Cricket: Dulwich top of table after recovering from shaky start to defeat Oxted & Limspfield

Dulwich overcame a poor start to defeat Oxted & Limpsfield by 36 runs and remain at the top of Division Two of the Surrey Championship, writes John Lewis.

Jon Lodwick lost the toss and Dulwich were put in to bat. They lost both openers in identical fashion, caught by Ned Lack at first slip off the bowling of Alfie Cutmore. Off spinner Lack joined the attack and struck with his fourth ball to reduce Dulwich to 15-3.

James Schofield joined Frankie Brown and they began circumspectly, adding just 27 runs in the next 15 overs, before starting to accelerate. They had taken their stand to 52 off 22 overs when Cutmore returned to have Brown caught behind for 20, having faced 73 balls. This sparked a collapse in which five wickets fell for 22 runs in 11 overs to leave Dulwich reeling on 89-8 after 41 overs.

Schofield had survived the collapse and was joined by Ahmed Khan, 16, and the pair added 45 in the next 10 overs in the most spirited batting of the innings.

Schofield became Cutmore’s fifth wicket with the score on 134. He had made a valuable 62, made off 130 balls, equalling the highest Dulwich score of the season. Assan Crawford-Khan helped Ahmed Khan add another 12 runs for the last wicket before Ahmed was bowled for an enterprising 31, made off just 33 balls in marked contrast to his predecessors. The last two wickets had added 57 runs to lift the score to 146 and give the Dulwich bowlers something to defend.

They got off to a good start when Joe Murtagh, who had made 72 in the first contest between the sides, fell in Crawford-Khan’s second over.

Tahir Khan, with 25 off 38 balls, then led an assault in company with Jack Lloyd that lifted the score to 40 in the 12th over. But both fell in consecutive overs by Brown, and he and Ahmed Khan then tightened the screw as the fourth wicket pair added just 24 in the next 10 overs. Brown claimed his third wicket to break the stand, and Khan took three in successive overs as Oxted declined from 65-3 to 75-7.

Lodwick returned to take the eighth wicket. Lack and Luke Fisher looked to survive the remaining 14 overs and reach 121 for the winning draw.

The pair had added 26 when Lodwick had Fisher caught behind to give keeper Michael Harms his fourth dismissal. Brown had Lack caught in the next over to dismiss Oxted for 110 with 4.5 overs to spare. Brown finished with 4-18 off 12.1 overs. Khan took 3-28 and Lodwick 2-47.

Dulwich are at home to Chessington on Saturday.