So we knew the final three weeks were going to be tough but while the results may have not always gone our way, Week 16 saw great performances from all of the teams.

The 1s were at top of the table High Wycombe 2s. Ascot won the toss and elected to field first. Their innings was built around Simon Janes 71 to help them to a very good score of 248 for 5 off 50 overs. Sam Wheller chipping in with the best economy figures of 1 for 32.

Ascot started well with a 64 opening partnership between James Gamble 28 and Jez Hare 34 but wickets began to fall regularly and it needed a great 7th wicket partnership of 69 between Charlie Dunnett 39 and Will Ellison 41 to keep us in with a chance. Unfortunately despite the best efforts of the lower order Ascot fell short by 9 runs.

They are now in joint 8th with Wokingham 2s but with a game in hand and one point behind Hurst. On Saturday the 1s are at home to 6th placed Aldershot, Hurst 2 play 2nd placed Wargrave and Wokingham 2 have no fixture.

The 2s were at home to White Waltham. White Waltham won the toss and elected to bat first. Sam Warren 52 and Simon Jessup 66 put on a great opening partnership and the middle order chipped in to get them up to 204 for 5 off 45 overs. Myles Trainor was pick of the bowlers with 7 overs, 1 for 13.

The 2s batted well but just fell short by 24 runs in the end. Rob Handley 43, Ralph Weeks 31 and Joshua Jayasingh’s 47 not out all great contributions but not enough as they finished on 180 for 6 off 45 overs. Richard West with 3 for 21 was the best bowler for White Waltham.

The 2s are still in bottom position and 17 points adrift of Henley 3s but there is still hope as only one team may go down so will be looking for a win away at Bagshot 2s.

The 3s were away at Eversley 3s and on winning the toss elected to bat first. John Dunnet got them off to a fast start with 48 out of an opening stand of 78. Banerjee and Mohain fell quickly but Mike Wyatt 68 and Harry Thomason 45 not out help the 3s to a good total of 206 for 4 off 45 overs.

Eversley started well and were well placed at drinks at 94 for 4 but Ben Clark had just managed to remove the dangerous Andrew Perkin with a superb caught and bowled. But the tail subsided as Marc Ames came on and took 4 for 8 and Tom Dummigan took the last wicket to secure an 88 run win and hopefully with that safety as they now can’t be caught in 8th place.

On Saturday they face a tough test as they play Sulhamstead & Ufton 2s at home who are 3rd and looking to try and get into one of the promotion spots.

The 4s were at home to Boyne Hill 4s. They won the toss and elected to field first. Boyne Hill put on a great score of 300 for 9 off 40 overs through contributions by Matthew Valentine 51, Arindam Ghosh 50, Devansh Bhikhan 46, Sarvesh Bhargava 45 not out and Oliver McConkey 38. Disney Abeyesekara took 4 for 71 and Dan Bailey 3 for 52.

In the end that was beyond Ascot’s reach but they made 233 for 9 with contributions from James Clements 49, Disney Abeyesekara 43 and Chris Harding 41. Owen Roberts was Boyne Hill’s best bowler with 4 for 51.

With 12 points picked up the 4s remain in 8th place and are now 35 points ahead of Datchet 4s. 6 points from their last two matches should secure safety and they face Bagshot 3 away.

All four team played well this week and hopefully we’ll see these turned into wins in Week 17.

A final note from the colts where 4 of our Under 10s represented Berkshire at the Taunton Festival and help them win the tournament by beating Lancashire in the final.