1s v Sulhamstead & Ufton

A crunch match for the 1s as they needed a win to keep their hopes of staying in Division 2 alive.

Sulhamstead & Ufton won the toss and elected to bat first. Steve Belcher fell early for a duck but Marc Thompson (67) and Andrew MacEwen (69) put on a stand of 158 to put Sulhamstead in the driving seat. The middle and lower order then looked to pile on the runs at the end of the innings with Stuart Hornby scoring a run a ball 33, but despite the loss of wickets and Harry Watson picking up 3 for 60, the opposition posted an imposing 271 for 9 off 50 overs.

Ascot started poorly and were soon 25 for 3. Christoff Karemaker (45) and Andy Murray (28) helped the scoreboard moving but all hopes lay on Adam Smith as he started going through the gears. His 100 came at more than a run a ball but with only the final wicket remaining, he was last man out stumped for exactly 100 as Ascot finished on 229 all out.

Doug MacDonald 3 for 21 and Craig Palmer 3 for 41 were the pick of the attack as the 1s look certain to return to Division 3 next season.

Reading 2 v 2s

The 2s were on the road at Reading and elected to bowl on winning the toss. Atif Asif (71) and Rahul Bharti (69) formed the backbone of the Reading innings as they made 216 for 6 off 45 overs. The wickets were shared around the Ascot attack.

In response Ascot started brightly and James Docker made 49 but only Nick Wiggett with 17 got into double figures from the batsmen 4 – 11 as Vivek Bommidi with 4 for 56 and Jack Beaven with 3 for 19 saw the 2s slump to 139 all out.

There is still work for the 2s to do to finish comfortably out of any possible additional relegation spots.

Cove 3 v 3s

The 3s crossed the county border to visit Cove. The 3s won the toss and elected to bowl first. A second wicket stand of 90 from Colin Smith (71) and Max Wilson for the second wicket set up Cove for a good total. Despite the rest of the Cove batters not scoring more 9, Max Wilson with 80 was the ninth wicket to go to help them reach a good 198 for 9 off 40 overs.

In response, the 3s struggled. From 7 for 2, to 28 for 4 and then 66 for 7, the win was never on. Sehaj Dhaliwal top scored with 35 not out as Ascot were bowled out for 132. Jayden Irish took 5 for 28 for Cove.

4s v Wokingham 6

Wokingham were the visitors at Locks Ride and after being put into bat soon took control of the match. Prasad Kulkarni (72) and Toby Worthington (50 not out) saw Wokingham reach an imposing 230 for 5 off 40 overs.

In response the 4s lost regular wickets and despite a valiant 32 from Joseph Summers fell to 120 all out with Andy Bishop taking 4 for 22 and Mahesh Bhandary 3 for 33.