Horley had a number of regulars missing for this home game, as it was regular opener Regan Derham’s wedding day, but the players who stepped in did well. The visitors elected to bat and the first wicket fell in the 12th over with the score on 43 when Ed Cooper had his off bail removed by Davies (3-26). The next wicket didn’t fall until the 30th over, when Ben Stewart uprooted Benji Thomas’s middle stump. Adam Iqbal (67) was on 18 at the time and moved on past 50 before he chanced his arm once too often and was well caught by Davies off Will Taylor (2-61). From 168-3 after 44 overs, wickets fell with regularity as Effingham tried to accelerate. Only 25 runs were added for five wickets, one a brilliant runout by Jon Barnett and the last a catch by Matt Ware off Matt Gainsford, and the 50-over innings closed at 195-8, which could have been more without some brilliant boundary saves from Luke Smith. The reply did not start well, when Gainsford tried an expansive shot which led to the loss of his middle stump, with the score on nine. David Dyer and the incoming Richard Waddington matched each other score wise, not taking chances but keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Up against the father and son of Anthony and Dominic Brown, the 50 came up in the 16th over but the partnership was broken when Dyer (41) was out to Brown (father) with the score on 94. Waddington was joined by captain for the day Davies and the score started to accelerate. In the 36th over, with 142 on the board, Waddington (55) was caught at mid-on after trying to clear the ring. Just like in the Effingham innings, lofted shots bounced just before the fielders and Horley reached 172-3 off 42 overs, needing just 24 from eight overs. Ware (11) was adjudged brilliantly run out by Jordan Bond and Barnett joined Davies, who was on 46. Barnett (12 not out) played with intent and after Davies reached 52, the winning runs were rather softly scored by way of four byes. A 17-run win at Warlingham kept Horley 2nd XI in second spot in the Surrey County League 2nd XI Division One. Leading a rather different looking side, due to the wedding and other unavailability, Trevor Stevens elected to bat. Josh Mason and Khyan Patel put on 20 for the first wicket. Dan Sired batted at three and added a patient 17, while Patel also departed for the same score. This brought Andrew Reid to the wicket and he provided the backbone of the innings with a mature 62, only falling in the final chase for quick runs. The dependable Nick Waddington (14) shared a good partnership of 36 with Reid, then Ryan Bunn joined Reid with the score on 103 after 33 overs. Horley needed to up the pace and good running did that job, with Bunn uncharacteristically hitting no boundaries in his 21 not out. Horley reached a respectable 174-7 from 45 overs, which looked defendable. Sam Terry and Matt Puttick opened the bowling and Terry made the initial breakthrough with three early wickets. The opening batsman Pritesh Patel was scoring quickly, until an embarrassed Ollie Millard snared him with a poor delivery which he skied to keeper Reid. Millard picked up the fifth wicket, bowled, before Jaspreet Manoor (49) and Chetun Patel (43) shared a partnership of 86, bringing the required rate down to just over three an over. However, the effort of running singles and tight bowling and fielding from Horley created the chance Horley needed with Millard taking a good catch off Puttick to dismiss Manoor. Good bowling from Khyan Patel and Stevens helped swing the game in Horley’s favour as aerial balls went to hand, with Bunn and Mason both taking catches off Khyan Patel, and a runout by Terry. When the last batsman arrived at the wicket Terry promptly shattered his stumps to earn the win, with Warlingham all out for 157. Horley 3rd XI were unable to cope with the loss of so many regular players to the teams above them, and lost to Broadbridge Heath 2nd XI. However, they remain second in Sussex League Division 11 West (North). Horley were put in and skipper Kieran Childs nicked one to the keeper early on. Heath continued to bowl well, putting the pressure on and Artie Hoskins fell for 14. That brought Andrew Burbidge to the crease, playing his first match since he was badly hurt in a road accident in 2019. He started the rebuild for Horley, with some lovely shots peppering the boundary. He provided the backbone of the innings, making 58 from 53 balls, including nine fours, as Horley reached 129 all out from 38.1 overs. Tom Clargo and Ryan Smith bowled well as Horley’s first pair, with Clargo taking the first wicket. Father and son Dave and Kieran Childs bowled in tandem and kept the pressure on the visitors, with Dave Childs returning figures of nine overs, one maiden, three for 27. Although the fielding and bowling was tight, Horley’s total proved too low and Heath reached 132-4 in 34.3 overs. Horley Development XI’s defence of their Surrey Trust League Tier Two trophy ended with a defeat in their penultimate group match at Purley. Horley put Purley in and they made 225 all out from their 40 overs. After Aidan Spalding took the first wicket, a stand of 104 by Harvey Jennings (78) and Alex Burcombe (56) provided the bulk of the runs before Jon Barnett had Jennings caught by Zac Jennings. Purley added 38 for the next wicket then Luke Smith struck twice in two balls, getting Burcombe caught and bowled and bowling the skipper Hassan Ali first ball to make it 192-4. Barnett picked up a second wicket, caught by Smith, who later took his third wicket, and Sam Terry came back on for a second spell which brought three wickets to give him excellent figures of 3-22 from seven overs. A last-ball runout from Smith completed the home side’s innings. Horley didn’t start their reply well, losing skipper Harry Grimwood for two. After Jennings followed for five, Aryan Patel and Richard Waddington rebuilt with a stand of 47, but Waddington went for 22. Barnett stepped up, joining Patel in a 48-run fourth-wicket partnership but when Patel was out for 44, two more wickets quickly followed to leave Horley with their work cut out. Barnett did his best to get Horley close, making 54 from 44 balls (six fours, one six) before he was caught with the score on 171-7. Christian Kelly was still battling but was bowled for 23 and although Irfaan Baksh made 16, Horley ended up ten runs short, on 215-9. With one group match to go, Horley are guaranteed to finish second in the table, but Leatherhead are in the final.