Some great news from our Girls section this week. Our Under 11s took part in the Boyne Hill CC 6-a-side Smash Festival on Sunday with 11 other teams from the Home Counties. They won their group stage and beat Boyne Hill in the semi-final. In a tense final with Oxford the match ended in a tie on net runs scored so they shared the title. A massive effort from the girls, who all bowled, batted and fielded so well.

Earley Women v Royal Ascot Women

Our super 7 (we were one short) made the trip to Earley for their league fixture. With long boundaries and a wicket that was impacted by the bad weather, the Women put on a net score of 251 for 5, with Eleanor top scoring.

Earley, however, struggled against a spirited bowling and fielding performance by the super 7 and with Sarah, Hemi, Jenny, Eleanor and Sophie all taking wickets. Earley needed 2 off the final ball to win but were restricted to one and the match ended in a tie!

All 4 league matches this season have been decided on the final ball this season.

White Waltham v 1s

In Week 10 the reverse fixtures start and the 1s won the toss and elected to field at White Waltham. White Waltham started well and looked on for a big total at 170 for 3 with skipper Nikhil Jathavedan leading the way with 75.

But a collapse saw them lost 5 wickets for the loss of 4 runs, before Umar Butt made an unbeaten 65 to see White Waltham reach 251 for 9 off 52 overs. Mo Nawaz was the pick of the Ascot attack with 4 for 77.

In response a couple of early wickets and a slow start hindered Ascot’s attempts to win the match. GK Reddy 70 and Adam Smith 68 rebulit the innings but despite a quickfire 47 not out from Mo Nawaz, the match ended in a draw with Ascot on 221 for 8. Jordon Thomas took 4 for 72 for White Waltham.

2s v White Waltham 2

White Waltham 2s were the visitors at the Racecourse Ground. White Waltham won the toss and elected to field first.

Ascot made a good start with Dan Corsini 69, Ghulma Mirza 47 and James Docker 34 putting them in a strong position. But an epic collapse saw Ascot go from 158 for 2 to 172 for 9 with 13 overs left.

But an even more epic last wicket unbeaten stand of 85 between Nick Wiggett 67 not out and Tim Howson 19 not out saw Ascot to a competitive 257 for 9 off 45 overs. Luke Beard took 3 for 56 for White Waltham.

White Waltham made a similarly strong start with Adil Pervaiz 89 and Simon Jessup 48 giving them a strong foundation. But once they went and despite Kelvin Baillie’s 47 not out, the Ascot attack were able to chip away at the remainder of the batting order and White Waltham finished short on 232 for 9.

James Summers with 4 for 56 and Jez Wing with 3 for 36 were the pick of the Ascot attack.

In his post-match interview when Tim Howson was asked about the last wicket partnership he said “That was better than any world title in my entire dancing career”. His 19 not out was his third highest score for the club and highest score in the 2nd XI.

Sulhamstead & Ufton 3 v 3s

The 3s were on the road at Sulhamstead and Ufton. Ascot were asked to bat first by the opposition and the high point was opener Deep Mohain’s 51. But after that it was all low points as they could only muster 114 all out and went on to lose by 8 wickets. A day to forget for the 3s.

4s v Henley 4

At Locks Ride, Henley 4 were the visitors. They won the toss and elected to field first. Good contributions were seen by the top and middle order, but Glen Winning with 55 was top scorer for Ascot as they made 211 all out in 40 overs. The wickets were shared among 7 Henley bowlers.

In response Sean Taylor was the key wicket for Ascot and when he was out for 55 it left Henley on 128 for 7. The late order managed to keep the momentum going but fell short on 188 for 9. Raf Bocchio was the star of the Ascot attack with 5 for 24.