Week 8 – The Cricksim seems to be getting stronger, apparently someone dodgy with the unfortunate initials of BJ has been telling everyone that a cricket ball is the natural vector of infection, and Cricksim signs have started appearing more frequently.
This week the 1s welcomed Taplow 1s to the Racecourse Ground. Taplow won the toss and elected to bat first.
Of course, the bookmakers were now on edge, who would take the new ball with Mike Brown, as at least £3.50 had been wagered on the outcome.
In the end, he chose Nick Sweetman (again), and again he didn’t pick up a wicket. Farhan Qureshi and Mohammad Ilyas were the opening pair and while choosing Sweetman to bowl the second over was poor, the choice of Joshua Jayasingh to bowl Over 3 was inspired.
Ilyas hit the second ball of the over for 6, but the next ball was floated just a little higher, and a little bit slower. Ilyas could only edge the ball for Tony King to take a simple catch behind the stumps.
M Ilyas c A King b J Jayasingh 18
22 for 1 – 2.3 overs
Brown’s inspirational captaincy continued as for the next over he chose Nick Wiggett to bowl and he rewarded him with the wicket of Qureshi as he brought one back him to pin him lbw.
F Qureshi lbw b N Wiggett 3
25 for 2 – 3.3 overs
Yasir Khawaja and Habib Khan were now together, and they started building a partnership together as they took Taplow to 54 for 2 off the first 10 overs.
Khan should have gone the next over, but Kevin May couldn’t hold onto the chance off the unlucky Andy Murray. Khan made the most of his extra life as he hit Brown for four and six off the next over.
But Nick Wiggett came back on and Khan trying to hit over extra cover only managed to edge the ball into the safe hands of Tony King.
H Khan c A King b N Wiggett 32
73 for 3 – 13.6 overs
Ben Daglish was now at the wicket and while he settled in, Khawaja took the attack to Ascot. The 100 mark was reached in the 18th over.
The partnership continued to go well, Khawaja reached his 50 off 69 balls and in the same over they reached their 50 partnership. The run rate was ticking along well over 5 an over.
But just as they were looking to cash into a large total, Will Ellison struck twice in an over.
Andy Murray took a great catch to remove Daglish.
B Daglish c A Murray b W Ellison 18
145 for 4 – 28.2 overs
Then next ball, Ellison took a superb caught and bowled as Goodrham had to return to the clubhouse with a golden duck.
S Goodrham c & b W Ellison 0
145 for 5 – 28.3 overs
Uddin survived the hat-trick ball as he played and missed.
After 30 overs, Taplow were 151 for 5, Ascot had slowed the run rate and the next 15 overs would define the innings.
Nick Wiggett was the man, as he removed the dangerous Khawaja, as he edged to Will Ellison in the gully.
Y Khawaja c W Ellison b N Wiggett 75
161 for 6 – 31.2 overs
Ascot then turned the screw with great fielding and bowling. While they couldn’t remove Uddin and Court, the next 8 overs realised only 21 runs leaving Taplow on 183 for 6 with 5 overs remaining.
Only 9 runs were scored off the next 4 overs and Brown came on to bowl the last over.
Brown eventually got a wicket as Jack Kendall ran 35 yards to take a catch off Court.
R Court c J Kendall b M Brown 16
193 for 7 – 44.3 overs
Taplow ended the innings but those last 15 overs cost them significantly and left them around 50 runs under par.
194 for 7 – 45 overs
Yasir Khawaja 75 (off 87 balls, 7 fours, 1 six)
Nick Wiggett 9-0-33-3
Ascot’s innings started badly as Jayasingh was out to an amazing catch by Mohammad Ilyas off the bowling of Khan.
J Jayasingh c M Ilyas b H Khan 0
0 for 1 – 0.2 overs
Jack Kendall joined James Gamble at the crease. The Taplow bowling was good and they were circumspect, careful not to give their wicket away and reached a modest 35 for 1 off 10 overs.
A couple of big overs followed as the 50 and 50 partnership came up in the 12th over. The shackles were now off, and Gamble reached 50 in the 17th over with a push to cover.
After 20 overs, Ascot were now 92 for 1, well above the asking rate and two overs later brought up the 100 and 100 partnership.
It was a shock then when Kendall fell to Chris Batt as Khawaja took the catch.
J Kendall c Y Khawaja b C Batt 34
102 for 2 – 23.1 overs
But any thoughts of a comeback by Taplow were soon dismissed by Gamble as he hit Batt for four and six in the same over.
Ascot continued to remain above the run rate as Gamble dominated the strike and Sweetman was happy to take singles to give him the strike.
The 50 partnership and 150 came up in the 33rd over and it took an inspired piece of fielding from Uddin to run out Sweetman by the smallest of margins.
N Sweetman run out (Z Uddin) 15
153 for 3 – 33.6 overs
Unfortunately, Hare did not last long – he was out for a four-ball duck as Ilyas took another catch, this time off the bowling of Ravi Paul.
J Hare c Y Ilyas b R Paul 0
154 for 4 – 34.5 overs
King joined Gamble and ensured there was no collapse. Gamble reached a great 100 in the 39th over with a quick 2 and the crowd rose to its feet and sang in unison “Oh Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy Gamble’s ton”.
In the end they comfortably reached Taplow’s target, with King taking a single to seal the victory.
195 for 4 – 42.4 overs
James Gamble 117 not out (off 138 balls, 14 fours, 1 six)
Despite the slight wobble at the end, Ascot sealed victory by 6 wickets. James Gamble was named man of the match.
The 2s made the short trip to Larges Lane to play against Bracknell 1s. Bracknell won the toss and elected to bowl first on a good wicket.
Rob Handley and Billy Baker got Ascot off to a quick start, but Handley played one shot too many and was caught by Karthik Ramanujam off the bowling of Anushka Jayamanne.
R Handley c K Ramanujam b A Jayamanne 26
37 for 1 – 7.4 overs
Billy Baker then fell as well as Jayamanne struck again with an lbw.
B Baker lbw b A Jayamanne 16
52 for 2 – 9.5 overs
Gareth Baker and Jason Carr were now at the crease. They basically out on a batting masterclass in the middle of Bracknell.
Carr opened up with two sumptuous boundaries in the 11th over. Baker smashed a brutal six in the 14th over. In the 16th over, Adam Kite was the victim of some brutal batting as Jason Car smashed two sixes and Gareth Baker added insult to injury as he finished the over with a four. That four brought up the 100 and the 50 partnership.
Jason Carr was first to reach 50 as he hit Jayamanne for four and Ascot were 144 for 2 off 25 overs. Two overs Carr brough up the 100 partnership with his 8th four of the innings and Kite was the hapless bowler again when Baker reached his 50 with a six.
Runs continued to flow and Ascot were now going at 6 an over. Carr’s 10th four of the innings brought up the 150 partnership and now it was a race to see who would reach their 100 first.
Baker made a mockery of the nervous 90s as he hit 4 and then 6 off Stone to reach 100 off just 82 balls in the 40th over.
Carr reached his 100 and also the 200 partnership in the next over with his 12th four of the innings.
But the runs did not stop there. Phil Stone bowled the 42nd over and Gareth Baker went 6,4,0,0.4.4.
The partnership remained unbeaten as they put on 238 for the third wicket.
290 for 2 – 45 overs
Gareth Baker 133 not out (98 balls, 13 fours, 6 sixes), Jason Carr 110 not out (122 balls, 13 fours, 2 sixes)
Bracknell needed 6.45 runs per over to win.
Cooper and Shabir opened the innings for Bracknell, and started strongly with Cooper scoring at a run-a-ball and the 50 partnership was reached in the 7th over, but in the same over Radhakrishnan struck back as he bowled the skipped Mohammad Shabir.
M Shabir b A Radhakrishnan 10
51 for 1 – 6.5 overs
Richard Cooper also feel in the first 10 overs as Jason Carr tempted him with the slower ball and he offered a simple catch to Jez Wing at point
R Cooper c J Wing b J Carr 44
59 for 2 – 9.1 overs
So, at the end of 10 overs, Bracknell were 67 for 2, above the run rate but crucially two wickets down. And it was soon to be three, as Myles Trainor got in the act, as another well executed slower ball deceived Adam Kite into chipping to Aarav Radhakrishnan at mid-wicket.
A Kite c A Radhakrishnan b M Trainor 8
71 for 3 – 10.4 overs
The wheels then started to fall off the Bracknell innings as Samm Daniel then got Jayamanne in the next over plumb in front.
A Jayamanne lbw b M Trainor 6
75 for 4 – 11.6 overs
Carr came back into the attack and immediately picked up a wicket second ball as Shafiq Malik didn’t pick up the leg cutter and edged to Gareth Baker.
S Malik c G Baker b J Carr 5
81 for 5 – 13.2 overs
Trainor continued the collapse as he got Phil Stone caught behind by Dan Corsini
P Stone c D Corsini b M Trainor 2
89 for 6 – 15.1 overs
Bracknell had now lost 5 wickets for just 30 runs.
Ramanujam now joined Darshana at the crease, and it was damage limitation from the Bracknell batsmen. They only scored one boundary in the next 10 overs but had put on a partnership of 34 when Jason Carr wove his bowling magic to remove Ramanujam as he played all around a delivery to be hit in front of middle stump.
K Ramanujam lbw b J Carr 11
123 for 7 – 25.5 overs
Darshana soon fell a couple of overs later as Radhakrishnan ripped out off pole.
S Darshana b A Radhakrishnan 32
129 for 8 – 28.5 overs
That left Graham Thorne and Ashok Badana to restore some pride in the innings as they looked to bat out the remaining overs. They would have done but off the last ball of the 45th over, they took a risky run and Dan Corsini threw down the stumps to run out Thorne by several yards.
G Thorne run out (D Corsini) 22
188 for 9 – 44.6 overs
Richard Cooper 44 (off 42 balls, 3 fours, 3 sixes)
Jason Carr 9-1-46-3
A flat end to a one-sided match as the 2s won be a comprehensive 102 runs. Jason Carr was named man of the match.
The 3s were on the road at Bradfield 2s. Bradfield won the toss and elected to field first. Ralph Weeks and Tom Clarke opened the batting and looked comfortable as the partnership went at a run-a-ball.
However, Dan Filmer struck as Ralph Weeks unluckily played on.
R Weeks b D Filmer 14
40 for 1 – 6.4 overs
Deep Mohain joined Clarke at the crease and at the 10 over mark, the 3s were 59 for 1. Again, Ascot were ticking over well when Filmer struck twice in one over.
First, he had Clarke brilliantly caught at cover by Rushton.
T Clarke c T Rushton b D Filmer 34
83 for 2 – 16.4 overs
Then, Mohain was out two balls later, out lbw.
D Mohain lbw b D Filmer 29
86 for 3 – 16.6 overs
Calum Dougal was joined by Mark Wiggett.
They saw Ascot past the 100 mark and looked comfortable until a mix-up between the two saw Wiggett stranded mid-pitch and run out.
M Wiggett run out (L Batty) 10
115 for 4 – 22.2 overs
Dan Mallett was the new batsman and the partnership continued to be aggressive. The 150 came up with a Dougal 6 in the 28th over.
A single of Hall brought up a great 50 from Dougal, but next ball Hall struck back as he had Mallett caught.
D Mallett c D Balkissoon b C Hall 19
163 for 5 – 30.4 overs
Tom Dummigan was next in and then consolidated for a couple of overs before deciding to launch a blistering attack in the last 10 overs.
The 200 mark came up in the 38th over and the 50 partnership in the 41st over.
The 44th over caused serious damage as Tom Dummigan went wild – 6,0,6,0,0,6.
Dougal need 5 runs off the last over to reach a superb 100 – and he made it easily as he hit the first 2 balls for 4 – to also reach the 100 partnership, and help Ascot reach a good total.
268 for 5 – 45 overs
Calum Dougal 107 not out (97 balls, 8 fours, 5 sixes), Tom Dummigan 44 not out (39 balls, 3 fours, 3 sixes)
Dan Filmer 9-0-48-3
Bradfield needed just under 6 an over to win.
Unfortunately, Ascot had to field an injured Tim Howson, who injured his ankle in the line of duty as he had the almost impossible job of teaching Jack Kendall to dance. Despite that he gallantly took the field and offered to bowl his full quota of overs.
Wilson and Balkissoon started confidently but then heroic Howson struck in the 6th over as he bowled Balkissoon.
D Balkissoon b T Howson 18
28 for 1 – 5.1 overs
He should have had a wicket the next ball as well but Mohain perhaps dwelling on another lbw decision squandered the chance.
Fortunately, it was not a big mistake as Rushton offered an edge off the last ball of the over, which was gladly taken by Dan Mallett
T Rushton c D Mallett b T Howson 1
32 for 2 – 5.6 overs
Atkinson joined Wilson at the crease, and they reached the 10 over mark at 50 for 2.
With clever field placement from Ames, Bradfield started to feel the scoreboard pressure as the required run rate started to climb. Atkinson was next to go, becoming Howson’s third victim with one that hit the pad just in line.
R Atkinson lbw b T Howson 16
66 for 3 – 13.5 overs
Wilson’s resistance was finally ended as another inspirational bowling change saw Deep Mohain get the wicket as Summers took a simple catch
T Wilson c J Summers b D Mohain 30
70 for 4 – 14.1 overs
Bartlett and Filmer were now at the crease. Despite tight bowling from Ames and Mohain they reached the 100 mark in the 23rd over and reached a well-constructed 50 partnership in the 25th over.
But Tom Dummigan struck in the next over as he got one just to move away and Bartlett offered a simple catch for Mallett to snaffle.
A Bartlett c D Mallett b T Dummigan 27
126 for 5 – 25.4 overs
Richard Stansfield came to the crease and provided further resistance with Dan Filmer. The required run rate was now climbing to 8 an over but Stansfield and Filmer continued to look for batting points. The 150 and another batting point came in the 33rd over.
Filmer then went on to reach a valiant 50, but just as Stansfield decided to go big with a couple of boundaries, he went again only for Mohain to knock over the stumps.
R Stansfield b D Mohain 18
167 for 6 – 34.6 overs
Borthwick came and went as Mike Wyatt gave Mallett his third catch of the innings
A Borthwick c D Mallett b M Wyatt 4
175 for 7 – 36.3 overs
Hall went defensive, leaving Filmer to get the runs but Filmer finally went as Summers got one to hit the pads in front.
D Filmer lbw b J Summers 61
185 for 8 – 41.2 overs
Summers struck again as Batty edged to Tom Clarke at gully as they looked to get to the 200 mark.
L Batty c T Clarke b J Summers 5
194 for 9 – 43.6 overs.
Howson wrapped up the innings to take his 4th wicket as Lafford edged to Summers at second slip.
R Lafford c J Summers b T Howson 0
195 all out – 44.2 overs
Dan Filmer 61 (off 82 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes)
Tim Howson 8.2-0-46-4
A convincing win by 73 runs for the 3s and Calum Dougal took the man of the match award.
The 4s hosted Uxbridge 4s at Locks Ride. The 4s won the toss and decided to bat first. Bennett and Dunnet strode to the crease and immediately showed intent as they raced to 56 for 0 off 10 overs.
Uxbridge changed their bowling attack but Bennett and Dunnet kept picking off the runs. John Dunnet was first to reach his 50 in the 17th over and the 100 came up in the following over.
Rob Bennett reached his 50 in the 23rd over and was scoring at more than a run-a-ball. At least one boundary was coming off each over as well as some well-run singles and the 150 was made by the 28th over.
It took an amazing piece of fielding to get a wicket. John Dunnet smashed the ball and it looked as if was sailing over the boundary which would have meant he reached his 100 but somehow Mustensur Khan plucked the ball out of the air to take a superb catch.
J Dunnet c M Khan b A Childs 94
173 for 1 – 29.3 overs
Trapani was now at the crease and for a couple of overs Uxbridge were able to stem the runs but 10 runs off the 35th over got the 4s back on track. The 200 came up in the next over and by the end of the 40th over the 50 partnership had been reached.
Rob Bennett then reached a well crafted 100 with a 6 and a 4 to applause all around the ground and to cap a great effort as all 4 Ascot teams had a centurion.
Runs came rapidly at the end of the innings and Nino Trapani was stopped from reaching his half-century as he fell to the final ball of the innings.
N Trapani lbw b H Hashmi 49
267 for 2 – 44.6 overs
Rob Bennett 104 not out (107 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes), John Dunnet 94 (off 109 balls, 7 fours, 4 sixes), Nino Trapani 49 (off 57 balls, 6 fours)
Uxbridge needed just under 6 an over and got off to the worst start when Qasim Khan was caught by Dylan Baker off the bowling of Jacob Parry.
Q Khan c D Baker b J Parry 1
3 for 1 – 0.5 overs
Mustensur Khan then went 2 overs later as wily Gary Abrams hit the pad.
M Khan lbw b G Abrams 4
16 for 2 – 2.6 overs
Uxbridge needed to consolidate but Abrams had other ideas as John Dunnet took what was probably the best catch of his career to remove Pasan Ahangama.
P Ahangama c J Dunnet b G Abrams 5
28 for 3 – 6.5 overs
Uxbridge reached the 10 over mark on 46 for 3, with Hashim Viqar offering the main resistance on 28 not out.
But with the run rate required climbing, Viqar took one risk too many and Basudev Pal had his man as Abrams took the catch.
H Viqar c G Abrams b Pal 36
63 for 4 – 15.1 overs
Parry was brought back into the attack with immediate success as he had Chopra caught behind by Trapani.
A Chopra c N Trapani b J Parry 4
71 for 5 – 17.6 overs
The innings was in total disarray as 2 balls later, the golden arm of Rob Major did for Hashmi.
H Hashmi lbw b R Major 0
72 for 6 – 18.2 overs
Parry was bowling well, and his spell was rewarded with another wicket as Rob Bennett took a good catch to remove Abubakr Butt.
A Butt c R Bennett b J Parry 10
89 for 7 – 22.3 overs
At the other end skipper Ghunzanfur Khan was offering resistance and in Tassar Khan he found a willing batting partner.
They helped Uxbridge to 100 in the 25th over, and then started ticking off other milestones, although there was no realistic hope of them reaching Ascot’s total.
They made a resolute 50 partnership in the 40th over and managed to reach the 150 mark in the penultimate over.
The skipper looked like he would make his 50 but fell in the final over as he edged to Trapani off the bowling of Richard Wyatt.
G Khan c N Trapani b R Wyatt 47
155 for 8 – 44.2 overs
Uxbridge finished the innings without any more wickets falling.
155 for 8 – 45 overs
Ghunzanfur Khan 47 (off 103 balls)
Jacob Parry 9-0-32-3
An excellent bowling and fielding effort by the 4s as they only conceded 4 boundaries throughout the innings. Another comprehensive victory, this time by 112 runs and another man of the match award for a centurion, Rob Bennett.
Keep well and keep safe.
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