Ashtead hold out in see-saw draw

This game definitely was the right length. Unfortunately it didn't result in the win the Llamas desperately needed to push them into the top three, as Ashtead held out for a deserved draw.

It was a day of big momentum swings. The game was in the balance at 69-3 with Patel, Ireland and McInley back in the hutch, the latter having again looked good for 31 before holing out to mid-off. But in stepped our learned veterans Loft and Fisher, with a combined age of 104, who used all their experience and talents to put together a superb 120-run partnership to put the Llamas in control.

Fish was dismissed for a patient 44, while the more expansive Loft fell soon after for 81. Wickets then quickly tumbled, and having been looking to declare at 230 or 240 from 50 overs or less, the Llamas were suddenly 185-7 and going backwards. Mike Ramsden (14*) and Mobeen Tahir (19) consolidated (read stagnated) then accelerated to eventually get the visitors to 220-8 declared after 53 overs.

Off to Box Hill's excellent dining room for a very tasty quiche. At the tea interval, Harry Mac's car was stolen. Or so he thought. He'd left his keys in the ignition to charge his phone and this presented too juicy a prank opportunity to miss. Having felt initially sheer panic, then utter relief, Mac returned to the field euphoric (a pre-curser to his night out dancing to DJ Intergalactic Gary later that evening).

The Llamas made an excellent start with the ball, but less so in the field, with three catches going down before the first breakthrough was made. Elliot Lodge (1-23) and Mobeen (1-34) both bowled very well indeed without much luck,but the scoreboard was going nowhere and Ashtead looked out of the game at 20-2 from 9 overs.

In stepped their number 3 Sam Morris who duly set about trying to win the game single handed. With a mixture of slogs and glorious cricket shots he slapped 70 from 53 balls to give the Llamas plenty to think about in the field. However, he was eventually dismissed by Cross (2-42), well caught on the boundary by Loft, and at 115-5 Ashtead's chances were again limited.

The lower middle order kept them in the game, however, and it was only around the 40th over that it became clear a Llama win or a draw were the only realistic outcomes. McInley and Abhi Lohokare (1-48) looked threatening but couldn't get the breakthroughs, and in the end it was a fairly comfortable draw for the home side, who saw their 48 overs out six down.