BROWN AND DOSHI STAR IN EASY VICTORY FOR THE BROWN CAPS by Marcus Hook
Derbyshire Phantoms 207 (39.4 Overs) v Surrey Brown Caps 211-2 (27.2 Overs). Surrey Brown Caps win by 8 wickets.

Surrey have certainly embraced the return of 40-over cricket on Sunday afternoons. When it was originally introduced, back in 1969, it took the Brown Caps 28 seasons to lift their one and only title. But after a seven-year absence, Mark Butcher and company have wasted no time making amends for their side's years of poor showing in the one-day league cricket; kicking off this summer's NatWest Pro40 competition with two wins out of two.

Their second, and certainly most convincing victory came yesterday when the Brown Caps paid their first visit to Chesterfield since 1991. With James Benning and Alistair Brown following up Nayan Doshi's one-day career best five for 30 with an opening stand of 155 in nineteen overs, the visitors romped home with eight wickets and more than twelve overs to spare.

Chasing a victory target of 208, Surrey had ninety runs on the board after just eleven overs. Four members of Derbyshire's attack - Dean, Wagg, Botha and Adnan - saw their first deliveries disappear to the boundary. Graham Wagg's was scythed over point by Brown for six. The last ball of the fifteenth over saw the 36-year-old slog sweep his third maximum, off Ant Botha, to take the visitors total to 116. But the relaxation of the fielding restrictions led to no such let-up in the run rate.

In the very next over, Jake Needham was launched down the ground for two successive sixes by Brown, who then hit Botha's left-arm spin into the pavilion and Hassan Adnan over the sightscreen and into the children's adventure playground; which had wisely been closed down for the duration of the cricket festival in Queen's Park.

Alistair Brown was in such regal form, he outshone Benning, who hit 66 off 59 balls, including 11 fours and one six. Benning was handed a life on 46, when Travis Burt fluffed a chance off Needham at deep mid-wicket. But five overs later, Botha had the 23-year-old drilling the ball hard and low to Chris Taylor at cover.

Brown, who, in comparison, gave no chances to speak of, reached the eighteenth one-day hundred of his career in just 65 deliveries with a straight four off Needham. However, he faced just three more balls for his 106, which included eight sixes and as many fours. That left Mark Ramprakash, who chipped in with an unbeaten 31 that included a straight six off Dean in the 22nd over, to wrap things up comprehensively in Surrey's favour.

Earlier in the day, Nayan Doshi's five for 30, his best figures in all forms of one-day competition helped to restrict the home side to 207.

Following the loss of Travis Burt to the second ball of the match and Steve Stubbings five overs later, Michael Di Venuto and Chris Taylor put on 58 in nine overs for the third wicket. After Di Venuto presented a straightforward catch to the man at mid-off, however, Derbyshire went twenty-two overs in which they were only managed to collect three boundaries.

Taylor, who made an attractive 44 in 52 deliveries, was caught behind trying cut a ball from Clarke which was too close to him. Botha was out to a top-edged sweep and Hassan Adnan gave Doshi his second of five wickets when his frustration took over and he was stumped.

Jonathan Batty's quick pick-up and throw to run out Jamie Pipe left the home side 157-7 in the 34th over. But thanks to Wagg's 36 off 24 balls, including four successive boundaries, starting with a six over extra cover, off Jade Dernbach's sixth and final over, the Phantoms enjoyed a late flourish to their innings.

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