While the weather was bad, fortunately we were able to get all four matches completed with thanks to a three letter acronym. While many of you will be familiar with DRS and DLS in cricket, in the Thames Valley League, from Division 3 and below, as Duckworth Lewis-Stern is unlikely to be available then we have a different version which is ARR – Adjusted Run Rate.

It is a very good proxy for DLS, but as a captain when you know there is likely to be a weather interruption then your chances are increased if you bat second.

1s v Kidmore End

The 1s were at home to the league leaders Kidmore End, who only needed several bonus points to secure promotion.

Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first. After picking up an early wicket, Kidmore End gained control with a 100 run 2nd wicket partnership between Fahad Anwar (46) and Dario Boyce.

Ascot gained some control back as they reduced Kidmore End from 151 for 2 to 173 for 6 including the important wicket of Boyce for 79. At 191 for 6, the match was suspended for lightning with 11 overs remaining.

This galvanised the Kidmore End tail as Shail Ram made 50 to get Kidmore End to a competitive 277 for 8 off 45 overs. Nick Wiggett took 4 for 63 for Ascot.

ARR came into force and Ascot needed 178 off 23 overs.

Ascot got off to a quick start as Ed Clarke (34) and Kamran Hanif (46) put on 83 for the first wicket but a clatter of wickets soon saw Ascot 87 for 3. Jem Bains and Tamoor Hussain saw Ascot to 123 for 5 before they both fell. Razwan Hanif and Andy Murray then got Ascot up to 169 before Razwan was comprehensively bowled by Amol Tyagi. But Dan Mallett and Murray saw Ascot home with 14 deliveries remaining.

Kidmore End received enough points to get promoted but face a top of the table clash with Aldershot. Aldershot need 6 points to gain promotion but the winner will also be division champions.

Slough 4 v 2s

The 2s made the trip to Slough and were asked to bat first after losing the toss. Ascot started slowly and weather intervened again in the Ascot innings. It took the late middle / lower order to get Ascot to a decent total with Tom Clarke (59) and Joseph Summers (35) leading the way to reach 211 for 9 off 45 overs.

Ali Baig was the pick of the Slough bowlers with 4 for 27 – all lbw.

ARR was used again as Slough needed 165 off 30 overs.

Ascot took wickets at regular intervals but Sajjad Hussain with 90 not out was the rock in Slough’s innings as they made 165 for 7 with 9 deliveries remaining

The defeat means that the 2s will be in Division 6 next season.

3s v Theale & Tilehurst 3

At Lock’s Ride, Ascot won the toss and elected to bowl first. Solid contributions throughout the top and middle order by Sohail Arshad (39), Hassnain Jamil (32), Kay Hussain (68) and Faisal Shahram (30) saw Theale & Tilehurst reach 240 for 8 off 40 overs.

In response Ascot started well and looked to have the run chase under control with Mike Breet (49) and Hassan Sohail (61). But a a collapse in wickets say Ascot 9 down with several runs needed. Sadiq Khan hit the winning boundary to see Ascot home by 1 wicket. Tim Kasozimusoke took 3 for 55 for Theale & Tilehurst.

Maidenhead & Bray 4 v 4s

Maidenhead & Bray won the toss and elected to bowl first. Initially, Ascot were in a strong position as they reached made 83 for the first wicket with Jacob Parry (24) and Ben Atkin (65). But none of the other Ascot batters made double figures as they lost their remaining wickets for 50 runs as they were bowled out for 133 in 28 overs. Karan Chandreja took 5 for 16 for Maidenhead & Bray.

Maidenhead & Bray’s innings was interrupted by a loss of 10 overs so the new ARR target was 100 off 30 overs.

Kapil Jain made 35 to get Maidenhead off to a good start but then started losing wickets at regular intervals. It was a tight match throughout with Maidenhead needing 14 off the last 2 overs but Muhammad Subhan (14 not out) and Neal Jain (9 not out) saw them through by 2 wickets and 5 deliveries.

Ascot go into a relegation decider with Bagshot 3 as only 9 points cover the bottom 5 teams.