Wargrave v Women – Berkshire Plate Semi-Final

In a packed schedule, Ascot managed to get the semi-final against Wargrave fitted in on Monday evening. Ascot won the toss and elected to bat first.

Our dependable opening pair of Gemma & Hemi put on 18 despite losing a wicket first ball of the innings to get Ascot off to a solid start. The captain, Laura, partnered with Sarah then put Ascot in a strong position with 31 for the second partnership to leave Ascot 59 for 2 (net score 249) at the halfway point.

Sian and Chloe then built upon this great start with a partnership of 27 losing only one wicket, so Ascot were on a net score of 276. The final pair of Sophie and Christie then went on the attack, with 16 off the first over, and 18 off their final over to score 47 runs and leave Ascot on a strong total of 138 for 3 (net score 323). A great all-round batting performance.

Wargrave knew they had to get a good start and the opening pair put Ascot under pressure with 32 runs for no wickets. But Ascot bowled and field well and despite the second pair not losing any wickets, they could only put on 19 to leave Wargrave on 51 for 0 (net score 251) after 8 overs.

Wargrave knew that they had to increase the run-rate now but the Ascot bowling and fielding, while not getting any wickets, kept the third pair to just 24 runs, so with a net score of 275, Wargrave needed 49 for the final pair to win.

But the pressure began to show as Gemma took a wicket in the first over to the final pair, so only 2 runs were scored. Sarah bowled another great over to keep them down to 5 runs for the over. Wargrave needed 42 from the final 2 overs. But the pressure from Ascot was relentless as Sian then only conceded 4 runs in the third over. Wargrave’s final pair tried to go big but Sophie picked up 3 wickets in the final over, as Wargrave finished on 94 for 4 (net score 274), to see Ascot win by 49 runs.

Ascot finish the season on Sunday 21st – 9.30am, at the Racecourse Ground, with the Plate Final against Division 1 champions, Emmbrook & Bearwood.

Littlewick Green v Women

On Sunday, Ascot played their final league match, away at Littlewick Green, needing a win to finish runners-up in the division. Ascot won the toss and elected to bat first.

Gemma & Hemi faced some good bowling but put on a strong partnership of 23 to get Ascot on their way. Laura & Clare then kept the momentum going with 29 for the second partnership, to get Ascot to 52 for 0 (net score 252) off 8 overs.

Sarah & Eleanor then provided the fireworks as they put on 59 for the loss of only one wicket. The finishers, Sophie & Christie then added 41 for 0, to give Ascot their highest ever league score of 152 for 1 (net score 347) to set Littlewick Green a tough target.

Littlewick Green’s opening pair struggled as they lost 2 wickets in the first over from Sophie but managed to finish well on 25 for 2. The second pair gained momentum and looked on for a big partnership until Hemi took a vital wicket that left them on 32 for 1. At the mid-point Littlewick Green were on 57 for 3 (net score 245).

The third pair also looked strong but again Hemi took another wicket in the final over of the partnership leaving Littlewick Green on 87 for 4 (net score 267). The final pair required 81 from the final 4 overs. In the end they could only make 28 for 2 leaving them on 115 for 6 (net score 285), to see Ascot win by 62 runs and take second place in the league.

Slough 3 v 1s

The 1s had a tough journey for the final league match of the season, away at Slough, and the winner would be promoted into Level 3.

Ascot won the toss and elected to field first. Ascot started well but without the vital breakthrough as Puneet Chopra (29) and Shristi Patil (30) got Slough off to a solid start. Sai Dawadi (65) and Sagar Chand (53 not out) then gave the Slough innings strong impetus to finish on 253 for 7 off 45 overs. Joe Warren was the pick of the Ascot attack with 3 for 31.

In response, Ascot started well despite the loss of Billy Baker early on as Dan Mallett (60) and Rahul Singh (57) saw Ascot to 144 before Singh was caught. However, the Ascot middle and late order struggled to keep the momentum going and finally subsided to 221 all out and lose by 32 runs.

It was always going to be a tough assignment in several ways, but the 1s should be proud of their season finishing third, especially during the second half of the season in what has ended up to be probably the toughest division in Level 4.

There is the possibility of further streamlining of the divisions from a regionalisation perspective in 2026, in part due to the sad withdrawal of Knotty Green CC, Old Merchant Taylors leaving to join the Middlesex League and also the late demise of the Mid-Bucks League which will see 13 clubs and 18 teams that hopefully can be accommodated in the Thames Valley Cricket League and Chiltern League.

2s v Crowthorne & Crown Wood 2

The 2s finished the season with a home match against Crowthorne & Crown Wood 2. Crowthorne won the toss and elected to field first. Ascot started brightly with Murray Barter (37) and Dylan Pietersen (30) getting Ascot to 83 for 1. But when they went, the middle and late order struggled against the Crowthorne attack and were bowled out for 153. Robert Crook was chief tormentor of the Ascot batting with 4 for 26.

In response, there was hope for Ascot as Crowthorne were reduced to 23 for 4 with Larry Hobson & Rajiv Docker taking 2 wickets each, but Chris Winch (66 not out) steadied nerves and with support from Matt Jones (30) and Pranav Desai (25) saw them home by 4 wickets.

The 2s finished in 6th place having won 9 and lost 8. Not having a consistent team did not help as 45 players represented the side with only 3 players making 14 or more appearances.

Kew 3 v 3s

The 3s had a journey into London for winner takes all relegation battle against 7th placed Kew 3. Ascot won the toss and elected to field first.

Ascot bowled and fielded well taking wickets at regular levels and with Kew at 128 for 7, would have hoped to have Kew out for under 150. But a quick fire 36 not out from Nasif Khan and Daniel Richardson (26), they were able to reach 199 all out off 40 overs. Muhammad Saria with 3 for 40 was the pick of the Ascot attack.

In response, Ascot went straight on the attack as Uthkarsh Balegara (75) and Kamran Zaki (78 not out) put on 145 for the first wicket. If Kew expected some relief in the strike rate, then they were mistaken as Toby Dodwell-Bennett hit 30 not out including 4 sixes to see Ascot home by 9 wickets and over 16 overs left.

This saw Ascot jump into 6th, while Kew finished in the final relegation spot in 8th.

4s v Crowthorne & Crown Wood 3

Unfortunately, with Locks Ride being unavailable to football and having tried over 20 grounds, we had to concede our final league match of the season. A sad end to the season with the 4s finishing in 7th place.

Hopefully, we can have discussions with the league to ensure that there is a solution to a perennial problem in that we, along with other clubs find ourselves in when using council grounds.