Cricket: Depleted Dulwich lose to Spencer in Surrey Championship Division One

A depleted Dulwich side, lacking five first-team regulars, travelled to Spencer for their crucial top of the table clash in Division One of the Surrey Championship but suffered their first defeat of the season, losing a fluctuating match by 49 runs.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat.

Dulwich opened the bowling with slow left-armer Felix Watson-Smyth, and were rewarded when he took the first wicket with his fourth ball.

The second wicket pair took the score to 38 in the ninth over when Watson-Smyth struck again.

This brought in overseas player Troy Johnson to join Toby Pratt, and the pair batted freely, taking the score to 168-2 after 31.4 overs at lunch. Six bowlers were tried in the morning session, but only Watson-Smyth and Harrison Perry went for less than five an over.

But things changed after the interval, when Henry Goodwin became the seventh bowler to be used.

He broke the partnership with his second ball, dismissing Pratt for 67, off 95 balls, with the score on 180.

Watson-Smyth dismissed Johnson three overs later for 95, off 104 balls, with the score on 202, and took the fifth wicket two balls later. He came off after bowling 16 overs and taking 4-69.

He gave way to Ahmed Khan, who had been held back after taking some unaccustomed stick in his first four overs. The leg spinner demolished the Spencer lower order, taking the last five wickets in just 17 balls. Spencer had collapsed from 180-2 and 225-5 to be all out for 238 after 52.4 overs. Khan finished with 5-33 off 7.4 overs, his second five wicket haul of the season, while Goodwin had kept the pressure on with 1-21 off nine overs.

Dulwich found themselves chasing a much lower target then had seemed likely, with at least 67 overs to get them.

They started positively as Parry hit 23 off 32 balls in an opening partnership of 29 in 7.3 overs with Tom Bishop. But Bishop and his new partner Karim Marcelle struggled to get the ball away, and the second wicket pair took 13 overs to add 23 runs before Bishop was out for 17, off 38 balls.

Stand-in skipper Apoorv Wankhade joined Marcelle and batted in typically aggressive fashion, scoring 48 off 46 balls, in a partnership of 70 in 15 overs, before falling to a stunning diving catch at point.

Marcelle and Goodwin added 18 before the former’s gritty innings came to an end, having made 43 off 119 balls, with the score on 140. His dismissal was followed by those of Khan (seven), Kaif Ramzan (eight), and newcomer Billy Collinson, who was unlucky to be run out without scoring when the bowler deflected a straight hit on to the stumps. Goodwin followed two overs later, having scored 27 off 63 balls, to make it 179-8 after 57 overs.

With victory now out of reach keeper Dan Damley-Jones and Watson-Smyth set themselves to bat out time. But apart from seven overs by the opening quickie Spencer had used spin throughout the innings and had rattled through their overs.

The 67-over mark was reached with half an hour’s playing time still remaining. The ninth wicket pair held out until the 69th over, when Watson-Smyth fell after resisting for 35 balls without scoring.

Damley-Jones fell in the next over, having faced 47 balls for eight, to see Dulwich dismissed for 189 with 20 minutes to spare. The Spencer skipper Gus Grant bowled a marathon spell of 34 consecutive overs, in which he took 3-61.

Dulwich took only five points from this game, and were overtaken by both Spencer and Malden Wanderers to slip to third place in the table.

This weekend they will be hoping to return to winning ways when they have a home fixture against Cranleigh, who are fifth.