Bagshot v 1s

The 1s made the short trip across the county boundary to Bagshot.

Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first. Ascot started well with Bagshot in trouble at 76 for 6 with Myles Trainor (3 for 44) and Harry Johnston (3 for 48) sharing the wickets. Josh Balcombe (40) and Jack Rowlett (34) helped Bagshot recover but still looked way short at 139 for 8.

However, No.10 Adit Gandhi had other ideas. In a 53 ball innings he hit 11 fours and 7 sixes. In the 52nd over he was on 79 not out. First ball was a single – 80 not out. Second ball and Michael Davis took a single. The next four deliveries went 4, 4, 6 and 6 for Adit to reach an incredible 100 not out and for Bagshot to reach a massive 270 for 9 off 52 overs with the last wicket putting on an unbeaten 89. Brutal.

In response, Ascot were positive and all the top 6 got into double figures but no one was able to stay long enough for the innings to be built around although Ollie Clarke (64) and Jack Kendall (41) made good contributions.

As the innings lost momentum it was up to Andy Murray (23 not out) and Myles Trainor (8 not out) to see Ascot go beyond 200 and navigate a draw as they finished on 224 for 8 off 48 overs. Josh Balcombe took 4 for 66 for the home side.

2s v Bracknell

A gale force wind blew around the ground for most of the match but Ascot elected to bowl first on winning the toss.

Bracknell were in early trouble at 68 for 5 but the innings was built on a great 6th wicket partnership of 106 by a solid 74 from Akmal Sultan and a whirlwind and reservoir boundary peppering innings from captain Zeeshan Mehtab of 65 off 37 deliveries.

After that the innings slowed and Bracknell were all out for 210 off 47.2 overs. Nick Wiggett starred with the ball with a sterling effort uphill against the wind with 4 for 28.

In response, Ascot built steadily towards the total but 5 of the top 6 got in and then got out before they could grab hold of the match. A 66 run 7th wicket partnership between Nick Wiggett (40) and Joseph Warren (26) took Ascot with 5 runs of victory but some nerveless bowling at the close especially from Akmal Sultan to remove both batters saw Bracknell deny Ascot the win and take the game to a draw.

Thatcham Town 3 v 3s

The stars of the week are the 3s. Having made the long trip to Thatcham they faced poor weather conditions but were keen to get a game in. The sun came out and the strong winds provided the opportunity for the wicket to dry and some optimism. Despite an unfortunate accident where water from the covers got on the wicket as they were removed, the Ascot team helped with the drying of the wicket and ground with the use of towels to get the game on.

A 26 over match was agreed and it was a close, nailbiting, low scoring encounter.

Ascot won the toss and bowled first. Runs were at a premium and Thatcham relied on Nathan Redmond (24) and Satheesh Krishnan (32) to get them to a competitive 100 for 9 off 26 overs. Sadiq Khan was the pick of the Ascot bowlers with 3 for 22 and a special mention to keeper Dan Mallett who took 2 stumpings and a run out.

A tricky run chase ensued. Murray Barter dropped anchor after the loss of two early wickets. Gowtham Yeramansetti (19) and Ashwin Vausdevan (18) made quick runs to keep Ascot in the chase.

With overs running out, Murray Barter has to retire after pulling a hamstring while batting (25 retired not out) and it was left to a quick 16 not out off 10 deliveries from Satpal Singh and 9 off 5 balls from Amit Singh with Sadiq Khan at the end to see Ascot over the line to win by 4 wickets and only 8 deliveries remianing. Tim Mahoney took the bowling honours for the home team with 3 for 17.

4s v Newbury 3

Firstly, the club and the 4s need to say a big thanks to Murray Barter for putting the covers on at Locks Ride on Friday. Without them then the match may not have been played and it is small but significant acts like this that help the club out significantly.

Newbury won the toss and elected to bowl first. A 93 opening partnership set the tone for Ascot with Pal Chakravorty (12) and Elliott Mills (74) who put on 93. The innings stuttered and Ascot found themselves at 133 for 6 but a 7th wicket partnership of 80 between Callum Bulley (48) and Tom Dummigan (25) helped Ascot to 222 all out off 39.5 overs. Kunal Patil was the pick of the Newbury bowlers with 4 for 39.

Newbury started well with Dustine Barnes (44) and Kunal Patil (37). However, Newbury also stuttered and fell behind the rate at 151 for 8. But hope came from Joe Middleton (29 not out) and Deepak Upreti (24) to nearly get them up to 200 but still behind the run rate.

Eventually, Newbury were bowled out for 201 all out off 38 overs to earn the 4s a close win. Shaun Brady was the pick of the Ascot bowlers with 3 for 33.