The men, Horley Hackers, playing in the Sussex Slam T20 Men’s Cup pool four, entertained Ram at Horley Row on Tuesday, May 6 and won by 53 runs.
Horley won the toss and elected to bat on a dry wicket promising runs. Guy Derham (10) and Ryan Bunn (51 not out) were sent out with the goal of putting on pressure early, with Derham setting it up as 14 came off the first over before he fell to Siddharth Phogat by skying one to cover.
This brought out Danish Mehmood, who didn't face a ball for two overs while Bunn punished from the striker’s end, with the second and third overs going for 11 and 26 respectively. Mehmood then saw his first ball pop and he played on, bringing out Matt Gainsford (9) who helped Bunn do more damage, before he fell and left Horley 72-3 after 4.3 overs.
Ben Davies (50 not out) joined Bunn at the crease for a short time before Bunn retired at 6.4 overs with a quick 17-ball 50 to his name (three sixes, eight fours). Jon Barnett (50 not out) and Davies ensured they scored runs while staying in and they retired on consecutive deliveries to end the 16th over, with Barnett striking ten boundaries of his own (nine fours, one six) and Davies pitching in with six (five fours, one six).
This left Luke Smith (14) and Ant Puttick (10) to do some damage in the remaining overs before Will and Oscar Hofmann showed off their quick running helping Horley to reach 237 after 20 overs.
Ram didn't hang about in reply, scoring 60 off the first five overs, before Smith (32-2) struck taking two wickets consecutively, with Derham catching both at long off, setting the tone for Horley in the field.
This changed the game with the team as a collective looking completely fresh in the field and putting on a display. After many bowling changes with good shifts put in from all on a hard track for the bowlers, Will Hofmann (34-3) got the breakthrough with the first ball of his second over, leaving Ram 117-3.
This was followed by a tidy over from Davies, then Hofmann took another two wickets in a row, lbw and bowled. Mehmood (20-2) and Charlie Robins (12-2) came on to bowl the final five overs, each picking up two wickets, with Robins being the third player of the evening to take his from consecutive balls. That saw the Hackers home to a comfortable 53-run win.
The women, Horley Hornets, kicked off their Surrey Slam Women’s Shield pool four season in style the following evening with a dominant 51-run victory over Capel in a well-contested match.
Capel won the toss and chose to bowl first. Openers Charlotte Gouldsborough and Cheryl Douglas laid a solid foundation. The pair combined effectively to take the score to close to 100, with Gouldsborough scoring a fluent 37 from 36 balls, while Douglas retired not out after a powerful 40 from just 30 deliveries.
The momentum continued with contributions from Ella Gouldsborough (28 off 16) and Kersti Meyer (16 off 14), as Horley closed their 16-over innings on an impressive 137-1. Despite the high score, Capel’s bowlers mostly maintained control, conceding very few extras.
In response, Capel started steadily against accurate bowling from Megan Griffiths and Ella Gouldsborough, but struggled to keep up with the required run rate. Horley’s fielding was sharp, highlighted by two excellent catches from Meyer at gully. Ella Gouldsborough shone with the ball, claiming two wickets to stifle the Capel chase. Ultimately, Capel were restricted to just 86 runs from their 16 overs.
It was a confident and composed performance from the Hornets, marking a strong and positive start to their campaign.
Horley 1st XI were outclassed by Oxted and Limpsfield 1st XI in round two of the Edwards Cup on Sunday, losing by eight wickets to a club who play three tiers above them in Division One of the Surrey Championship pyramid.
Horley elected to bat first and after Ben Remfry fell for 18 in the fourth over, Regan Derham and Sam Remfry put on 89 for the second wicket, with Derham playing the leading role, hitting a big six into a garden and two consecutive fours to take Horley to 72-1 at drinks.
Sam Remfry (21), Ben Davies and Derham all fell in quick succession between the 14th and 16th overs, then Jonny Naylor dismissed Jon Barnett, Jordan Robins and Guy Derham in the 18th over to have Horley reeling at 125-7.
Luke Smith fell in the next over and Naylor mopped up Danish Mehmood and Irfaan Baksh off the first two balls of the last over, with Horley’s total on 132. Regan Derham’s 60 off 51 balls included eight fours and a six.
Opener Billy Yeats was dropped by Adam Stephenson off Guy Derham in the first over of Oxted’s reply and it proved a costly miss as he made 48 from 22 balls before Stephenson finally had him caught by Sam Remfry in the eighth over.
That was the second wicket to fall, as Robins had caught the other opener, Angus Newman, off Guy Derham three overs earlier.
The home side cruised to 91-2 at drinks and although Baksh and Jon Barnett tied them down somewhat in the next few overs, Oxted were home and dry on 136-2 early in the 17th over, with Isaac Miller and Joe Bracher 45 and 23 not out.