Spectacular batting collapse ends side’s promotion hopes

HENLEY went down to a seven-wicket defeat at EVERSLEY in Division 1 last Saturday.

Henley won the toss and elected to bat with their innings getting off to a shaky start as Charlie Hunt was dismissed in the third over, followed shortly after by Amjal Safi in the
seventh.

Euan Brock offered some stability, top scoring 27 runs, as Henley looked to rebuild at 56-2 but Eversley struck back in the 14th over as the visitors collapsed from 56-2 to 62-6, losing four wickets in a single over.

From there on the innings never recovered, with Henley bowled out for just 81 in 24 overs.

In reply, Henley managed an early breakthrough with the score on 22, but the home side continued to score freely. Eversley reached their target comfortably in just 13 overs, finishing on 83-3.

KIDMORE END remain outside the Division 2 relegation zone despite going down to an 11-run defeat at home to SULHAMSTEAD AND UFTON.

With Sulhamstead being put into bat first, seamer Craig Palmer struck immediately to dismiss Marc Thompson. Moments later he induced Lokuketiya into a false stroke, Jake Leach at slip poaching the chance.

From the other end, Juan Collison dismissed Mubarak Tahir who nicked one behind to the waiting hands of Olly Dugdale. However, it was Thomas Wilkinson who gave the day its defining spell. Medium-pace but deceptive, his 10 overs returned 3-20, for the best figures of his career. Hornby edged to Leach, Sadiqi lured into a drive to find Ally Stewart’s gloves while Pickard was undone by one that shaped away late. The Kidmore fielders, supported him – Greenwood took a sharp catch, Palmer himself clung onto one at mid-off.

James Frost’s 10 overs, saw him return figures of 1-31 with three maidens as he had Mercer caught by Leach’s safe hands. Greenwood also tempted Hooper, caught Palmer.

All the while Collison kept nipping away, late on bowling Gill with one that straightened off the seam yet Sulhamstead never quite folded. Hornby’s 37 was defiance in blocks and glances, Sadiqi carved 45 with drives through cover, and at the close Doug MacDonald added an unbeaten 25 in a spirited counter. Extras swelled the total, 32 conceded through wides and byes and after 50 overs Sulhampstead had put on 195-9.

Kidmore’s reply began falteringly as Dugdale perished early, caught for a single, and Gothoskar soon followed, bowled by Gill. Collison departed cheaply. Greenwood offered a few promising strokes — three crisp boundaries — before edging behind. At 50-4, the pursuit of 196 already looked steep.

However, Forst drove through the covers and was equally content to nudge and nurdle when the bowlers tightened their lines as he put on 68 from 115 balls. He found support in Sanay Sadhwani, whose 19 in 72 deliveries was an act of patience. Together they pushed the score past 100.

Then came Leach, who hit 32 from 31 before he was undone by an lbw decision. Soon after, Palmer was caught at slip.

When Frost departed — the delivery spitting from a length, climbing viciously to force a fatal edge, which broke his bat — Kidmore’s hopes wavered. The tail fought, Wilkinson and Holland scratching at the target but Hornby returned to prise out both Wilkinson and Stewart.

MacDonald and Gill too chipped in, the innings closing at 184 all out.

Elsewhere in the division, WARGRAVE 2nds fell to defeat at Ricketts Field as COOKHAM DEAN chased down 194 with ease.

Winning the toss, Wargrave chose to bat and made a positive start through Mandip Sohi (18) and Louis Dean (36). The innings gained momentum with a lively cameo from Avi Pasikanti (23) and a composed 32 from Ashwyn Rupasinha.

Lower down, Oliver Newton struck a brisk 24 before Wargrave were bowled out for 194 in 38.1 overs, extras contributing a valuable 24 runs.

In reply, the Cookham Dean captain Sohil Mangat produced a match-winning century. Anchoring the chase, Mangat struck 17 fours in his 100 from 98 balls, ably supported by Zain Khan (30) and late runs from Arush Dumpala (13 not out) and Lashvein Srisankar (14 not out).

Despite a fine spell from Oliver Newton (2-18) and an early breakthrough for Sohi, Cookham reached their revised target of 195-3 in just 32.4 overs.

PEPPARD STOKE ROW lost seven wickets for just six runs as their outside hopes of promotion from Division 3A were all but extinguished with a late capitulation seeing them fall to a two-run defeat at home to the champions-elect THEALE AND TILEHURST.

The visitors, having chosen to bat, lost Waqas Ahmed with the score on 24, Kyle Tappan the catcher off Scott Harris. Rehan Ahmed and Zain Qadeer shared 47 for the second wicket before the former was snared by Ollie Williams, left-arm spinner Karan Shah (3-35) was the bowler.

Shah then castled Qadeer and had Alec Davidson-Soler caught by Owen Simmons for 138-4, a fine piece bit of footwork from Matt Vines running out Baber Hussain (68) just as the former first-class batter was getting into his stride.

Raheel Farooq and Atif Asif took the total to 199, but with skipper Simmons bagging 2-28, Theale and Tilehurst could only reach 215-8 in their 45 overs.

Simmons and Nick Murdoch made it three 50-run opening partnerships from three in reply, the latter the first to go when trapped lbw by Mirza Jamil.

Tappan continued his remarkable form in doubling the tally before Simmons (51) was bowled by Hussain.

Vines lost track of the ball when being stumped by Davidson-Soler off Asif, but the game seemed done and dusted as Tappan and Watts took the score to 207-3.

Peppard’s young side then
collapsed as Watts (39) firstly edged Farooq behind before Oli Sedgwick was hit in front next ball, Tappan’s 86 from 63 deliveries ending as he was caught at long-on off Jamil, 209-6.

Harris was bowled a run later and Shah was smartly caught at cover off Jamil (4-34) to make it 212-8. Rudi Derbyshire was lbw to Farooq (3-35).

Amid great tension, Aryan Khanna’s pull shot to the square-leg boundary seemed set to snatch the game, only for the ball to be kept in play and Williams run out at the non-striker’s end attempting to complete a second run.

Elsewhere in the division, HARPSDEN ran out 58-run winners at home to WHITE WALTHAM.

Batting first, Harpsden put on 222-8 with Ollie McConkey top scoring with 59. In reply, the visitors were all out for 164 with Christian Whittaker taking 5-24 and Hamza Abbasoi 2-24.