2015 was an “annus mirabilis”. So how will 2016 turn out? The Colts have already been underway for a couple of weeks – surviving the bitter elements of our late spring.

Some positive starts have been made with the Under 13s winning the preliminary round and 1st round matches of the Berkshire U13 Cup. The Under 12s won their 1st round match in the West Surrey Under 12 Cup against Graywood by 133 runs and the Under 9s won their West Surrey Gladys Chitty match against Ripley.

So Week 1 saw the 1s travel to Thatcham, who were promoted with them last season. The sun was out and skipper Sweetman won the toss and elected to bat first. The batting was solid and there were some good contributions all around but no one went on to make the big score. Jack Kendall 36, Nick Sweetman 31, James Wensley 26, Andy Murray 25 and George Payne 21 helped Ascot reach a respectable 203 for 9 off 52 overs.

Thatcham chipped away at the total and while Ascot’s bowling did well, the fielding saw 6 chances dropped. In the end this made the difference as Thatcham reached the total with 4 wickets and 3.1 overs to spare. Andy Murray was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 40 in 16 overs.

Next week they will face High Wycombe 2s at home.

The 2nd XI faced familiar opposition from seasons past against local rivals Boyne Hill 2. The opposition batted first but despite the defiance of Jang Alam’s fine 51 not out, wickets fell regularly as Boyne Hill were bowled out for 118 in 35.3 overs. The wickets were shared around with 3 for Jason Carr, 2 for Saeed Ahmed, Myles Trainor & Joshua Oshea and Tim Howson picking up the final wicket.

The 2s reached their target with only 4 down with all the batsmen making a contribution with Murray Barter top scoring with 38 and Jason Carr & Neal Feely seeing us home to get the 25 points. Next week the 2s travel to Aldershot 2s.

Like the 1s, the 3s first opposition was against the team they were promoted with last season. Fleet 2 were the visitors to Locks Ride and they won the toss and elected to bat. They got off to a flying start going at 4 an over but then wickets started to fall at regular intervals. Tight fielding in the end saw Fleet restricted to 153 all out off 48.1 overs. The wickets were shared around with 3 fors for Rob Major & Elliott Coggins, 2 for Mike Wyatt and 1 for Jack Lunghusen.

The early loss of Weeks slowed Ascot’s progress but a quick fire 54 from Daniel Parker and 42 from Chris Harding left Dirk Benneyworth and Chris Nichol to see the 3s reach their target and start the season with 25 points. Next week the 3s are away at Boyne Hill 3s.

The 4s travelled into London to face Kew 4s. This ended up being a very low scoring affair and Ascot inserted Kew who ended up 57 all out in 25.3 overs. Theo Hosegood with 5 for 14 and Richard Ellison 3 for 15 were the pick of the bowlers.

Despite the low score, Ascot made high work chasing a small target but 24 from Graham Anderson saw them reach the target with 5 wickets down in 19.3 overs and just in time for tea!

The 4s are at home next week to Newbury 2.

So 3 wins out of 4 – a good start for the season, with a long way to go. It may just be a coincidence but these were exactly the same results achieved in Week 1 last season!