The first XI entertained an Ifield side that won promotion to the Sussex Premiership last year. For the first time in eight years, Horley have a new first team skipper, Regan Derham, who has got some big shoes to fill after Charlie Robins led the team to two promotions in the past three years, including last season’s league title. Derham got off to a bad start, losing his first toss, meaning that Horley were fielding.
Will Taylor (1-10) and Guy Derham (2-21) spearheaded the Horley attack, both rewarded for keeping it tight in the early overs. Guy Derham struck in the fourth over after a smart catch from Taylor coming forward at slip. Taylor claimed his first scalp of the season, surprising Mike Norris with a shorter pitched delivery which he could only scoop up to Jon Barnett at midwicket.
Ifield were 11-2 after nine and it only got worse before it got better. Skipper Derham was rotating his bowlers and Ben Davies (1-40) got in on the action, having Sachit Patel caught behind by Regan Derham in his second over. Joshua Medley (22) was trying his best to push the score along, however a mix of tight bowling and some great energy in the field from Horley was making his task particularly difficult.
Robins (2-45) was the key to removing Medley, finding a way through his defences and clean bowling him. Ifield’s 46-4 soon became 57-5 thanks to Adam Stephenson (1-27), who replaced Davies and found an edge that was smartly caught by Sam Remfry at slip in the 20th over.
Jack Groves (22) had taken the reins after Medley was dismissed, attempting to rebuild for Ifield, however he soon fell to Oscar Hofmann (1-16), pulling a short ball to Luke Smith on the square leg boundary. Archit Patel (47) and Pratik Patel (27) halted Horley’s progress, both playing with controlled aggression after the drinks break, getting the scoreboard moving.
Guy Derham rejoined the attack and broke the 72-run partnership, sending Archit back to the clubhouse just before reaching his 50. Robins dismissed Pratik in the next over to make it 145-8 with five overs to go. Obaida Qazi (29 not out) and Sudess Ali (11 not out) picked up on some slightly loose bowling and got Ifield to 195-8 by the time 45 overs had been bowled.
Horley were looking to attack the early overs and take advantage of a period in the game where Ifield faltered. This responsibility was given to the Remfry brothers Sam and Ben (103*), batting together for Horley for the first time since they rejoined the club last June. Both set about their jobs in a very assured manner, Ben being the enforcer, and Sam looking as comfortable as ever at the other end, picking off runs as and when he could.
With neither seam option working, Ifield skipper Graeme Dean turned to his spinners to try to break what was looking like a formidable partnership. Ben brought up his 50 in the 18th over and was looking in the mood to cash in and make triple figures. Sadly, Sam fell the over after for 27, Daniel Smith (1-31) getting him caught behind to make the score 93-1.
Smith (20) joined Ben Remfry, and runs were still being found with relative ease. Disaster struck for Smith in the 26th over though as Archit (1-33), one of Ifield’s four spinners, managed to get one to shoot low, hitting Smith on the ankles, sending him tumbling to the floor and giving the umpire no option but to raise his finger.
Ifield staged a little comeback, with Sachit Patel (2-46) then claiming Davies cheaply to leave Horley 136-3 after 32 overs. Skipper Derham (18) came in to steady the ship with Remfry, who was still looking untroubled. Derham fell to Sachit at the start of the 40th over but the immovable Remfry brought up his first 100 of the season two overs later, and with the help of Barnett (five not out), Horley got themselves over the line with 15 balls to spare.
It was a good first run out for Horley, who face another tough friendly next weekend, when they travel to Chertsey, who sit one tier higher, in Surrey Championship Division 3 West.
Horley’s second XI won away at Ifield by 73 runs, thanks to an excellent 63 from 62 balls by Ben Stewart and a terrific team performance in the field, with four bowlers taking two wickets each.
Ifield put Horley in and George Hyde and Danish Mehmood scored 35 for the first wicket before Hyde was lbw to Vish Patel. Stewart then came in and the weekly nets he has been doing at university meant there was no early-season rustiness in evidence.
After Mehmood was lbw to Jake Nevill for 28 and Richard Waddington went cheaply caught behind to the thinnest of snicks, Stewart and Matt Reid put on 97 for the fourth wicket, with Stewart playing a variety of shots in his 90 minutes at the crease. He gave just one chance, and hit six fours and one big six before he was out for 63 in the 29th over with Horley on 144-4.
Reid fell soon after for 31, but Dan Sired and Will Hofmann then put on a valuable 53 for the sixth wicket, starting slowly then getting into their stride, both finding the boundary four times. Hofmann was bowled by Shiv Nayee for 31 from 27 balls and new second XI captain Chris Webber made just two before he was run out, so Horley finished their 40 overs on 225-7 with Sired 30 not out (31 balls).
Opening bowlers Ryan Smith and Alex Field struggled with their line in their first overs, with legside wides proving a particular problem, but they both recovered well as Smith (2-24) dispatched the two openers in his second over, trapping Kulbir Gill lbw and having Samer Hafiz caught by Reid.
Ifield moved on from 23-2 to 45 before controversy occurred in the tenth over as a delivery from Field removed Benji Beedles’ bails, but the standing umpire didn’t give him out. He thought Hyde, standing up behind the stumps, had knocked the bails off with his gloves but Field and Webber, who was close by, were both certain Beedles had been bowled.
After a couple of minutes of debate, Ifield’s skipper Vineet Vaish walked out to the middle to try to settle the matter and Beedles was given out, with the standing umpire being replaced at the same time. Vaish was the next man in and Field (2-27) bowled him with his next ball, to put Ifield in trouble at 45-4.
They survived Field’s hat-trick ball and the next six overs, taking the score on to 85 before Webber took a screamer of a catch, high and one-handed at point, to give Reid the wicket of Keelan Bulger (22) in his first over. Reid (2-20) struck again to have Vish Patel caught by Liam Adams straight after drinks and Hofmann bowled Om Patel, one ball after seeing a difficult chance dropped at slip.
Mehmood was causing Ifield problems and he bowled Nevill to make the score 119-8 before Shiv Nayee was well taken at slip by Webber off Hofmann (2-17), with the skipper lying flat on his back having initially parried the ball up and fallen backwards.
Ifield’s last pair made 16 before Stewart came on and bowled Ibrahim Kashif with his fifth ball to dismiss the hosts for 152 in 30.5 overs.