Half way through the season and despite the efforts of the British Summer we are still playing.

1s v Aldershot

The 1s were on the road and over the county border into Hampshire to visit Aldershot 1s. Aldershot won the toss and elected to bat first.

The innings was built around two half centuries, 56 by Calum Grover opening the batting and 57 not out from Ben Harris batting at 7. No other player got into double figures. Myles Trainor was the pick of the Ascot bowlers with 4 for 45 but this didn’t stop Aldershot reaching a very competitive 185 all out in 51.3 overs.

Ascot were soon in trouble at 5 for 2 and while Tharindu Denipitiyage (20) and Andy Murray (19) staged a mini recovery for the third wicket, Ascot were looking at a heavy defeat as they then slumped to 79 for 8. But Andy Wiggett (34 not out) and skipper Mike Brown (11 not out) held out for an unbeaten 9th wicket stand of 49 to see them to 128 for 8 and the draw.

Amir Hameed 3 for 30 and Tom Varney 3 for 21 were the pick of the Aldershot bowlers.

2s v Boyne Hill 3

Boyne Hill 3 were the visitors at the Racecourse Ground and won the toss electing to bowl first. The bowling was tight and runs hard to come by as the 2s struggled to 52 for 4 and then 81 for 5.but Jeremy Wing with 71 not out held the innings together and with the support of skipper Jason Carr (39), helped Ascot make a respectable 194 for 6 off 52 overs.

Matt Carter starred with the ball with 3 for 34.

Boyne Hill found the going hard losing early wickets at 14 for 2 and then slumping from 50 for 2 to 58 for 6. James Summers taking 4 for 24. But Jamie Shepherd 23 not out and Amar Hussain 24 not out calmly batted out the overs to see them hold onto the draw on 130 for 7 off 48 overs.

3s v Kidmore End 2

The 3s were on the other side of Reading at Kidmore End 2. Kidmore End won the toss and elected to field first. The 3s led by Dirk Benneyworth (34 not out) and Disney Abeyesekara (26) saw them reach 159 for 9 off 40 overs, with Assad Ulhaq taking 3 for 48.

The game was finally balanced at 99 for 6 with good spells from Satpal 3 for 30 and Sadiq Ahmed Khan 3 for 51 but an unbeaten 51 from Billy Oliver saw Kidmore End reach the target with 3 wickets and over 8 overs to spare.

4s v Wargrave 3

Wargrave 3 were the opposition at Locks Ride and elected to field on winning the toss. The colts Owen Bowles (49) and Harry Johnson (30) got the 4s off to a great start but apart from Neal Feely (32) and Mark Wiggett (21) the innings tailed off but Ascot still reached a very strong total of 207 for 8 off 40 overs.

Achint Rajeev was the standout bowler for Wargrave with 3 for 36.

Wargrave looked in control with a strong 2nd wicket partnership by Poppy Burnyeat (62) and Nathan Munns (42) but both fell to a good spell from Neal Feely with 3 for 41. Then Owen Bowles starred with the ball taking 5 for 36 to see Wargrave fall to 184 all out and see the 4s reach a great 23 run victory.

Halfway through the league season, the 1s and 4s are in a strong position while the 2s and 3s need to be careful as there are likely to be 3 teams relegated from each division this season.