Reigate have to settle for winning draw against Sutton

Fielding first for the 5th game in a row, the Llamas initially failed to contain the Sutton batters as they made quick progress to reach 67/0 in the 11th over. The introduction of legspinners Angus Dahl and Michael Munday slowed the scoring rate and eventually wickets began to fall. The pair between them bowled more than 50 overs and picked up 9 of the 10 wickets to fall. Offspinner Connor Newbold was the other successful bowler. The final wicket fell in the 66th over of the innings giving Munday his first 5 wicket haul of the season.

Reigate had a maximum of 58 overs to chase down Sutton’s total of 215. Skipper Richie Oliver batting with a runner for much of his innings due to a hamstring injury did his best to steer the Llamas to this total in making 95 following his record-breaking 167* at Sunbury the previous week. Unfortunately the middle order failed to fire, and it was only during a partnership of 58 for the 6th wicket between Richie and Dahl that victory seemed likely.

When Dahl was dismissed Sutton were able to deny Richie much of the strike by setting the field deep. The final over began with Reigate still needing 20 runs to win with only 3 wickets in hand and when Richie was caught on the boundary from the first ball, victory was no longer achievable. Reigate had already passed the total of 191 required for the extra winning draw points, and Newbold gained an additional batting bonus point by smashing the final ball of the innings down the ground for 4.

Reigate picked up 12 points from the game but will be frustrated that they could not gain maximum points as they fall down the table for 3rd ahead of the next fixture away at top of the table Wimbledon.