Farnham travelled to Cranleigh on Saturday with the forecast expecting thundery showers throughout the day.

Losing the toss, the visitors were invited to bat first on a green pitch that looked as if it would provide a good amount of assistance to the bowlers. The first over of the match was an eventful one with 2 wickets falling - those of opener Thorpe and number 3 Hicks. The watchful Jim Berry joined the flamboyant Toby Ward at number 4 and the pair negotiated the quality bowling from Cranleigh’s young opening seamers. They moved the score to 23 when Ward, looking comfortable, offered a simple catch to Lawes off the bowling of Sheen. Number 5 Steve Pope’s innings lasted 9 deliveries when he was given out LBW from a vicious away swinger from Rollings leaving number 6 and 1st XI debutant Hamish Macdonald to join Farnham’s premier all rounder Berry in the middle. A partnership of 27 runs ensued when Jim Berry decided the pull shot was a good option to which he executed poorly and was caught for a slow 20 runs. When Macdonald then fell not long after, leaving the score on 68 for 6, Farnham looked to the heroes of Valley End, Captain Tom Grimes and Russ Golding to negotiate their way out of the crisis.

Their first test being a ferocious spell of fast bowling from the fired up Rollings after he felt he was unlucky not to have Grimes caught behind, the decision going the batsman’s way. After toughing out his final two overs the pair looked to start accumulating a partnership with the change to spin. Grimes played his usual conventional and reverse sweeps to good effect, including an enormous 6 over square leg, with Golding providing a rock solid defence at the other end. The runs started to flow and by the time the opening bowlers came back for the final overs the pair had their eye in. The last few overs saw Farnham take the attack to Cranleigh where Golding cut loose, including two pull shots in a row for four and six respectively. By the end of the innings Grimes and Golding had dragged their team to 153 for 6, a partnership of 85, Oliver Sheen with the standout figures of 3 for 15. A score that could be defendable on a green bowler friendly pitch.

Farnham were slightly unlucky early on with an edge just out of reach of second slip and another dropping short of the wicket keeper off Goldsworthy, hunting for his 300th senior wicket for Farnham. After these early scares however, the Farnham attack didn’t quite get it right and openers Scriven and Anderson looked at ease, scoring at a fast rate. Tom Grimes kept rotating his bowlers looking for a breakthrough however it didn’t come and the increasingly attacking pair cruised to their 50’s and it wasn’t until the score was on 139 when Farnham had their first and only wicket, Anderson bowled by Thorpe for 76 off just 54 deliveries. The win for Cranleigh came not long after in just 23 overs, captain Jack Scriven ending 57 not out. A tough day out for Farnham against a strong premiership side, a standard of cricket to strive for in the future.