Women v Wokingham

Wokingham visited the Racecourse ground on Sunday with an unbeaten record. Ascot won the toss and elected to field first.

The opener pair for Wokingham started strongly despite losing two wickets to finish the first 4 overs on 222. The second pair added 16 including the loss of one wicket. But Wokingham finished strongly with third pair adding 30 and the final pair 33 to finish on a net score of 301 having lost 3 wickets. Gemma was Ascot’s best bowler with 2 for 15 off 3 overs.

In response, Sue and Hemi made 18 runs but lost one wicket for a net score of 213. Gemma and Jenny then put on 26 with no wickets lost for Ascot to be on a net score of 239. Laura and Joy put on 31 as they looked to increase the run rate, but with the loss of two wickets, the net score was 260. Despite the best efforts of Christie and Sarah, Ascot finished on a net score of 266, for Wokingham to win by 35 runs.

Wokingham are league champions but Ascot can still finish runners-up if they win their final rearranged league match against Littlewick Green.

1s v Ruislip

Ruislip were the visitors to the Racecourse Ground for the final traditional 52/48 match of the summer. Ruislip were looking to try and get themselves out of the relegation zone while Ascot were looking to keep the momentum going with a strong set of recent results.

Ascot won the toss and elected to field first. Ruislip were soon in trouble at 11 for 2 and needed Nik Mills (45) and Stephen Windsor (29) to get the innings going. But Razwan Hanif slowed the innings down taking 4 for 64, and with Ruislip in trouble again at 115 for 6. However some strong hitting by the tail from Raheel Javid (51 not out), Anatol Thomas (39) and Harindu Kariyawasam (22), Ruislip reached a respectable 251 all out.

Despite losing Tobe Dodwell-Bennett early, the top order looked solid with Adam Smith (71) the mainstay, and Billy Baker (37), Dan Corsini (26) and James Docker (21) getting Ascot over 200. Shakil Ahmed (44) then helped Ascot near the line with Will Powell hitting a 6 to see Ascot home by 2 wickets in the final over. Harindu Kariyawasam took 4 for 57 as the pick of the Ruislip bowling attack.

White Waltham 2 v 2s

Ascot were away at White Waltham and elected to field on winning the toss. On a good batting track, White Waltham scored quickly with contributions from all the batting line-up including Simon Jessup (84), Andy Elliiot (44) and Kelvin Baillie (31 not out) to help White Waltham reach a strong total of 273 for 5.

In response all the Ascot batters chipped in and got into double figures without any one batter making the defining contribution. Good scores from Dylan Baker (45), Gowtham Yeramanasetti (39), Matt Lambert (38) and Ian Meadows (31) kept Ascot in the chase but by the final over, Ascot’s last wicket pair of Rahul Mohindru and Tim Howson were in needing 14. A tall order but the events that followed were extraordinary even by Ascot standards.

44.1 Tim Howson – 1 run – 261 for 9
44.2 Rahul Mohindru – 1 wide – 262 for 9
44.2 Rahul Mohindru – 1 wide – 263 for 9
44.2 Rahul Mohindru – 1 wide – 264 for 9
44.2 Rahul Mohindru – 1 run – 265 for 9
44.3 Tim Howson – 1 wide – 266 for 9
44.3 Tim Howson – 1 run – 267 for 9
44.4 Rahul Mohindru – 4 runs – 271 for 9
44.5 Rahul Mohindru – 1 run – 272 for 9

Tim Howson to face the final ball, 1 run to tie, 2 runs to win. The ball is short down the leg side and is pulled to the boundary to give Ascot an improbable win. A great team effort right down to the final ball.

Slough 6 v 3s

Ascot had the unenviable task of visiting league leaders Slough, who had only lost one match to this point of the season. Ascot won the toss and elected to field first.

Slough did not get off to their usual strong start and were 21 for 3. But with Nigel Mathews (63 not out), Hussain Jee (40) and Armaan Mohammed (30) helped Slough to 201 all out with 4 balls remaining. Andy Wiggett was the pick of the Ascot bowlers with 3 for 33.

In response Ascot started slowly but Thomas Searle (41) helped give the innings momentum. Andy Wiggett and Aum Shivshankar (20) then Ascot to the verge of victory with Andy Wiggett hitting the winning runs for a 3 wicket victory and 13 deliveries remaining. His 33 not out made him the deserved player of the match.

4s v Maidenhead Royals 2

The 4s had promotion chasing Maidenhead Royals at Locks Ride. Maidenhead Royals won the toss and elected to bat first. They showed their credentials with a strong 297 for 8 off 40 overs with Jaswanth Obillaneni (70 not out) and Saquib Mohammad (58) top scoring. Larry Hobson provided the main resistance for Ascot with figures of 3 for 24.

In response, Ascot were always behind the 8 ball, and were bowled out for 100 with Raf Bocchio (33) and Yeshas Vijay (20 not out) helping Ascot to three figures. Faraz Ahmed with 6 for 18 was primarily responsible for Ascot’s demise.