Week 5 saw the 1s miss out a round after the withdrawal of a team. So the 2s visited top of the table Binfield 1s. Illness meant that Jason Carr was skipper for the day and he duly won the toss and put Binfield into bat.

Scoring was difficult early on as the Ascot bowlers and fielders kept the pressure on. At 85 for 4, the game was in the balance but Eddie Lee held the innings together with a well timed 50 and some late order runs from Duncan Wessels with 19 saw Binfield reach a good total of 197 for 9 off 50 overs.

Andy Murray with 3 for 44 and Elliot Coggins 3 for 38 were the pick of the Ascot bowlers.

The 2s got off to a great start with a partnership of 60 by Jack Kendall 50 and James Gamble 10 but from 60 for 0 a massive middle order collapse saw the 2s on the ropes at 93 for 7. Matt Hayman the chief destroyer with 4 for 23. Andy Murray and Nick Wiggett stabilised the innings and gave Ascot hope with a 56 partnership for the 8th wicket until Nick Wiggett was out for 17.

Jason Carr came in as Ascot looked for the win but then got injured while batting. So under Law 25.5 for Runners – the umpires and opposition correctly interpreted the following law:

25.5.1 The umpires shall allow a runner for a batsman if they are satisfied

25.5.1.1 that the batsman has sustained an injury that affects his/her ability to run and

25.5.1.2 that this occurred during the match.

In all other circumstances, a runner is not allowed.

So with a Carr allowed a runner, and Murray at the crease they managed to keep up with the run rate and an unbeaten partnership of 49 saw Ascot home by 4 balls and 2 wickets. Andy Murray finishing on 59 not out and Jason Carr with 31 not out.

A nerve wracking win which sees the 2s move up to 6th.

The 3s played Kidmore End 2s at the Racecourse Ground. Kidmore End won the toss and elected to field first.

Dan Corsini 46 and Jeremy Wing 45 got Ascot off to a great start with an opening partnership of 114. After that opening some great bowling and fielding from Kidmore End slowed the run rate. Neal Feely made 23 and was then caught by an excellent catch from Duncan Grant. Ralph Weeks made 28 and then some late order hitting by Ben Clark 32 and Dan Mallett 20 saw the 3s reach a good total of 239 for 7 off 45 overs.

Azhar Udeen with 3 for 44 and Tom Wilkinson with 2 for 22 were the pick of the Kidmore End bowlers.

Kidmore End lost Mark New early on but Chris Pigden 36 and Jack Livingstone-Smith 14 put on 50 for the second wicket. But 63 for 1 became 63 for 4 including two wickets in two balls for Tim Howson including bowling the unfortunate Cameron Livingstone-Smith around his legs.

The 3s were still in charge at 99 for 6 but then Duncan Grant held the innings together with partnerships of 41 with Rory Elliott and 47 with Phoebe Graham. Kidmore End were well above the run rate and the game was in the balance at 187 for 8 with Duncan Grant still at the crease.

But eventually Grant was out for a great innings of 73 and Kidmore End eventually fell short on 202 all out off 35.5 overs.

That win saw the 3s jump one place to 8th.

The 4s were away at table toppers Wargrave 3s. Ascot won the toss and elected to field. That seemed a good decision with Wargrave at 32 for 4. But the middle order of Michael Hattey 53, Alex Hands 33 and Andrew Hattey 19 saw Wargrave reach 182 for 9 off 40 overs.

Naeem Mohammad finished with figures of 3 for 49.

Unfortunately the 4s innings never got going as wickets fell regularly and with Richard Baker top scoring with 24, Ascot fell to 114 all out off 31 overs. Tom Walker the pick of the Wargrave bowlers with 3 for 19.

The 4s remain in 5th position.

Week 6 sees the 1s, 2s and 3s go back to the 100 over format while the 4s continue with 40 over Win/Lose format.

Saturday’s fixtures are:

1s v Wargrave (Away)

2s v Newbury (Home)

3s v Yateley 2 (Away)

4s v Hayes 3 (Home)