, bringing in Brown to join Chris Purshouse.

A further rain break in the tenth over with the score on 25-1 knocked off two more overs, and revised the D/L target to 75 off 28.

Purshouse fell in the 19th over having faced 58 balls in making 37 out of the total of 51.

Ollie Steele joined Brown, and the pair comfortably knocked off the runs with three overs to spare.

Dulwich have thus beaten both of the promoted sides in their first two games.

Next week they visit old rivals Bank of England, who are the only other club in the division to have won both their opening matches.