Newdigate 1st XI hosted Capel at the Brocus on Saturday in a league fixture between the two sides for the first time in 13 years.

Home skipper Allan Cooper won the toss and elected to field first, with opening bowlers Cooper and Joe Haynes immediately putting the visitors under pressure. Both bowlers were accurate from ball one, making scoring extremely difficult as runs were hard to come by during the opening exchanges.

Cooper was particularly impressive, repeatedly beating the bat of both Capel openers during an exceptional unchanged nine-over spell that conceded just seven runs. Despite his dominance, he was unfortunate to finish with only one wicket to his name.

Capel reached the drinks break at 57-3, but the visitors rebuilt well through Ash Smith and Martin Wheelwright, who struck a valuable 31. The pair began to find the boundary regularly and shifted the momentum back in Capel’s favour.

Smith continued to bat fluently, bringing up an excellent half-century, while Rudi Jaques provided solid support with 26. Smith was eventually run out for a superb 71, but a late flourish from the visitors helped Capel post a competitive 189-7 from their allotted overs.

Jagadeesh Subbiah and Daniel Harrington both picked up two wickets apiece for the home side.

In reply, Newdigate lost an early wicket before the in-form Kian Bradley and the elegant David Farrington steadied the innings with a promising partnership. Both batters looked comfortable at the crease and kept the chase on track, with Bradley making a well-crafted 46 and Farrington contributing 36.

However, the introduction of spin proved decisive for Capel as a dramatic collapse saw Newdigate lose six wickets for just 13 runs, severely denting hopes of chasing down the target.

The home crowd continued to rally behind the side as last week’s hero Daniel Harrington remained at the crease alongside capable lower-order support. Harrington battled hard for his 18, but once he was dismissed the chase quickly came to an end, with Newdigate eventually bowled out for 140.

It was ultimately a disappointing result for Newdigate, but there will still be positives to take and lessons to work on ahead of the upcoming fixtures.