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I talked about a "right old roller coaster" ride. Well, it was all downhill at the end of the season. I said, "If consistency wins titles then Elstead won't win the I'Anson Championship". Well, we were consistent at the end, consistently off the boil.
Yes, folks, it all went wrong at the end. The defeat to Dogmersfield chronicled last month was just the start. In the following game Elstead racked up 206 for 9 against Tilford with Laeeq Ahmad posting 89. The visitors, though, dug in for a draw and meandered their way to 139 in 49 overs of dour cricket. So five points for Elstead but another ten for championship rivals Cranleigh as they beat Headley to lead the table by six points going into the last match.
The visit of Lindford promised much. Elstead had to go for the ten points to put pressure on Cranleigh, Lindford needed to win to have any hope of avoiding their first ever relegation from the top flight. Not for the first time this year Elstead's batting failed to come up with the goods, slumping to 89 all out in just 32 overs. For the third time in three weeks Elstead's much vaunted bowling attack couldn't do the business, this time for lack of runs to play with. Although they lost six wickets Lindford duly picked up the eight points for the win.
With Cranleigh earning five points for a winning draw it was all academic for Elstead in any case (though not for Lindford who were still relegated as rivals Headley also won). The Farnham Herald talked about "Elstead's loss of momentum in the closing games" and that about summed it up. The last weeks of the season were something of an anti-climax.
We're not downhearted, though. We've had a fabulous season - second in the league (after being promoted last year), winners of the Stevens Cup, and third place for the Twos in Division 4. That's got to bode well for next year and, by then, we'll have a fantastic new pavilion. Have you seen it? Doesn't it look great? The clock tower sets it off to perfection.
As work continues on the pavilion's internal structure we look forward to the Club's annual dinner and the handing out of the season's trophies. I'll bring you details next month but just as a taster I'm delighted to report that Mubarak Ahmed was the leading wicket taker in I'Anson Division One this year with 58 wickets and Fazal Syed topped the Division One bowling averages with 34 wickets at a miserly eight runs apiece.
Gordon Wycherley
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