​Horley Cricket Club’s Under-12s team played in the Sussex Festival last week and faced some tough opposition in the Bowl – the higher level of the tiered competition - managing to win one match out of three.
Horley triumphed away at Ansty by six wickets, with Bailey Warren starring with both the bat and ball. Horley put the hosts in, and Ansty made 186 for eight declared from 36 overs. Warren took three wickets for just 14 runs in five overs, Joseph Barton took two in two overs and Joe English, Thomas Clark and Taylor Brooks picked up one apiece.
Warren was the leading light in the Horley reply too, opening the innings and hitting 70 off just 77 balls, including 11 fours. This terrific innings meant he beat his previous best Festival score of 56 not out, which he set last season.
Three of Warren’s partners went for single figure scores, but Benji Benetar made 13 not out and Harry Grimwood came in at six in the order when Warren fell with the score on 121-4 and hit his best ever score of 51 not out from 33 balls (seven fours) to take Horley’s total to 187 for four in 27.3 overs and secure the win.
In their next two Sussex Festival games, Horley Under-12s lost to Lingfield and Cuckfield and they had one match rained off.

Horley 2nd XI 155-6 (35.4 overs), Chaldon 2nd XI 154 all out (34.4 overs). Horley won by four wickets.

Chaldon opted to bat but Tom Livermore – returning after a five week injury – bowled really tightly as he opened the attack for Horley and Chaldon were soon in trouble.
Livermore dismissed the number two batsman for eight, caught by Andrew Burbidge, and had the number four lbw for a duck. At the other end colts player Aryan Patel (aged 14) was also bowling well. He bowled the number three, had the other opener caught by Naveed Sherwani and then dismissed the number five, caught and bowled.
Another 14-year-old colt, Zack Collins, came on to take a wicket and Abdul Razzaq picked up the last three, caught by Archie Longley, Collins and Adam Razzaq, dismissing Chaldon for 154.
Father and son Abdul and Adam Razzaq opened the batting and unfortunately Adam was out first ball. Saleem Nadir came in and supported Abdul for a while until Razzaq got an inside edge and was caught behind.
Patel batted at five and looked really comfortable facing adult bowling. He supported Saleem well until Saleem ran himself out, then Burbidge came to the crease and enjoyed a solid partnership with Patel until the colt was caught for 14.
In came Collins, who again really supported Burbidge even to the point where these two ran six runs, before Collins chipped one back to the bowler to fall for 19.
Naveed Sherwani came to the crease and made a quick 19 and Burbidge reached his fifty before Horley secured the win. Skipper Darren Croft was impressed with the colts and delighted with a great team performance all round.​

Frimley 1st XI 232-9 (47.2 overs), Horley 1st XI 231-6 declared (45 overs). Frimley won by one wicket.

Horley – chasing a second successive promotion - were looking to bounce back from last week’s agonising defeat at home against league leaders Thames Ditton, but ended up losing narrowly to bottom-of-the-table Frimley. 
A slightly damp track meant it was a good toss to win, but Horley lost and were put into bat. 
The newly formed opening duo Matthew Gainsford (26) and Danyal Razzaq (10) set a solid first five overs with 30 on the board before a delivery to Razzaq stuck in the pitch and he edged it to the keeper. 
Having been the hero with the ball in the previous two games, Adam Stephenson was keen to demonstrate his batting ability too. Gainsford was bowled by Luke Burrows for his second wicket but 
Jonathan Barnett came in at four in the absence of Sam Remfry and he and Stephenson built an excellent partnership with a few cheeky singles, a six or two amongst great stroke play, taking Horley to 100 for two off 22 overs at the drinks break.
The track was slowly drying out and offering a little more to the batsmen, however Barnett could not capitalise on this and was dismissed for 34 shortly after drinks. 
Incoming batsman was Matt Ware (19) contributed well with Stephenson before he too was bowled whilst looking to push the score along. Ben Remfry again showed his talent at such a young age with some wonder cover drives and leg flicks and the scoreboard ticked along nicely before he fell for 18. 
By now skipper Charlie Robins was thinking about when to declare. He sent his brother Jordan Robins in to add some quick runs, which he duly did. Stephenson hit a huge six down the ground and Robins (38) sent the crowd wild with a few of his own. The two scored at ten an over for the last six overs and Horley declared on 231-6 when Robins was out. Stephenson batted maturely and elegantly making a patient and hard fought 73 not out. 
Cricket is a game of two halves, and Horley made a sluggish start in the field, dropping a catch inside the first few overs. Runs were being freely scored by Frimley. Trevor Stevens – eight overs for 14 runs - did his best to tie down an end but unfortunately the pace of the ball off the bat at the other end did Charlie Robins no favours as he picked up a wicket, but went for 50 from seven overs.
The skipper turned to his brother to build some momentum and whilst Horley had some glimpses of getting back in, with the odd good ball, the runs just kept on flowing. 
Jordan Robins dismissed the number three batsman and Jonathan Barnett clean bowled the remaining opener and the number four then later had number seven caught by Elliot Strode for a duck.
Barnett ended up with 3-26 from nine overs and Gainsford took two for 20 from five overs to conjure some sort of hope and put Horley back in the mix. 
However the Frimley captain John Hebditch put a valiant individual effort as wickets fell at the other end, scoring 72 including some monstrous sixes. Horley were all too kind in supporting his quest with four dropped catches including one for what would have been the final wicket with five runs still needed to win. 
Hebditch and Alex Ogilvy got Frimley home with a wicket to spare and Horley were left to rue their missed chances. 
This week Horley play away at Ripley, who are third from bottom in the table. They are still within a fighting chance of climbing from fourth into one of the two promotion spots as just 13 points separate them from second.​

Horley Under-13s 133-7 (20 overs), Oxted and Limpsfield Under-13s 194-5 (20 overs). Oxted won by 61 runs.

Horley, who were top of the table, went into this match against the second-placed side knowing that the winners would win the league.
What they didn’t know at that stage was that Oxted included several players in their team who had played in the county-wide Surrey Invitational League this season and – in this key game - were making their first appearances at the much lower, East Surrey League level.
Horley soon realised they were facing players of a different class as Oxted opted to bat and lashed the ball to all parts of the ground, making a league record 195 for five from their 20 overs.
Bailey Warren took three wickets, one caught by Ben Stewart, one caught by Will Agombar and one a caught and bowled. 
Harry Grimwood clean bowled Oxted skipper Jack Brown for a duck and Alex Field got a run-out, but the only maiden of the 20 overs was bowled by Evan Grimwood as three Oxted batsmen reached the retirement mark of 30 - Felix Curson (33 from 13 balls), Ethan Whenman (32 from 12 balls) and Raffy Pearce (33 from 25 balls).
Horley knew they were unlikely to chase down such a huge total, but they still managed to make what, in any other match, would be a decent score of 133, and this time against a much better class of bowling.
Harry Grimwood made 32 from 33 balls, including five fours, Stewart was not out 22 (two fours), Agombar made 14 (three fours), Hugo Hobbs 13 and Leah Lane 12 (two fours each).
Horley’s league season is finished and Oxted have one more game. As long as they turn up and claim the minimum one point they will be champions, but Horley have made a great improvement this year after finishing seventh last season and couldn’t have done more against a players who normally play two tiers above them.​

Sanderstead Under-12s 151-1 (20 overs), Horley Under-12s 155-5 (19 overs). Horley won by five wickets.

Horley Under-12s finished their league season with a welcome win which will hopefully boost their confidence for the challenges to come in the Sussex Festival next month.
Horley were asked to field first and gave away a lot of extras, while Sanderstead capitalised on the short boundary to score when they had the chance.
Joseph Barton bowled the only maiden over of the match while Taylor Brooks took the only wicket for Horley (stumped by Bailey Warren) and didn’t give away any extras to end with figures of 1-8 from two overs.
Sanderstead scored 40 from the last four overs to set an imposing total, so Horley knew they would have to bat well to win.
Harry Grimwood and Evan Grimwood (no relation) made a steady start before the former was bamboozled by a spinner and bowled.
Evan Grimwood survived a couple of scares and hit five boundaries before retiring on 26 from 22 balls.
Joe English and Ben Stewart both made good starts but were both caught and Horley were struggling to keep up with the required run-rate until Warren and Hugo Hobbs came to the wicket. They put together a massive partnership of 60, with Hobbs hitting two huge sixes before he retired on 25 from 14 balls.
Horley still needed 20 runs to win but had plenty of time and Warren played the leading role to see them home with an over to spare, finishing on 20 not out from 27 balls. 
Hobbs was named Player of the Match.​

Horley Under-10s 263 (20 overs), Sanderstead Under-10s 251 (20 overs). Horley won by 12 runs
East Surrey Colts League Cup Final, Monday 16 July, The Ring.

Horley Under-10s won their League Cup final, edging home in a nail-biter against Sanderstead to secure the trophy.
Put in to bat, Horley’s first pair put on 14 in their four overs and the second pair, Oscar Davies and Artie Hoskins, both hit boundaries as they added 24 runs to the total.
Sanderstead’s best bowlers then came on and the score dipped as wickets fell in the next eight overs, so Horley found themselves on 223 with the last pair, Henry Grimwood and Ali Khan coming to the wicket.
With quick runs desperately needed, they found their feet quickly and hit four boundaries each without losing any wickets in a partnership of 40. Khan top-scored with 20, but the total of 263 would be tough to defend.
Aidan Spalding took a wicket in the first over and Khan, Sam Terry and Ollie Millard all followed with wickets of their own, leaving Sanderstead reeling at 195-5.
Hrishi Patel took the sixth wicket, then Grimwood got a runout, combining well with wicketkeeper Hoskins, who ran out another batter soon afterwards.
With 12 overs gone and two pairs to bat, Sanderstead were on 220 and although the next pair scored well, Millard and Grimwood both took wickets.
Sanderstead needed 22 to win in four overs from their last pair. Dan Sired bowled two tight overs, Khan bowled out one batsman and Spalding conceded just three runs in the final over to take Horley to victory.
It was a true team effort and Hoskins was named Player of the Match.

Oxted and Limpsfield Under-10s 284-7 (20 overs), Horley Under-10s 308 (20 overs). Horley won by 24 runs.

Horley opted to bat on a sweltering morning and all their pairs contributed to a good total of 308-4 from their 20 overs.
Dan Sired hit a couple of early fours while Ollie Millard and Joe Leaver also found the boundary and ran well. Matthew Girling drove several fours and Ali Khan and Aidan Spalding closed the innings well, both hitting boundaries and not losing any wickets.
Horley forced an early run-out to but Oxted on the back foot in their reply and Girling sent in an excellent throw for a direct-hit run-out a couple of overs later.
Skipper Oscar Hofmann took a wicket with a great catch by Khan and Oxted were behind the pace at 251-3 after 12 overs.
Another excellent direct hit run out from Hofmann, a caught and bowled from Sired and a clean bowled by Millard left Oxted struggling at 255-6 when the last pair came in to face the final four overs.
They hit a few good boundaries, but were pegged back by Alex Jay clean bowling their main man, and Horley won the match by 24 runs. Hofmann was named Player of the Match.​

Sutton Challengers Under-13s 133-7 (20 overs) Horley Under-13s 136-5 (20 overs)

Horley Under-13s won their penultimate game of the league season and will be crowned champions if they can beat Oxsted and Limpsfield next Sunday.
Horley put Sutton in to bat and opening bowlers Leah Lane and Alex Field both took a wicket to dismiss the openers.
Luke Smith took the third wicket, with Evan Grimwood taking the catch, to put Sutton on 42 for three, but the home side then enjoyed a partnership of 45 from 5.3 overs, which ended when Lane caught Ritvik Gupta for 28 from Udith Molanguri’s bowling. 
Molanguri clean bowled the next batter in the same over, but runs were still coming quite freely. Lane took another catch, this time off Will Hofmann – an under-11 playing his first game for the under-13s - and Joseph Marshall got a wicket-keeper’s run-out in the 18th over – his third in recent matches. 
Sutton had a total of 133 to defend and only nine fielders. After Lane fell in the second over, her fellow opener Hugo Hobbs put on a partnership of 55 from 39 balls with Field, who was bowled for 22 (13 balls).
Marshall joined Hobbs, who was out two overs later for 19, including a big six. Tommy McKenna and Marshall enjoyed a partnership of 17 in three overs then Molanguri came in when McKenna was out and took on the bowlers, hitting a big six off a no ball.
By the time Marshall was run out for 14, Horley were on 123 so Grimwood didn’t have much to do, and Molanguri took Horley to victory, finishing on 26 not out from 20 balls.
This was Horley’s eighth win in nine league matches.​

Horley Under-9s 253 (20 overs), Merstham Under-9s 307 (20 overs). Merstham won by 54 runs.

Horley Under-9s welcomed Merstham for their final league game of the season and, after putting the visitors in, showed how far they’ve come this season with some excellent bowling and organised fielding. 
They had to wait until the eighth over before Ruben Money claimed the first of his two wickets. Riley Hill soon followed with an equally excellent delivery, before Charlie George took a catch from the bowling of Thomas Hitchman.  
A superb effort from Charlie Webber saw him bowl, field and then hit the stumps with an accurate throw for a run-out. Merstham finished on 307 for 5.
Although this seemed like an achievable target to reach, Horley struggled to post runs against Merstham’s quality bowling. Only Webber, Ryan Smith and George weren’t out during their four overs at the crease, with the latter posting a four. 
The game was effectively over before the closing pair of Luke Benjamin and Alex Mutton started their innings but they battled on with the latter smashing two huge sixes before Horley finished on 253 for 12.​

Merstham Under-10s 232 (20 overs), Horley Under-10s 349 (20 overs). Horley won by 117 runs.

Horley’s opening pair got this friendly match off to a good start, with Ali Khan hitting a six in the first over and Aidan Spalding hitting two fours. 
At the end of their four overs they were unbeaten on 12 and 19 respectively.
The next pair, James Burgoyne and Sam Terry also kept their wickets in tact and took the score onto 273.
Joe Leaver and Alex Jay both hit some mighty blows while Artie Hoskins, Dan Sired and Henry Grimwood helped to take Horley’s total to an impressive 349, with Hoskins sweeping one ball for four on one knee and Grimwood hitting five boundaries on his way to making 24.
Horley’s opening bowlers, Spalding and Khan, bowled four consecutive maidens, with Spalding taking a wicket (bowled) in his second over. 
Burgoyne claimed two wickets, one a great catch from Khan, and Spalding pulled off a direct hit run-out.
Hoskins took two wickets in his first over, Grimwood picked up one and bowled two maidens, the Khan took two wickets in the final over with a pair for virtually identical catches from Leaver. Merstham finished on 232 for 9.​