OLD WIMBLEDONIANS 123 (40.5) beat DULWICH 51 (27.3) by 72 runs
Dulwich had the worst of difficult batting conditions in their AJ Fordham Surrey Championship Division 1 match at Old Wimbledonians and lost a low scoring game by 72 runs.
The hosts opted to bat first and advanced to 21 in the sixth over without undue difficulty until Kamran Munawar, playing his first 1st XI game back at Dulwich after two years away, made the breakthrough. Simon Harwood picked up the next two wickets to make it 58-3 after 17 overs. Harwood came off after taking 2-35 off ten overs, and gave way to 17 year old leg spinner Ahmed Khan who caused immediate problems. In six overs up to lunch he took 1-3, while Frankie Brown also picked up a wicket at the other end. Wimbledonians went into the interval at 101-5 after 32 overs.
On the resumption Dulwich turned for the first time to Jon Lodwick, who took a wicket with his first ball and another with his fourth. Khan struck again in the next over, but the ninth wicket pair lifted the score to 119 when Khan took the crucial wicket of opening bat Sushant Marathe, who had held the innings together with 59, off 98 balls, while no one else made more than 13. Khan followed up by dismissing the last man to end with the excellent figures of 4-11 off 10.5 overs. Dulwich were pleased to have taken the last five wickets for 20 runs and bowl out their opponents for 123 after 40.5 overs. But little did they expect the nightmare to come.
The Wimbledonians captain, Clint McCabe, after seeing the damage that Khan had wrought, opened the bowling with his left arm spin from the same end. But Ollie Steele and James Schofield seemed in no trouble against either him or quickie Freddie Douglas, and it was a surprise when Steele was bowled by Douglas for 18 with the score on 23 in the eighth over. This opened the floodgates as McCabe took advantage of increasing turn and unpredictable bounce to claim the next seven wickets in eight overs at a personal cost of just 11 runs. Fellow left arm spinner Harry Chappell then took the last two to dismiss Dulwich for 51. They had lost all ten wickets in 20 overs for just 28 runs. Brown, who battled away for 50 balls to make 10, was the only other batsman to make double figures, while five players were dismissed without scoring. McCabe finished with 7-30 off 14 overs.
Dulwich take just three bowling points from this match and remain at the foot of the table. They will be looking to turn their season around next week when they have a crucial bottom of the table clash at home to Beddington, who are two places and just 13 points above them.
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