Dulwich lost away to leaders Walton in their most recent match – but so did the two teams below the local side. Dulwich scorer John Lewis reports
WALTON ON THAMES 167 (49.1)
Beat
DULWICH 93 (34.5)
by 74 runs
Dulwich failed to take advantage of another superb spell by Salaar Waqar and were defeated by 74 runs in their Travelbag Surrey Cricket Championship Division 2 match at leaders Walton on Thames.
Dulwich put their opponents in to bat on a damp pitch with erratic bounce but, despite a testing spell of six overs for 14 runs by Kamran Munawar, were unable to get an early breakthrough.
The openers had added 55 in 13 overs when Sam Ellison took the first wicket, removing skipper Dan Roberts for 20.
Waqar joined the attack in the next over. In a masterful display of off spin, he bowled his ten overs straight through to take five wickets for just 14 runs.
Slow left-armer Patrick George gave him good support at the other end in a spell of 1-13 off five overs. The spinners had reduced the league leaders from 66-1 in the 16th over to 94-7 in the 32nd.
But after Waqar had completed his spell George and Alex Gledhill were unable to impose the same restraint.
Number four bat Jamie Mann had watched the carnage from the other end, and was now joined by veteran Mark Bainbridge.
The pair launched a counter attack, adding 33 together in 8.5 overs before George dismissed Mann for 27.
Bainbridge continued the assault in company with Ben Monk. They added 38 in 8.4 overs before Ellison returned to dismiss Bainbridge, who had scored 46, the top score of the innings, off 57 balls.
Munawar bowled the last man for a golden duck in the next over to dismiss Walton for 167. The last three wickets had added 73 runs in 18 overs.
Walton opened with the pace of Matt Nichols at one end and the spin of Monk at the other, but the latter proved ineffective, conceding 19 runs off three overs.
Nick Hudson and skipper Ed Stolle had taken the score to 24 after seven overs when Stolle got a lifter from Nichols that he could only fend to slip.
Guy Skinner joined Hudson and dug in while his partner went for his shots. The pair had added 26 in 5.5 overs when Hudson was dismissed for 29 (comprising seven fours and one single), and Skinner followed in the next over having faced 17 balls without scoring.
Waqar only lasted seven balls, becoming the fourth wicket, and the third to fall with the score on 50. Ellison joined Matt Marfani in a stand of 25 for the fifth wicket.
But there was to be no repeat of the tail end heroics of the first innings. Slow left-armer Bainbridge and off-spinner Eben Botha dismantled the rest of the batting, taking three wickets apiece as the batsmen picked out the fielders.
Dulwich lost their last six wickets for 18 runs in 11.3 overs, to be all out for 93.
But with the two teams below them also losing, Dulwich remain in eighth place, seven points above Old Whitgiftians and eleven above Oxted & Limpsfield.
Those two teams play each other next week, while Dulwich have a home match against Sanderstead, who are safely ensconced in the middle of the table. Dulwich will need to win to maintain their current position in the table.
