DEFREITAS SPOILS SURREY’S TITLE CELEBRATIONS by Marcus Hook
Surrey Lions 115 (22 Overs) v Leicestershire Foxes 283-9 (45 Overs). Leicestershire Foxes win by 168 runs.

At 4.30pm yesterday Surrey were presented with the National Cricket League trophy in front of their members and supporters. The ceremony was earlier than planned on account of the new title holders having been bowled out in just 22 overs – with the Foxes’ skipper Phillip DeFreitas taking five for 40 – to record their heaviest defeat, in terms of runs, in the competition’s 35-year history.

From ball three – John Maunders was well caught at mid-off off the second delivery of the day – the Lions looked anything but champions as Leicestershire racked up 283 for nine, their biggest total against Surrey in the National League. For the home side and their fans the one bright spot was 20-year-old James Benning, who took four for 43 and was the pick of their batsmen, even if he was not quite their top-scorer with an attractive 25 from fifteen balls.

Darren Maddy and Brad Hodge put on 79 in ten overs for the visitors’ second wicket before Hodge was caught on the square leg boundary. John Sadler then assumed the Aussie’s mantle by combining with Maddy to pocket 83 for the third wicket off the next ten. The introduction of Benning pegged Leicestershire back, as the youngster took four wickets in the space of nineteen balls – three of them caught at the wicket by Jonathan Batty. With Ian Salisbury also bringing some control to proceedings Surrey harboured hopes of restricting the Foxes to less than 250, but Vasbert Drakes had other ideas.

With the hosts needing to make their highest score in this fixture to win, Scott Newman nearly went caught and bowled in the opening over. Nevertheless both he and Nadeem Shahid were gone by the end of the fifth. Newman, again pulling, was caught behind off a thin edge before Shahid was trapped on the crease by one that kept low.

The Lions then lost Graham Thorpe, retired hurt for eight. Having already clutched his back, the England left-hander punched DeFreitas out to the man sweeping on the cover boundary, but was in so much agony he barely managed to regain his ground. Neil Walker, the Surrey physiotherapist, came on, but it was decided it would be in the best interests of Thorpe, and England, if he spent the rest of the afternoon on the treatment table.

Three overs later Alistair Brown was also back in the dressing room after attempting to guide Drakes down to third man. Rikki Clarke went in the next. After creaming DeFreitas straight down the ground, he went for a wander and in the opinion of John Whitehead was leg before.

Maddy then pulled off a brilliant catch at short cover to account for Benning, and after Adam Hollioake took three fours off Charlie Dagnall’s initial effort, the Surrey captain gave his opposite number his second five-wicket haul in over 200 one-day league appearances by chasing a wide ball, which was pouched in first slip’s midriff.

With Dagnall claiming three for two in nine balls to wrap up the innings, the Lions recorded their heaviest ever defeat, beating the previous worst which was the 129-run drubbing handed out by Middlesex at Lord’s in 1969, when the medium-pacer Ron Hooker took six for six.

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