Frensham 1st XI secured a hard-fought victory against Division 1 league leaders Tilford 1st XI in a thrilling, low-scoring contest.

With the away side having won the toss and elected to bat, Tilford were quickly reduced to 92-8 on a wicket that proved difficult to score on. Frensham’s seamers did the early damage, with Nick Cobbold (4-28) and Jack Richards (2-26) taking full advantage of swinging conditions. A typically economical spell from Tim Knight (1-5 from 9 overs) constricted Tilford further, although some attentive batting from Tilford’s lower order helped the away side reach a competitive score of 132 all out from 44.4 overs at the break.

In reply, Frensham made a positive start, with Jack Richards leading the attack before falling LBW to George Ellis for 21. With Frensham seemingly edging ahead with the bat, Andy Hall-Hall’s introduction with the ball (3-22) bought about a series of key wickets and left the game poised for a nail-biting finish. With the pressure building and a large crowd in attendance, some watchful batting from Sam Farncombe and Jack Blythe slowly edged the home side to within touching distance of victory before a couple of blows from Nick Cobbold helped Frensham over the line with just one wicket to spare – all to jubilant cheers from the partisan crowd.

The victory leaves Tilford 1st XI without a win against Frensham 1st XI in all competitions in 2021.