Horley first and second XIs fall to first league defeats of the season

Regan Derham (left) topscored 70 for Horley CC in their defeat against London Gymkhana. Picture courtesy of Katie Field

Horley CC lost for the first time since their promotion to the Surrey County League Premier Division, falling to London Gymkhana CC by 24 runs.

Winning the toss and electing to field on a miserable, wet Saturday afternoon, Horley were immediately faced with aggressive batting from Gymkhana when opening bowler, Charlie Robins, was hit for six over backward square off the second ball of the game.

The game-plan was clear from the batting side: see ball, hit ball and as far as possible, on a pitch where the ball looked like it could do absolutely anything, and with bowlers operating off shortened run-ups due to the slippery underfoot conditions.

The fifth over brought the first wicket for Horley, Robins dismissing opening bat Nasir Ahmad.

This brought Mudsassar Chaudhary to the crease and he played a sensible innings alongside Tahir Iqbal who played the strokes. Their partnership of 107 was courtesy of many dropped catches.

The wicket finally came when spinner, Adam Stephenson, took matters into his own hands and took a catch off his own bowling with the ball being in the air for what seemed to be an eternity. This brought to an end Iqbal’s expansive innings of 82, scored at more than a run a ball.

The next over brought another wicket for Horley, Robins, getting Chaudhary caught for 30 by Sam Remfry. This brought an improvement in Horley’s intensity and they put a squeeze on the Gymkhana and only conceded ten runs in the next eight overs at the cost of a few more wickets.