1s v Boyne Hill 2

Boyne Hill were the visitors to the Racecourse on a warm and humid day. Steve Naylor won the toss and elected to bat first. Ascot made a solid start with Dan Mallett (18) and Billy Baker (28) gave Ascot a solid platform at 64 for 2. What followed was a batting masterclass as Rahul Singh (113) and Steve Naylor (141) put on 235 for the third wicket. Wickets fell as Ascot looked to make an early declaration and Ascot declared on 343 for 7 off 42 overs, to give Boyne Hill 58 overs for the chase. Majod Ashraf finished with 3 for 76 for Boyne Hill.

Boyne Hill were in early trouble at 14 for 2 as Nick Wiggett took a couple of early wickets. Sharoon Azad then looked to change the momentum with a quickfire 47 off 32 deliveries as opener Zain Azad anchored the innings. But 90 for 2 became 132 for 5 as Jamie Shepherd and Finlay Main came and went.

Boyne Hill then dug in, but Steve Naylor reduced them to 184 for 9 including the key wicket of Zain Azad for 80. With over 18 overs left, skipper Tom Mellor and Chetan Bhanot had other ideas as they dug in to look and get the draw, Over after over Mellor and Bhanot kept Ascot out and kept the scoreboard ticking over despite the bowlers being rotated. Tom Mellor reached his 50 and it was left to him to face the final over against his opposite number.

The final over started – 4 dot balls with 2 survive. Then Naylor got one to finally get through Mellor’s defence and he was out lbw for 52, as Boyne Hill reached a valiant 263 all out off 57.5 overs. With Bracknell United and Harpsden winning, it was a much needed win to keep Ascot in the chase.

Hurley 1 v 2s

Ascot made the trip to Hurley for their away fixture. Returning captain, James Docker, won the toss and elected to bat first. Ascot struggled early on and were soon in trouble at 18 for 3. Toby Dodwell-Bennett fired briefly with 29 before falling, and Mohammad Qasim added 26. It took the lower middle order of Gyan Patel (46), James Docker (25) and Tom Clarke (21) to get Ascot to a competitive total of 187 all out with 7 balls remaining. Rashid Hussain took 3 for 12 and Umar Zaman 3 for 39 for the home side.

Hurley were in control from the off as they were 110 for 1 of 13 overs. Even when Saeed Ajmal (23) feel, Hurley were in control at 142 for 2, thanks to some poor Ascot fielding as catches were dropped and missed. But when Adnan Shahzad fell for 95 off 51 deliveries by Razwan Hanif, Ascot staged a comeback as Hurley slumped to 159 for 8. But despite Razwan Hanif taking 4 for 32, Umar Zaman hit 28 not out off 26 deliveries to see Hurley home by 2 wickets. Ascot will be disappointed after making such a strong comeback.

Holyport 2 v 3s

The 3s were also on the road as they had a top of the table clash with Holyport. Holyport won the toss and elected to bat first. Ascot were never able to get a grip on the Holyport innings as 7 of the top 8 got into double figures, with Sajjad Shawl top scored with a brisk 76 not out off 58 deliveries, as Holyport reachhed an imposing 247 for 7 off 40 overs.

Ascot’s top order didn’t fire and despite Jeremy Wing (23) and a late middle order 52 from Muhammad Saria, Ascot never looked in the chase as they subsided to 172 all out to give Holyport a comprehensive 75 run victory. The wickets were shared by 7 Holyport bowlers.

4s v Maidenhead & Bray 5

Maidenhead & Bray made the trip to Locks Ride and elected to field first on winning the toss. Openers Ishaan Banerjee (57) and Deep Mohain (31) got Ascot off to a strong start, and Ashwin Vasudevan (79 not out) and Dirk Benneyworth (36 not out) brought the acceleration with an unbeaten 135 run, third wicket partnership, to get Ascot up to 268 for 2 off 40 overs.

Maidenheay & Bray were soon in trouble at 29 for 3. But Prashant Sharma rebuilt the innings with support from Aasim Khursheed Naqashi (49), Atharva Nippani (37) and Arjun Benawra (29) and despite Sharma falling for 81 to Harry Winning, Maidenhead & Bray were looking in the box seat at 244 for 6. But then Ascot took 4 wickets without any runs conceded as Maidenhead & Bray subsided to 244 all out and Ascot won by 24 runs. Charlie Hall took 4 for 55 and Ryan Blake 3 for 32 for Ascot.