Kenley 163-9 Caterham 164-4

Caterham returned to winning ways in Fullers Brewery Surrey County League Division 2 on Saturday with an ultimately comfortable six-wicket victory at local rivals Kenley.

Cats skipper Andy Johnson, having an excellent season with the coin, won the toss and inserted the home side on the damp pitch. The Kenley batsmen found life difficult and after a slow start, pacemen Andy Varley (2 for 26) and Dan Pollard (3 for 39) grabbed some quick wickets as Kenley slipped to 29 for 3. Williams (48) played some attacking shots in an attempt to break the Caterham stranglehold and certainly rode his luck in pushing his side past the 100 mark.

When he fell to Martin Turk (1 for 11), the home side were again in deep trouble at 103 for 7. With the experienced ex-England under-19 international Chris Bullen (3-47) also in the wickets, it seemed only a matter of time before the homesters would be dismissed. Dogged determination from Kearsey (34) and the rest of the tail however, frustrated the visitors as they made full use of the 65 available overs to eke out a total of 163 for 9.

The Caterham reply began poorly as openers Stuart Congdon and Steve Cocker were dismissed with only 18 scored. Two returning players Richard Rowlett and Bullen (41) added 60 for the third wicket. Despite Bullen's demise the momentum continued. Skipper Andy Johnson (26 not out) joined Rowlett (73 not out) as they won with five overs to spare.

July 10, 2002 10:30