Week 6 – Cricksim ads are starting to pixelate as someone shouted that we could go to Stage 3. What is this all about? Now there is talk of Stage 4 and the Cricksim wants to fight it. What is going on?
The 1s were at home again and the visitors this time were Boyne Hill 2s. Skipper Mike Brown won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Despite it being good batting conditions, Ascot got off to an amazing start. Brown’s first ball had William Neal plumb lbw.
W Neal lbw b M Brown 0
0 for 1 – 0.1 overs
After his unconventional second over bowling choices, Nick Wiggett shared the new ball and immediately took a second wicket with his second ball as Thomas Bishop played on.
T Bishop b N Wiggett 6
7 for 2 – 1.2 overs
Despite the early losses, Don Pike and Najib Khan found batting easy and were finding the boundary easily. The 50 came up in the eighth over and the 50 partnership in the next over and Boyne Hill were scoring at over 7 runs per an over.
A couple of tight overs from Mike Brown and Andy Murray helped build pressure which led to the third wicket. With no boundaries for several overs a well flighted delivery from Kevin May got Najib Khan to bite and in the end gave a simple catch to Jack Kendall at deep mid-on.
N Khan c J Kendall b K May 43
82 for 3 – 13.5 overs
This pressure led to another wicket as a mix-up between Pike and new batsman Bilal Asghar led to Jack Kendall easily running out Asghar.
B Asghar run out (J Kendall) 1
85 for 4 – 14.5 overs
James McClellan and Don Pike decided to consolidate, and the run rate went down while Ascot looked to reduce the boundary count. After 20 overs the score was 106 for 4 and the match delicately balanced.
Don Pike was just one short of 50 when he nicked behind off Will Ellison to give Tony King a simple catch.
D Pike c A King b W Ellison 49
112 for 5 – 21.3 overs
Robert Morgan was next man in, and Boyne Hill were looking to keep the run rate at 5 an over. A partnership was just developing in when May got one past Morgan’s bat with the ball looking to go on and hit middle and leg and the umpire’s finger went up.
R Morgan lbw b K May 14
137 for 6 – 26.4 overs
Callum Thompson now joined McClellan at the crease. Again, Ascot turned the screw especially Andy Murray and Kevin May.
The 150 came in the 32nd over and now this 7th wicket partnership started to get some momentum. The 50 partnership was reached in the 37th over which included a 4 and a massive 6 from McClellan, which brought him a well deserved 50 off 71 balls.
Ascot managed to keep a lid on the run rate and should have had a seventh wicket when May got McClellan to make a mistake, but Kendall dropped a relatively simple chance.
22 runs off the final two overs managed to see Boyne Hill reach a respectable 234 for 6 off 45 overs.
234 for 6 – 45 overs
James McClellan 80 not out (off 94 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes), Don Pike 49 (off 64 balls, 6 fours), Najib Khan 43 (off 35 balls, 7 fours)
Ascot got off to a poor start when Gamble was out second ball to Najib Khan.
J Gamble lbw b N Khan 0
1 for 1 – 0.4 overs
Jack Kendall joined Joshua Jayasingh at the crease. Kendall started brightly with a couple of great drives, but Khan took his second wicket as Kendall offered an easy catch to Don Pike.
J Kendall c D Pike b N Khan 16
23 for 2 – 5.1 overs
Nick Sweetman was now at the crease and Ascot looked to consolidate and rebuild the innings. After 10 overs Ascot were 37 for 2 and the required run rate was now at 5.66 runs per over. Ascot then looked to accelerate with Jayasingh taking charge as he plundered several boundaries in the next couple of overs.
But just as Ascot had increased the run rate, a tight over from Asghar saw Sweetman bowled by a great delivery.
N Sweetman b B Asghar 19
72 for 3 – 14.5 overs
Jerry Hare now joined Joshua Jayasingh and it was imperative they build a good partnership. After a couple of overs, the partnership again started to reduce the run rate with Jayasingh taking the lead again and reached a well-constructed 50 off just 56 deliveries at the end of the 18th over.
The next over saw the 100 reached and Ascot were above the required run rate. Boyne Hill missed their chance to make the breakthrough as Hare was dropped by Pike off the bowling of Bhanot.
A couple of big overs saw this fourth wicket pair reach the 50 partnership in the 24th over. But a couple of overs later Pike made amends for his earlier drop by taking a good catch off the bowling of Neal to remove Jerry Hare.
J Hare c D Pike b W Neal 33
139 for 4 – 25.3 overs
Tony King showed his intent from the first ball with a superb pull for 4. The 150 came up in the 27th over and Ascot were still in control of the run chase.
With King scoring at a run a ball, the 50 partnership came up in the 37th over with another boundary, this time through the covers by King.
In the 40th over, Joshua Jayasingh reached a great century as he smashed Neal for 6, leaving Ascot needing 24 runs in 5 overs.
Unfortunately, Jayasingh was unable to see it through as he holed out to long on for Thompson to take the catch.
J Jayasingh c C Thompson b A Carvalo 102
211 for 5 – 40.1 overs
But Boyne Hill were not going down easily and picked up the wicket of Andy Murray as he played on to Asghar.
A Murray b B Asghar 4
216 for 6 – 41.5 overs
With 3 overs remaining, Ascot needed 18 runs. A boundary from Tony King and one from Will Ellison saw 10 off the next over
8 needed off 2 overs. Tony King reached a run-a-ball 50 with a boundary but that was the only scoring shot off that over.
4 needed off the last over.
Ball 1 – Ellison works the ball onto the leg-side for a single. 3 needed.
Ball 2 – King plays and misses. 3 needed.
Ball 3 – King plays and misses again. 3 needed.
Ball 4 – King smashes it through mid-wicket and while Neal stops the ball on the boundary, they run 3 to claim the win.
235 for 6 – 44.4 overs
Joshua Jayasingh 102 (off 120 balls, 10 fours, 2 sixes), Tony King 53 not out (off 59 balls, 7 fours)
A close match which in the end could have gone either way. Joshua Jayasingh was man of the match.
The 2s were on the road at Farnham Common 2. Farnham Common won the toss and elected to bat first. Myles Trainor opened the bowling and struck in his first over when he bowled Sami Niese.
S Niese b M Trainor 0
0 for 1 – 0.6 overs
Aarav Radhakrishnan then had Farnham Common in further trouble as a superb delivery took off pole out.
M Niese b A Radhakrishnan 2
11 for 2 – 4.1 overs
Miso and Shoaib needed to dig Farnham Common out of trouble and they started to rebuild seeing out the first 10 overs at 44 for 2.
Both batsmen were finding the boundary and the 50 partnership was comfortably reached in the 13th over.
Farnham Common looked well set and both players on their way to 50 when Tysom Miso miscued a delivery off Ben Clark and Billy Baker took a great running catch on the boundary.
T Miso c B Baker b B Clark 43
86 for 3 – 15.3 overs
Mohsin Ghazanfar was now at the crease and with Shoaib they looked to keep the run rate at 5 an over. Again, as the overs ticked over, they started to find the boundary more regularly. Shoaib reached 50 in the 24th over with a leg glance for four.
Several overs later the 50 partnership was reached and at the 30 over mark, Farnham Common looked well set at 153 for 3.
Just as Ghazanfar looked set to get 50 and raise the 100 partnership, Clark got one to turn and hit the pad.
M Ghazanfar lbw b B Clark 47
182 for 4 – 35.6 overs
Ascot missed the chance to remove Nafees Khan two balls later as Carr diving to his left just failed to hold on to a chance off Radhakrishnan. The 200 was reached in the 39th overs and Farnham Common looked to go big in the final six overs.
Shoaib went to his 100 in style with a 6 over deep mid-wicket but Ben Clark held his nerve next ball as he tossed another one up only for Shoaib to hit it straight at Andy Wiggett.
M Shoaib c A Wiggett b B Clark 105
211 for 5 – 40.3 overs
Farooq soon departed in the chase for runs as skipper Handley took a one-handed catch at slip off Radhakrishnan.
M Farooq c R Handley b A Radhakrishnan 1
216 for 6 – 41.1 overs
Radhakrishnan struck again as he struck Khan plumb in front.
N Khan lbw b A Radhakrishnan 14
224 for 7 – 43.1 overs
In the end, Farnham Common saw out the final deliveries to make a respectable 233 for 7.
233 for 7 – 45 overs
Muhammed Shoaib 105 (off 126 balls, 8 fours, 3 sixes), Mohsin Ghazanfar 47 (off 60 balls, 6 fours), Tysom Miso 43 (off 36 balls, 4 fours, 1 six)
Ben Clark 7-0-36-3, Aarav Radhakrishnan 9-1-38-3
Handley and Billy Baker showed intent from ball 1 and soon had Farnham Common on the defensive. They soon made 50 in the seventh over and Handley quickly reached a run-a-ball 50 in the 12th over as he cut Khan to the boundary.
Handley remained dominant in the opening partnership and it was against the run of play when he gave a simple catch to Khan off the bowling of Farooq.
R Handley c N Khan b M Farooq 72
99 for 1 – 16.2 overs
Gareth Baker’s stay at the crease was short lived as he was out to brilliant catch from Ghazanfar with Farooq the bowler.
G Baker c M Ghazanfar b M Farooq 6
115 for 2 – 18.3 overs
Billy Baker was now joined by Jason Carr. With the run rate above 6, Carr took several deliveries to settle but then punished two bad balls for four. At the other end, Billy Baker was accumulating runs and reached a solid 50 with a single to long-on.
After 25 overs, Ascot were well ahead of the run rate at 150 for 2. But out of nowhere, Nafees Khan cleaned up Carr with a magic ball.
J Carr b N Khan 20
162 for 3 – 27.5 overs
A couple of overs later Khan struck again as he got Billy Baker to play-on to give Farnham Common hope.
B Baker b N Khan 70
177 for 4 – 30.2 overs
Ascot edged towards the target but then lost Samm Daniel as he was caught on the long-off boundary.
S Daniel c T Miso b A Ramzan 14
194 for 5 – 33.2 overs
Ben Clark quickly fell and now Ascot looked far from odds on to secure to the win.
B Clark c S Aziz b N Khan 2
201 for 6 – 34.6 overs
So, with 10 overs remaining, Ascot needed 33 runs and Farnham Common 4 wickets. Thankfully, Ascot had the experienced campaign Jez Wing at the crease and alongside Dan Corsini they nudged and nurdled Ascot to the target.
With 5 overs remaining needed 17 to win. That became 11 as Dan Corsini in a display of raw power and brutality smashed 6.
9 needed off four overs. That became 3 as this time Jez Wing hit six off the first ball with a great pull shot.
Wing secured victory with a single off the last ball of the over and see Ascot home by four wickets.
234 for 6 – 42.0 overs
Rob Handley 72 (off 67 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes), Billy Baker 70 (off 76 balls, 7 fours, 1 six)
Nafees Khan 9-0-47-3
Despite the slight wobble at the end, the 2s continue their winning streak and Rob Handley was named man of the match.
The 3s were at home at Locks Ride with Reading 3 the guests. Reading won the toss and elected to bowl first. Ascot were happy as the wicket looked like the road and when Tom Clarke hit a four and six in the first over, it looked like it was going to be a long day for Reading.
Clarke looked in great form when he was out to an outstanding caught and bowled from Motaleb Safi.
T Clarke c & b M Safi 18
29 for 1 – 2.6 overs
Next in was Deep Mohain, who has not been able to buy a run this season and he started hesitantly. That soon changed with a good cut for four and an even better cover drive for 4. In the eighth over he smashed consecutive sixes off Khan.
After 10 overs, Ascot were already 85 for 1 with the 50-partnership reached. Reading did not help their chances, when in the next over, Christopher dropped a relatively simple chance off Weeks.
The 100 was reached when Deep Mohain hit his fourth 6 of the innings, and in the next over made reached a quickfire 50 with a boundary.
Weeks reached 50 in the next over as Ascot ran the Reading team ragged with a 3. Just as the 100 partnership was in sight, Reading struck as Mahesh Gopalakrishnan cleaned up Mohain.
D Mohain b M Gopalakrishnan 55
127 for 2 – 16.4 overs
Dougal was next in, but this didn’t stop the runs flowing, as he got off the mark with consecutive fours. Weeks hit his first six of the innings and after 20 overs, Ascot were 154 for 2.
Another boundary from Weeks brought up the 50 partnership as they maintained the run rate at 7.5 an over. The 200 mark was soon reached by the end of the 27th over.
A cover drive for 4 from Weeks saw him reach a great 100 and the Locks Ride crowd rose to its feet and applauded one of the best innings ever seen at Locks Ride,
The 31st over saw another milestone as the 100 partnership was reached and Ascot continued to plunder runs. Dougal was next to reach 50 with a single and the Reading attack was in disarray as the 150 partnership was reached in the 38th over.
With 5 overs remaining, Ascot were now 296 for 2, and it was a surprise in the end when Dougal tamely gave a catch to Khan off the bowling of Safi.
C Dougal c H Khan b M Safi 73
298 for 3 – 40.2 overs
Ralph Weeks continued to wreak destruction and the crowd applauded again as he reached the 150 mark in the 42nd over.
Weeks finally fell in the 44th over as he eventually missed one and was lbw.
R Weeks lbw b H Khan 159
327 for 4 – 43.1 overs
Ascot eventually finished the innings on 337 for 4.
Ralph Weeks 159 (off 130 balls, 20 fours, 3 sixes), Calum Dougal 73 (off 73 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes), Deep Mohain 55 (off 40 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes)
Ascot got off to a great start in the field as Tim Howson struck in the first over as Deep Mohain took a good catch at second slip to remove Vikramjit Sidhu.
V Sidhu c D Mohain b V Sidhu 0
1 for 1 – 0.4 overs
Reading should have been 2 down in the next over as Weeks possibly tired from his batting exploits shelled a chance off James Summers.
But it wasn’t long before Tim Howson struck again as he took his second wicket as he had Kumar lbw,
V Kumar lbw b T Howson 16
29 for 2 – 5.1 overs
James Summers was bowling well but another change went off his bowling as Dougal this time dropped a chance. Despite dropping these changes, Ascot were able to build scoreboard pressure on Reading and at 47 for 2 off 10 overs, Reading now needed 8.3 runs per over.
Howson was brought back into the attack and first ball of the spell he struck as he got Gopalakrishnan with the same delivery as the first wicket.
M Gopalakrishnan c D Mohain b T Howson 37
68 for 3 – 13.1 overs
Cassie and Spruyt rebuilt the innings but at 93 for 3 off 20 overs the required run rate was now just below 10 runs per over.
But Robert Cassie was the next wicket to go as Ames got one to just turn and hit the pad for an easy lbw decision.
R Cassie lbw b M Ames 18
106 for 4 – 22.6 overs
4 became 5 as Tom Dummigan joined in the act as he got Spruyt to edge behind for Mallett to take the catch.
M Spruyt c D Mallett b T Dummigan 32
110 for 5 – 23.3 overs
The required run rate was now above 11 an over and Reading were in damage limitation mode. Graham Cassie and Hatib Khan looked to put on a reasonable score and gain batting points.
The 50 partnership was reached in the 34th over as Cassie and Khan looked to accumulate. Howson again brought about the breakthrough with his fourth victim as Khan edged to Mohain for his third catch of the innings.
H Khan c D Mohain b T Howson 23
162 for 6 – 34.5 overs
But Cassie found another good batting partner in Srinivasan Kumar to allow him to reach a good 50, and then get to the 200 mark.
They nearly held out for the full 45 overs but Deep Mohain managed to get Kumar and cleaned him up.
S Kuma b D Mohain 19
219 for 7 – 44.4 overs
Reading finished on 220 for 7 to lose by 117 runs.
220 for 7 – 45 overs
Graham Cassie 63 not out (off 72 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes)
Tim Howson 9-0-26-4
A great win for the 3s and despite a great bowling performance by Tim Howson, Ralph Weeks was named man of the match
The 4s were on the road at Crowmarsh Gifford Cricket Club to play Kidmore End 3s. The restraining order on Richard Baker meant that he can’t be within 100 metres of a cricket ground so the 4s went into the match knowing that they wouldn’t be changing their batting order on a whim.
Kidmore End won the toss and elected to bat first. Eley and Houghton opened the innings and started off well at 5 an over. The early introduction of Ian Dummigan brought dividends as he induced an edge off Houghton and Trapani leapt like a salmon to take the catch.
A Houghton c N Trapani b I Dummigan 16
35 for 1 – 7.5 overs
Eley was then next to go as John Dunnet took a superb catch off the bowling of Basudev Pal.
D Eley c J Dunnet b B Pal 24
48 for 2 – 10.2 overs
Paul Lawson and Alex Boyle were now in and they cautiously got the Kidmore End’s innings back on track. They were nearing a 50 partnership when Pal struck again as he flighted the ball which turned and left Boyle playing at air.
A Boyle b B Pal 24
96 for 3 – 21.4 overs
Lawson fell several overs later as Richard Wyatt got an edge and Trapani took the catch.
P Lawson c N Trapani b R Wyatt 28
114 for 4 – 24.2 overs
This sparked a mini collapse. Next to go was Alex Barry as the Ascot spin attack were getting good turn and this time Rob Major was the bowler as Trapani took the catch.
A Barry c N Trapani b R Major 7
115 for 5 – 26.3 overs
Mark Berry fell several deliveries later as he decided to charge a ball from Pal for Trapani to take a smart stumping.
M Berry st N Trapani b B Pal 5
120 for 6 – 27.2 overs
George Barry and Lavan Rajmohan pushed the ball around intent on making sure Kidmore End reached a decent total. While not spectacular they took quick singles and twos to build the score up. By the end of the 41st over they reached the 50 partnership.
Dylan Baker made the breakthrough with a yorker that hit in front of the stumps to get Rajmohan.
L Rajmohan lbw b D Baker 21
176 for 7 – 41.5 overs
As Kidmore End looked to get 200, one more wicket fell in the pursuit.
A great catch by Dylan Baker in the covers off Parry removed Simon Berry.
S Berry c D Baker b J Parry 4
181 for 8 – 42.5 overs
Kidmore End finished the innings on 192 for 8.
192 for 8 – 45 overs
George Barry 35 not out (off 61 balls, 2 fours)
Basudev Pal 7-1-22-3
Dunnet and Bennett opened the innings for Ascot. Kidmore End wanted early wickets and they got just that as George Barry took a great catch at mid-wicket to remove Rob Bennett.
R Bennett c G Barry b H Ruegg 6
22 for 1 – 3.4 overs
Nino Trapani was next in and while runs were coming quickly, so were wickets. John Dunnet was next to go as Ruegg struck again with Paul Lawson took a simple catch.
J Dunnet c P Lawson b H Ruegg 26
41 for 2 – 6.1 overs
Paul Ames was in next and despite a quick boundary and 6, soon departed with Ruegg picking up his third, Eley taking the catch this time.
P Ames c D Eley b H Ruegg 15
68 for 3 – 9.5 overs
So, despite Ascot going at nearly 7 an over and the required run rate down at 3.5, the main issue was wickets.
Ascot compounded this issue when a mix-up between Trapani and Richard Wyatt led to the former being run out.
N Trapani run out (L Rajmohan) 30
89 for 4 – 13.1 overs
Rob Major now joined Richard Wyatt at the crease and these two needed to build a partnership. Richard Wyatt dropped anchor and Major played the aggressor punishing any bad delivery bowled. The 100 came up in the 15th over so overs remaining was not the issue.
Kidmore End should have had 5 down when Major offered a chance when Simon Berry couldn’t hold on to a caught and bowled opportunity.
The 50 partnership came up in the 24th over as Wyatt and Major kept the scoreboard ticking over. Eventually Simon Berry got the breakthrough as Wyatt edged behind for David Eley to take a simple catch, but the 5th wicket partnership had made a significant inroads into the total.
R Wyatt c D Eley b S Berry 43
161 for 5 – 28.2 overs
However, Berry gave Kidmore End some hope when in the same over he removed Gary Abrams after a brilliant catch from Paul Lawson.
G Abrams c P Lawson b S Berry 4
165 for 6 – 28.6 overs
Major now batting with Jacob Parry opted for caution as they edged their way towards the target taking singles and reducing any chance of giving a catch.
Rob Major made a well needed 50 with a boundary over deep mid-wicket to take Ascot within 4 of the target but fell two balls later as he gave a catch going for the winning runs.
R Major c A Boyle b S Berry 50
190 for 7 – 35.2 overs
But with only 3 needed Dylan Baker knocked off the runs in the same over to record a close win.
193 for 7 – 35.5 overs
Rob Major 50 (off 73 balls, 7 fours), Richard Wyatt 43 (off 52 balls, 5 fours, 1 six)
Hedley Ruegg 7-0-34-3, Simon Berry 8.5-1-47-3
Another good week for Ascot and Basudev Pal won the man of the match award.
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Royal Ascot Cricket Club 