1s v Aldershot

The 1s needed a win to try and avoid relegation. Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first. Aldershot put on a quick 50 for the first wicket but Myles Trainor made the breakthrough with Nick Wiggett taking a smart catch to remove Calum Grover for 16.

But the innings was about one batter – Rob Hislop – who made his third century in four innings for Aldershot with 108 off 124 deliveries. This formed the backbone of the total as Aldershot made 218 for 6 off 45 overs.

Tamoor Hussain was the pick of the Ascot attack with 3 for 27.

So Ascot needed to survive the opening salvo from Marc Davies and Greg Fanshawe to win the match. But at 17 for 4, it was evident that Aldershot won the battle. The middle and late order made a good fight with Dan Mallett (39), Tamoor Hussain (30) and Nick Wiggett (41) giving Ascot hope but losing their wickets at vital times and Aldershot the edge and ultimately the win by 44 runs.

Marc Davies took 3 for 43 to maintain their promotion push – they need one win from the last two to guarantee a promotion spot and they also still have a chance of winning the division.

Falkland 2s win confirmed Ascot’s relegation and some substantial rebuilding of the team will take place over the win to give us the best opportunity of bouncing back in 2024.

Eversley 2 v 2s

The 2s are also in a scrap at the wrong end of the division and they faced the untimate challenge in league leaders, Eversley. Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first.

The Eversley top order showed why they were league leaders as John Matthews (51), Bill Burnett (52), Pete de Lange (48), Matthew Martin (40) and William Reis (47 not out) helped Eversley reach an imposing 277 for 5 off 45 overs.

In response, the reality was that Ascot were looking for batting points and thanks to Sam Burling (94) and skipper Tom Clarke (32) they reached 221 for 9 off 45 overs to stay in the battle. Pete de Lang took 3 for 32 and Eversley confirmed the division title with 2 matches to spare.

Ascot will face Slough 4 to try and keep their Division 5 status.

Sonning 3 v 3s

The 3s made the trip to Sonning, and Sonning won the toss and elected to bat first. Ascot looked to be in control as they had Sonning at 57 for 5. But Arun Pera (54 not out) and skipper Shamitha Widanapathirana (106 not out) helped Sonning take the initiative back and end on 208 for 5 off 45 overs.

But Aryan Khanna (93 not out) and Ashwin Vasudevan (43 not out) eased early nerves after Ascot lost three wickets to ease Ascot to a 7 wicket win with over 6 overs left. After a slow start, Ascot recorded their 7th win of the season.

4s v Bradfield 2

The 4s entertained Bradfield at Lock’s Ride. Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first. Bradfield were in early trouble at 22 for 6 with Finlay Johnson 4 for 24 and skipper Mike Wyatt 2 for 16 causing the early carnage. But Bradfield dug themselves out of the hole to make 183 for 3 off 40 overs thanks to Phil Viljoen (38 not out) and Richard Stansfield (41 not out).

Ascot started well with Ishaan Banerjee (56), Jacob Parry (28) and Callum Bailey (25) but then the middle order collapsed and Ascot were 9 down still needing a few to win.

It was left to the final pair of Finlay Johnston and Joseph Searle to see if they could get Ascot over the line. Needing one to tie and two to win, the ball went in the air straight to a Bradfield fielder but the drop allowed Ascot to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as they ran two for the closest of one wicket victories.

Despite their 6th win, Ascot are still in a relegation battle.