Reading 2 v 1s

The 1s were on the road to Sonning Lane, where Reading were the hosts. Reading won the toss and elected to bat first. Ascot started well as Will Powell bowled Zain Butt early on. The second wicket partnership then provided the foundation of the Reading innings with Tariq Khan and Osman Ali putting on 75 before Ali fell to Steve Naylor.

Reading had a slight wobble as 88 for 1 became 119 for 5 when Khan fell for 60. The partnership of Hardik Pradhan (41) and Nisal Perera (31) took them to 175 but both wickets were taken by Will Powell. The late order then hit some quick runs and lost wickets as they finished their 52 overs on 219 for 9. Steve Naylor took 5 for 66 and Will Powell 3 for 37 for Ascot.

Ascot lost Dan Mallett early and then Rahul Singh was given lbw to Chaminda Alocious to leave Ascot on 37 for 2. Billy Baker and Steve Naylor got Ascot back on track before Baker fell to Hersh Ramanan for 58. Adam Smith gave good support to Naylor but fell leaving Ascot on 155 for 4. At this point, Reading suddenly came back into the game as they took three quick wickets to leave Ascot on 169 for 7 with the game in the balance.

Steve Naylor and Tom Clarke got Ascot near to line but both fell with overs running out, and Ascot were 217 for 9 with 3 balls remaining, and Rajiv Docker and Harry Meadows at the crease.

Harry Meadows got a leg bye and then Rajiv Docker scored a single to leave the scores tied with one ball remaining. Harry Meadows scrambled a single off the final ball to see Ascot over the line for the win. A close encounter but great resilience from the 1s as they battle their way through the season.

2s v Wokingham 4

Wokingham were the visitors to the Racecourse and the 2s won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers put on 50 before Manvir Dhaliwal fell for 24. 61 for 1 became 80 for 4 with skipper and opener being the last to fall for 26. Andy Murray and Gyan Patel put on 50 for the fifth wicket until Patel fell to Wokingham’s best bowler, Toby Barker who finished the innings with figures of 3 for 46. But Andy Murray remained the rock of the Ascot innings with 73 and Ascot finished on a respectable 215 for 7 off 45 overs.

However, despite the early wicket of Prakrit Bhagat to James Summers, Ascot were unable to sustain pressure and take wickets as Jitto Joseph made 106 and David Barson 48 as Wokingham won by 7 wickets with more than 6 overs remaining.

3s v Shinfield 3

Shinfield made the trip to Locks Ride and elected to bat first on winning the toss. Shinfield’s innings was built around opener Ritesh Ranpise with 63, Avinash Kumar with 36 and 35 extras including 23 wides. Naeem Mohammad was the pick of the Ascot attack with 4 for 36.

In response, Ascot struggled and when they got momentum they would lose a wicket. Opener Ian Meadows made 42 and there was hope as Naeem Mohammad (33) and Amindeep Singh (17) were at the crease but in the end, the 3s fell short as they made 190 all out off 38 overs. Shreyas Mathur took 4 for 52 for Shinfield.

Wokingham 6 v 4s

The 4s went to Reddam House, where Wokingham 6 hosted. Ascot started brightly as Wokingham were in early trouble at 25 for 3 but a 175 run partnership between Rahul Tak 93 and Cameron Burrows 84 not out helped Wokingham reach 253 for 5 off 40 overs.

In response, Ascot were unable to keep up with the run rate but Harry Winning made a well deserved 53 as Ascot reached 208 for 8 off 40 overs. Luke Buchel and Atharva Tak both took 3 for 33 for Wokingham.