Where did the time go? The last round of league matches in May. The first Test match of the summer at Lord’s about to start. Despite the erratic weather patterns we managed to get a full round of matches in.

1s v Binfield

League leaders, Binfield were the visitors to the Racecourse Ground. Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first. Binfield were soon in trouble as Dan Humphrey and Mikey Allan-Canty didn’t trouble the scorers and found themselves on 9 for 2.

Wynand Lamprecht stood firm against the Ascot attack but when skipper Tom Andrews was out for 0, leaving Binfield on 47 for 4, a good score looked a long way off.

However, with Alex Jackson, they put on 56 for the fifth wicket until Lamprecht fell for 42 as he was bowled by Andy Murray. Lewis Hall was also bowled by Andy Murray for 0 leaving Binfield on 107 for 6.

But the seventh wicket partnership of Alex Jackson and Shaun Miller changed the momentum of the game rapidly as they put on an impressive 80 including a massive flat six from Miller. Jackson fell for 58 but Miller continued hitting until he was ninth batter out for a swashbuckling 72 off 58 deliveries to see Binfield over the 200 mark.

Theo Penn was the last man out to record the fifth duck in Binfield’s innings but they recovered to a very respectable 214 all out with 1 ball remaining.

Andy Murray took 4 for 50 while Myles Trainor and Tom Walsingham helped put the early pressure on going for less than 3 an over.

Binfield needed early wickets which they did with Tharindu bowled for 7 and James Wensley run out without facing a ball, leaving Ascot on 14 for 2. But Harry Watson and Andy Murray dug in and put on 114 for the third wicket until Watson fell to an edge behind for a well deserved 50.

Karemaker came and went for 4 but with support from Adam Smith (19) and Jem Bains (14 not out), Andy Murray saw Ascot to victory with a well timed 98 not out to see Ascot home by 5 wickets with 22 balls remaining.

A good win for the 1s against a strong team.

Binfield 2 v 2s

The 2s were playing the reciprocal fixture at Binfield. Binfield 2s were also top of the league and Ascot lost the toss with Binfield electing to bat first. Binfield were in early trouble as Ascot ran through the top order with Tim Howson taking 4 for 15 and Dylan Baker 2 for 31. It could have been worse as Binfield skipper Paul Edgington was dropped on 0 but the lower order wagged to take them from 13 for 4 and 40 for 6 to 154 all out with contributions from Paul Edgington (32), Joe Sculley (26 not out) and Matt Hayman (25).

Ascot started well with Dan Corsini (23) and Joe Warren (45) but the middle order then struggled as five batters failed to score more than 5. At 114 for 7, Binfield were in the box seat, but an eighth wicket partnership between Hassan Sohail (29) and James Summers put Ascot within touching distance. The ninth wicket fell with Ascot needing two to win.

Tim Howson was last batter in and scored the winning 2 runs to cap off a see-saw match. James Summers finished on 22 not out.

3s v Sonning 3s

At Locks Ride, Sonning were the visitors. Sonning won the toss and elected to field first. Ascot were soon in trouble at 7 for 2 and 17 for 3. Usman Mumtaz was the only middle order batter to give some resistance with 33 but fell to Arun Pera leaving Ascot on 86 for 6.

The lower order came to the rescue of the Ascot innings with Satpal’s 48 and Sadiq Ahmed Khan’s 32 helping Ascot reach a decent total of 178 all out with 4 balls remaining.

Shenul Widanapathirana was the pick of the Sonning attack with 4 for 22.

In response, Ascot struck early with Mike Wyatt taking quick wickets and a great spell of 3 for 22. Jacob Parry continued the good work with 3 for 31 but Syed Naqi (35) and Shamitha Widanapathirana (32) led the fightback. But Sadiq Ahmed Khan capped a great match and removed both of them to end up with figures of 3 for 41.

Sonning fell short and ended on 156 for 9 to give the 3s another good win.

Theale & Tilehurst 3 v 4s

The 4s were on the road at Theale and Tilehurst and elected to bowl on winning the toss. Hammad Ali (65), Khadim Aslam (43) and several batters reaching 20+ saw Theale and Tilehurst reach a strong 185 for 5 off 40 overs.

In response, none of the Ascot batters could get above 20 until No.9 Herath Bandara salvaged some pride with 29 but Ascot were always second best as they made 129 all out with just under 5 overs remaining.

Iesa Saddiq with 3 for 14 and Stephen Naisbitt with 3 for 37 were the pick of the bowlers, as the 4s lost their unbeaten record.