Ashtead Cricket Club chairman Richard Laudry reckons Dominic Sibley’s run-scoring heroics were all in the blood.
The 15-year-old Surrey second teamer notched only the fourth double century in Surrey Championship Premier Division history on Saturday, to take his side to a winning draw against Weybridge.
The Whitgift School student’s 200 off 218 balls, against an attack that included former England star Jimmy Ormond, was only the second double hundred in the club’s history, the other having been scored by former Surrey batsman David Ward.
Sibley’s father Mark, who also played for Surrey’s second string, and grandfather Peter have both donned the whites for Ashtead and Laudry expects great things from junior.
“It was clear when we first saw him that he was going to be something special,” said Laudry.
“He is the third generation Sibley to play for the club and each one seems to get better and better, so it will be interesting to see what his kids will be like.
“He could clearly be playing on the international stage at a relatively early age.”
Sibley outclassed Weybridge on Saturday as Ashtead piled up 306-7.
In reply, Anthony Atkinson (60) and Joel Pope (56) helped the visitors to 184-5 five, giving Ashtead the winning draw.
But it was the manor of the youngster’s scoring that impressed Laudry most.
“He tries to play the ball as little as possible in the early part of his innings and then gradually picked things up,” he added.
“You don’t see that a lot from players at this level.”
Elsewhere, in the Surrey Championship, Middlesex pair Toby Roland-Jones and Adam London terrorised Banstead in the Premier Division, as title-chasing Sunbury kept up the pressure on leaders Wimbledon.
Roland-Jones (3-18) helped dismiss the visitors for 134, before London hit 59 to ensure the visitors went home empty handed from the Geoff Kaye Memorial Ground on Saturday.
A man of the match performance from Pubudu Chandrasekara was not enough to stop Epsom from slipping to a 40-run defeat at second-placed Dulwich in Division Two as they moved closer to relegation.
Chandrasekara took 3-60 to dismiss the hosts for 219, but his 48, along with Will Moore’s unbeaten 44, was not enough as Epsom crumbled to 179 all out.
At the other end of the table, Leatherhead’s promotion hopes were dealt a blow as they were beaten by 44 runs by third-placed Farnham by at Fetcham Grove.
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