Woking lost a tight and entertaining contest away to Valley End’s 2nd XI last Saturday.

Woking batted first and it was a steady start from their openers Barnes and Allen as they scored quickly off the first few overs, with Allen hitting several boundaries, until the Valley End bowling attack struck. Grist removed the dangerous Barnes, who had scored 24 off 25 balls, to leave Woking 42 for one.

Grist struck again almost immediately, removing the other opener leg before wicket. Allen joined Barnes back in the pavilion, leaving Woking 44 for two.

A new partnership at the crease was vital for Woking, as Dean and Rodrigo had to fend off the bowling attack to avoid a total collapse.

Dean held his end up, scoring 11 off 41 balls, while Rodrigo went on the attack, scoring 12 boundaries in getting to a half-century.

Dean’s wicket left Woking 103 for three, and Moses who came in to replace him did not last long as he was bowled by King.

This left Woking on 109 for four. Rodrigo’s aggressive play was rewarding but it caught up with him eventually as he was stumped by Vernon.

The following batsmen lost cheap wickets in quick succession, but Gahagan fought back, scoring 41 off 49 balls to leave Woking with a defendable score of 202 all out off 44.2 overs.

It was looking promising for Woking when Chisholm removed the openers early, and not long after that Walters was caught by Barnes off Thompson, leaving Valley End 49 for three.

Then came a big innings from Barrow which turned the tide in Valley End’s favour. Barrow scored 79 off 130 balls and finished not out as his fellow batsmen lost their wickets around him.

However Barrow’s performance proved too much as Valley End reached 203 for eight to win in 47.4 overs.