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1st XI
Sandhurst 1st XI 154-2 Sulhamstead
1st XI 153
Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division ARON SHALLOM blasts Sandhurst to victory making it 6 from 6. Skipper Jaemie Gale won the toss and put Sulhamstead in on what was an overcast day, and the wicket had seen some
rain the previous night. Aron Shallom and Ash Rahman opened up with the new ball and used it to good affect beating the
bat consistently and it was not long before the first wicket went down. The sulhamstead opener driving straight to Gale at
cover off Rahman. Chris Mercer battled on well for Sully though and kept the score ticking. Sanjay Dove was the next to
go, with one handed catch by Adam Birch going away from him off Shallom, and the score was 28-2.
Sulhamstead
consolidated well though and battled through to drinks, where the score was 66-2. The problem was Sandhurst had already dropped
both batsman at least once. After drinks, and the runs continued but at a faster rate, again more poor fielding and drop
catching costing the home side.
Sandhurst finally broke through with the score on 115. Gale beating the
batsman with a quicker one and Birch taking the stumping. This was the catalyst for a collapse, with Des Sussex coming into
the attack and him and Gale taking wickets each over. Mercer went for a good 59 before stumped off Sussex by Birch down
the legside. Gale got in on the act and claimed 2 lbw's as Sully struggled against pace off the ball.
Des Sussex finished with figures of 10 overs 4-34 and Jaemie Gale 8 overs 4-25, as Sully went from 114-2 to 153 all out in
43 overs.
With the sun now out, this seemed a perfect chance to chase down a moderate score. Aron Shallom
opened up with Anthony Clapham and they both started well before Clapham was caught at short mid wicket for 2 with the score
23-1. Nayeem Ahmed came to the crease and in terrific form too. Him and Shallom continued to motor along with Shallom taking
all bowling to the sword with superb drive after drive down the ground. These two put on 54 before
Nayeem fell to one that kept low and was out lbw for 16.
Andy Tutty back from a
break though came to the wicket and supported Shallom well, with the latter continuing smashing the ball to all parts of
the ground. Drinks came along and the score was 112-2 and Sandhurst fully in command.
What was to come after drinks was something special, as Shallom reached only his 2nd Berkshire League 100 with a superb 6
over Midwicket to the delight of his family watching on the sidelines, and all the Sandhurst players. He then hit 2 even
bigger 6's, before Tutty though he should get on in the show hitting 2 lovely straight 4's and hitting the winning 4 through
midwicket.
Shallom finished 115 no off 61 balls!! Tutty was 20 not out. Sandhurst completing the win within
30 overs only 2 wickets down and another valuable 30 points.
Sandhurst have now won 6 on the spin, and
with Mortimer losing, the title race is still up and running. Sandhurst go to Woodcote this weekend who lie in 3rd before
entertaining Mortimer a week on Saturday.
Sandhurst 1st XI 196-6 Stoke Row 195
Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division A last ball thriller makes it four from four for Sandhurst
1st XI under new skipper Jaemie Gale. After winning the
toss on a warm but cloudy lunch time skipper Gale had no hesitation in putting Stoke Row into bat, on
what looked like a green wicket with a bit in it for the bowlers. Opening the
bowling with veteran Aron Shallom and returning Birthday Boy Andrew Bradshaw,
Sandhurst applied good pressure in the opening overs but with Stoke Row equal to the challenge and fought to get up to
40 without loss.The first wicket came with a superb in-swinging yorker from
Bradshaw to remove the quicker of the scoring Row openers. Unfortunately it wasn't one brings two as Stoke Row rebuilt again
and reached 110-1 at the half way point, with the score steadily increasing it
was time for a change. Enter Saj
Abassi who on returning to the 1st XI after a two week break struck immediately
with and LBW followed two balls later removing the other set batsman with a smart catch behind, standing up by Adam
Birch. The two quick wickets shifted momentum back in Sandhurst way as wickets kept falling regularly, skipper Gale picking
up the wicket of Danger man S.Boughton cheap as the batman lost balance on a
leg side delivery allowing Birch to stump him. Saj Abbasi continued his fine
bowling display picking up two more wickets and finishing with 4-48. As the innings started
to come to a close and Stoke Row looking to push for more runs Des Sussex was brought on to keep the
run rate contained. Sussex picked up 4-18 including a Stumping and a caught
& bowled off the final two balls of the innings to bowl Stoke Row out for
195. A great come back from a very slow start in the
field by the Sandhurst team on a wicket that offered very little to the bowlers.
Sandhurst's
reply got off to a flyer as openers Aron Shallom and Andy Tutty took the attack to the Stoke
Row bowlers, with some lusty blows all around the wicket. The score passed 50
very quickly as Shallom dominated the partnership reaching 30 before he
fell mis-timing a drive and getting caught. Tutty was then joined by the in-form Nayeem Ahmed(25) as the
pair looked to rebuild and not let Stoke Row pick up a cheap quick wickets. With Shallom back
in the pavillion it was Tutty who very much became the aggressor hitting several
straight drives, powerfully back
past the bowlers. Sandhurst reached
106-1 at the half way stage, not far off were Stoke Row had been in their innings. With pace not working
Stoke Row introduced a spinner into the attack, who had an impact immediate picking up the key wicket of Tutty((36) caught in the deep. The wind was then suddenly knocked out of Sandhurst's
sails as Stoke Row applied pressure and put a halt to the scoring, with only
10 runs coming from overs 20-30 with the loss of 4 wickets.
That of N.Ahmed LBW, A.Clapham caught behind and S.Malla unfortunate to chop-on from a long hop. Sandhurst were wobbling on 120-5 when the pair of Adam Birch and Des Sussex
started to rebuild the innings, with the home side needing 76 runs from the
remaining 10 overs there was little time to hang around. As the pair steadily
increased the run rate the longer they were out there. Birch was the main attacker of the pair
as he quickly reached 35 with some clean hitting to returning opening bowlers of Stoke Row,
he was finally dismissed caught in the deep timing a ball a bit too well off
his legs. Sussex was joined by young Imran Shakir with Sandhurst still needed 25 at just less than a run a ball. Sussex chanced his luck with some effective aerial
off-side hitting, only to be helped twice by the deep cover fielder dropping him. The pair batted very well
mixing big expansive shots and delicate drop and runs to get Sandhurst needing just 4 runs
off the final over. Four runs
seemed simple enough, but the over was a cracking one from the Stoke Row bowler
with only 3 singles off the first 5 balls and Shakir on strike for the final ball,he whipped it off his hip through
square-leg for two as Sandhurst completed their 4th straight under new captain Gale.
Sandhurst 1st XI 196-6 Stoke Row XI
195
Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division A last ball thriller makes it
four from four for Sandhurst 1st XI under new skipper Jaemie Gale. After winning the
toss on a warm but cloudy lunch time skipper Gale had no hesitation in putting Stoke Row into bat, on what looked like a green
wicket with a bit in it for the bowlers. Opening the bowling with veteran Aron Shallom and returning Birthday Boy Andrew Bradshaw,
Sandhurst applied good pressure in the opening overs but with Stoke Row equal to the challenge and fought to get up to 40
without loss.The first wicket came with a superb in-swinging yorker from Bradshaw to remove the quicker of the scoring Row
openers. Unfortunately it wasn't one brings two as
Stoke Row rebuilt again and reached 110-1 at the half way point, with the score steadily increasing it was time
for a change. Enter Saj Abassi who on returning to the 1st XI after a two week break struck immediately
with and LBW followed two balls later removing the other set batsman with a smart catch behind, standing up by Adam
Birch. The two quick wickets shifted momentum back in Sandhurst way as wickets kept falling regularly, skipper Gale picking
up the wicket of Danger man S.Boughton cheap as the batman lost balance on a leg side delivery allowing Birch to stump him.
Saj Abbasi continued his fine bowling display picking up two more wickets and finishing with 4-48. As the innings started
to come to a close and Stoke Row looking to push for more runs Des Sussex was brought on to keep the run rate contained.
Sussex picked up 4-18 including a Stumping and a caught & bowled off the final two balls of the innings to bowl Stoke
Row out for 195. A great come back from a very slow
start in the field by the Sandhurst team on a wicket that offered very little to the bowlers. Sandhurst's reply got off to a flyer as openers Aron Shallom and Andy Tutty took the attack
to the Stoke Row bowlers, with some lusty blows all around the wicket. The score passed 50 very quickly as Shallom dominated
the partnership reaching 30 before he fell mis-timing a drive and getting caught. Tutty was then joined by the in-form
Nayeem Ahmed(25) as the pair looked to rebuild and not let Stoke Row pick up a cheap quick wickets. With Shallom back in the
pavillion it was Tutty who very much became the aggressor hitting several straight drives, powerfully back past the bowlers. Sandhurst reached 106-1 at the half way stage, not far off were Stoke Row had been in their innings. With pace not working Stoke
Row introduced a spinner into the attack, who had an impact immediate picking up the key
wicket of Tutty((36) caught in the deep. The wind was then suddenly knocked out of Sandhurst's sails as Stoke Row applied
pressure and put a halt to the scoring, with only 10 runs coming from overs 20-30 with the loss of 4
wickets. That of N.Ahmed LBW, A.Clapham caught behind and S.Malla unfortunate to chop-on from a long hop. Sandhurst were wobbling on 120-5 when the pair of Adam Birch and Des Sussex
started to rebuild the innings, with the home side needing 76 runs from the remaining 10 overs there was little time to hang
around. As the pair steadily increased the run rate the longer they were out there. Birch was the main attacker of the pair
as he quickly reached 35 with some clean hitting to returning opening bowlers of Stoke Row, he was finally
dismissed caught in the deep timing a ball a bit too well off his legs. Sussex was joined by young Imran Shakir with Sandhurst still needed 25 at just less than a run a ball. Sussex chanced his luck with some
effective aerial off-side hitting, only to be helped twice by the deep cover fielder dropping him. The pair batted very well
mixing big expansive shots and delicate drop and runs to get Sandhurst needing just 4 runs off the final over. Four runs seemed simple enough, but the over was a cracking one from the Stoke
Row bowler with only 3 singles off the first 5 balls and Shakir on strike for the final ball,he whipped it off his hip through
square-leg for two as Sandhurst completed their 4th straight under new captain Gale.
Crown Wood 1st XI 112 Sandhurst 1st
XI 133
Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division IT'S PLAYED three, won three under new skipper Jaemie Gale!
Crown Wood became the latest
side to come unstuck, as Sandhurst maintained their mid-season surge with victory by 21 runs last Saturday (July 10th).
On what was a pretty poor track, having been watered this past two weeks during the
dry spell, Sandhurst were put in to bat.
The green wicket, almost as lush as the outfield, was not to Graham Sanders'
liking. He fell in the fifth over. Aron Shallom worked his way to 31, which included 18 off one over, before he too found
himself snared at gully.
Andy Tutty made 22, only to get himself comically run-out by the wicket-keeper. Anthony
Clapham and Ashfaque Rahman both managed just 11 apiece, but for the second week running, Nayeem Ahmed was the mainstay, as
he patiently contributed an unbeaten 32 in an innings of just 133.
Ravi Godbole finished with impressive figures
of 5-32 from his 11 overs.
The mood was surprisingly good in the Sandhurst camp, despite their low score, though
opening bowlers Shallom and Rahman had little joy early on.
Crown Wood's run chase was slowed by the introduction
of Shakir, who conceded just four runs from his three overs!
Sumit Malla (right) showed great versatility, claiming
two wickets with some seam bowling, before producing arguably the delivery of the season to bowl a fellow-off-spinner with
the arm ball. Malla finished with 4-23.
Gale seems to be relishing his new role as skipper. His four wickets came
at a cost of just nine runs, from four overs, as the home side melted in the heat, from 50 without loss to 112 all out.
Adam Birch did little with the bat on his return to the first team, but played a part in this victory with two good
catches with the gloves.
* For the first time this season, Mortimer West End were defeated. They lost
to reigning champions Grosvenor and, though they remain top, their lead has been cut and the chasing pack sniff half
a chance. Sandhurst remain fourth in the table, but less than two average points behind second place Woodcote.
Sandhurst 1st XI 164-9 Woodley
1st XI 163-8
Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division NAYEEM Ahmed and new skipper Jaemie Gale were
last men standing, as Sandhurst 1st XI scrambled a dramatic victory by just one wicket at home to Woodley on Saturday (July
3rd).
Gale has now led Sandhurst to successive wins, since taking over from stalwart Chris Pharo, though
the side remains fourth in the Premier Division with eight games to go.
Woodley batted first, having lost the toss,
and faced a Sandhurst side which showed a renewed vigour and verve in the field. As a result, the visitors became bogged
down and frustrated. This led to rash shots and wickets at regular intervals.
On a very flat track, Ian Jubb
hit a slow but respectful 62 before trying to push on and holing out to Gayle. There were two wickets apiece for Des Sussex, Ashfaque
Rahman and Sumit Malla, as Woodley managed just 168-8 from their 45 overs.
Sandhurst's reply hit trouble early,
with Graham Sanders given out LBW and in-form Aron Shallom returning after going for a big shot.
This brought Nayeem
to the crease. His elevation from the 2nd XI came at late notice, due to the withdrawal of Saj Abassi, but he proved
to be the glue in Sandhurst's innings as it threatened to come apart.
A partnership of 50 between Nayeem and Anthony
Clapham (19), when over, brought a shocking collapse. Malla, Rahman, Kevin Speakman, Mark Honey and Andrew Bradshaw all
departed cheaply, as the hosts crumbled from 90-3 to 108-9!
Gale joined Nayeem, and the pair gallantly fought back
to ensure victory with four overs remaining. It was fitting that Gale (18*) hit the winning runs, but the role played by Nayeem
(71*) was immense.
The mood in the Sandhurst camp afterwards was one of jubilation, as though the league title
had just been secured. That scenario remains some way off, but this kind of character and spirit may go a long way to making
the second half of the season one to savour.
Sandhurst 1st XI 251-7 Grosvenor
1st XI 157
Berkshire Cricket League premier division A CHANGE
of skipper brought a change in fortune for Sandhurst's 1st XI, as they collected their first win in more than a month and
ended a run of four defeats in a row with an emphatic victory over reigning champions Grosvenor (June 26th).
Jaemie
Gale stepped in for Chris Pharo, and led the team to a much-needed win by 94 runs, which lifted Sandhurst to fourth in the
premier division at the midway point in the season.
The 1st XI remain well adrift of runaway leaders Mortimer West
End, but the battle for second spot looks set to be closely contested. (For Mortimer to concede the title, even at this stage,
would take on almighty self destruct as they lead by more than 11 average points).
Gale's first act as skipper
was to lose the toss, but Grosvenor opted to bowl first on a flat wicket and a blazing hot day.
Both openers, Aron
Shallom and Graham Sanders, started positively, forcing the visitors to keep chopping and changing their new-ball
bowling attack.
Sanders departed for just 10 but Shallom continued in his customary attacking manner.
Anthony Clapham also fell cheaply but Sumit Malla - elevated up the order - did just what was asked and milked the singles,
nudging the ball around to build a platform. Shallom passed 50 with ease and looked
good for three figures, until falling at long-off for a superb 73. Malla was joined by Mark Honey and after struggling early
on, both got into their stride to move the score ever nearer 200. Honey was stumped by the spinner Jamil, who was the pick
of the bowling attack, and Malla fell soon after for a good 38.
This brought Ashfaque
Rahman to the crease and the medium pacers were no match for him as they got taken to the cleaners with some hard hitting
in the last 10 overs. Wickets fell around Rahman but he took the strike well as the last five overs went for 55. Sandhurst
finished on 251-7 and Rahman 69 not out.
With a sizeable score to chase Grosvenor were going to have a go from
the start. With this in mind, Sandhurst opened up with spin duo Malla and Gale, who used the old ball to entice the visitors
into going for their shots.
Malla got an early wicket to put some pressure
on, but the other opener reached his 50 in the first eight overs. At this point, the new ball was taken and Rahman and
Shallom caused havoc in the vistors' ranks. Shallom struck first, before Rahman got two wickets. Rahman's first victim
was superbly bowled. His second scalp followed a tickle down the leg side, brilliantly caught by Graham Sanders
at full stretch.
Shallom and Rahman weren't finished there though, both adding to their wickets before the end
of their spells. The former got the opener lbw for a well
played 64, while Rahman dismissed Jamil, caught behind for one.
Grosvenor never really recovered from
this, and a brave 55 from Chowdry kept Sandhurst on their toes but he succumbed to Malla and the game was up a few overs later.
The pick of the bowlers were Shallom (2-27), Rahman (3-11) and Malla (4-35).Peppard 1st XI v. Sandhurst
1st XI
Berkshire Cricket League premier division
MATCH details not submitted. Result not known.
Mortimer West End v. Sandhurst
1st XI
Berkshire Cricket League premier division
MATCH details not submitted. Result not known.
Sandhurst 1st XI 116 Woodcote
117-7
Berkshire Cricket League premier division
HISTORY
was made at The Memorial Park on Saturday (June 5th), as Sandhurst 1st XI slipped to a three-wicket defeat at home to Woodcote.
Batting first, Sandhurst lost key opener Graham Sanders without scoring. For skipper Chris
Pharo and his team, though, worse was to follow.
Woodcote bowler Johnny Clark claimed 4-27, which included the
first Berkshire Cricket League hat-trick at Sandhurst. His victims were Andy Tutty, Anthony Clapham and Ashfaque Rahman -
all previously in good form - to have the home team in all kinds of trouble.
Des
Sussex was the only one to offer any resistance, making 59, but Sandhurst were only able to post a miserly 116 all out.
Saj Abassi picked up three wickets, as Sandhurst troubled Woodcote in their run chase. But, with five chances put
down, the task was made even tougher. The outcome may have been different had those catches been held, especially as Woodcote
found themselves seven down by the time they reached their victory target.
This was Sandhurst 1st XI's first defeat
of the season, and follows on from the losing draw at Sulhamstead & Ufton the previous weekend.Sulhamstead & Ufton 1st
XI 234-8
Sandhurst 1st XI 148-7
Berkshire Cricket League premier division
CHRIS Pharo's men stuttered to a losing draw at
Sulhamstead & Ufton on Saturday (May 29th), as their championship hopes suffered a set-back.
The weather,
plus some poor batting, conspired to bring about the 1st XI's worst result of the season so far. They remain second in the
table, but have lost ground on leaders Mortimer West End.
Whilst the rest of the premier division fixtures were
rained off, Sandhurst's game at Sulhamstead & Ufton went ahead. A break in the weather allowed the match to get underway,
though it was reduced to 40 overs per side.
Sulhamstead
won the toss and elected to bat first, but they struggled from ball one as Aron Shallom bowled tightly, though with minimal
menace.
Jordan Clement, who opened in the absence of Ashfaque Rahman and Andrew Bradshaw, had problems with line
and length.
When the Sulhamstead batsmen went on the attack with some fierce stroke-play, Sandhurst crumbled. Only
Saj Abassi offered any resistance, bowling tightly to finish with figures of 4-51.
A daunting target of 235
was made even harder when the home side shot out Sandhurst's top order for next to nothing.
Four overs were taken
from Sandhurst after a further rain break, before the visitors limped to 148-7, thanks to an unbeaten 76 from Andy Tutty.
Sandhurst 1st XI 262-3 Harlington
1st XI 260-9
Berkshire Cricket League premier division
ON one of the warmest
days of the year, Sandhurst proved far too hot for Harlington as they maintained their tremendous start to the season,
with victory by seven wickets.
Harlington
may feel a little hard done by, seeing as though they won the toss, batted first and got up a fine sweat on their way to 260-9. Opener Faisal Khan almost carried his bat with a fine 138 on what was,
to be fair, a pretty docile Sandhurst track.
Sandhurst skipper Chris Pharo admitted afterwards: "The
pitch wasn't doing a lot, but I was pleased with the way that we stuck to our task."
Ashfaque Rahman was the
pick of the bowlers, taking 3-69. Sumit Malla claimed 2-28, and Jordan Clement did well for his 2-49, on an occasion when the
batsmen were certainly enjoying their moment in the sun.
Sandhurst's innings was built around three solid knocks,
and a late cameo. Anthony Clapham top scored with a superb 68 not out. Graham Sanders laid the foundations with 67, whilst
Andy Tutty made 54. Rahman rolled up toward the end to bludgeon an unbeaten 31.
Harlington's total, on paper,
looked impressive, but Sandhurst made a mockery of the target, as they reached it from 40 overs for the loss of only three
wickets. Stoke Row 124 Sandhurst 1st XI 181-9Berkshire Cricket League
premier division
SANDHURST 1st XI remain unbeaten
after three matches following a convincing 57 run win at Stoke Row - and have one man to thank!
All-rounder Ashfaque
Rahman shone with both bat and ball, as Chris Pharo's team registered their second successive win.
Batting first, having lost the toss, the opening pair of Graham Sanders (0) and Pharo (1) went cheaply,
undone by the medium pace of Sam Broughton.
Aron Shallom strode to the middle
and began the recovery with a much-needed 21, before Rahman turned on the style, smashing several sixes on his way to 78. Rahman
gained good support from Andy Tutty (20).
At one point, the visitors looked
set for a target toward 230, but Rahman and Tutty fell rather comically to long-hops in the same over, forcing Sandhurst to
settle for 181-9.
Rahman then swapped bat for ball and continued his
one-man assault on the hosts. At one point, Stoke Row were flapping at 17-4 after a brilliant opening spell from the Sandhurst
ace.
Andrew Bradshaw bowled with great control for ten overs, but the star
of the show was most certainly Rahman, who finished with figures of 7-36 as Stoke Row were skittled out for just 124.
Sandhurst 1st XI 215-7 Crown Wood 140Berkshire Cricket League
premier division
CROWN WOOD had Chris Pharo in stitches, quite literally, but the Sandhurst skipper had the last laugh
on Saturday (May 8th), as his side romped to an emphatic 75-run win at home.
Batting first, under cloudy skies,
Sandhurst openers Graham Sanders (39) and Chris Pharo (26) put on 68 for the first wicket.
Wickets fell, thanks
to a couple of dubious umpire decisions, but Sandhurst also kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Aron Shallom top
scored with 47, which included three 6s. Andy Tutty made 30, whilst Kevin Speakman was still there at the close on an unbeaten
26, as the home side made 215-7 from their 45 overs.
With rain clouds looming, Sandhurst got off to the best possible,
as Crown Wood wobbled early to stand at 0-2. From there, they limped to 55-7, thanks - in the main - to the bowling of Ashfaque
Rahman (4-33).
Skipper Pharo needed hospital treatment after mis-judging a slip catch. The ball caught him just
below the lip, opening up a cut which required a couple of stitches, though he did return to the fray.
Crown Wood
pair Chris Allwright (52) and Ashley Fowles (32 not out) put on 72 for the eighth wicket, before a change of bowling
brought the required breakthrough, with Tutty (2-8) taking two wickets in his first over.
Nine down, Crown Wood
could only look skywards and pray for rain. That rain never arrived, and when Andrew Bradshaw (2-28) claimed the final
wicket, the visitors were some way short.
* Meanwhile, Sandhurst Sunday XI's opening league match of the season
(May 9th) was won by default, as Wokingham were unable to field a side.
Woodley 1st XI 147-7 Sandhurst 1st XI 227-6 Berkshire Cricket League premier division
GRAHAM Sanders carried his bat and scored a tremendous 112 not out, but it was not enough to secure Sandhurst victory
as they began the 2010 season with a winning draw.
Winning the toss and batting
first, Sandhurst took to the Woodley bowlers.
And while Sanders (above) was the star with the bat - bringing up his century with a straight six - he received
useful support from skipper Chris Pharo (36), Anthony Clapham (26) and Sumit Malla (24).
Facing a daunting
target, premier division newcomers Woodley were never at the races, and appeared more intent on seeing out their overs than
making any genuine attempt to chase down the runs.
As a result, the home team were able to hold on for a draw,
but fell some way short of the Sandhurst total, on 147-7. Des Sussex claimed three wickets, with two apiece for Martin
Pharo and Jaemie Gale, who bowled particularly well.
Sunday XI
Old Basing 173-8 v.
Sandhurst
Sunday XI 170
Sunday League
SANDHURST traveled to Old Basing looking for thier first league
victory. After winning the toss Sandhurst decided to bat on a damp wicket but with overhead sun. Though this looked
like a bad decision when Sumit Malla and A.Clapham both fell to Donaldson for 4 and 0 respectively leaving Sandhurst at
8-2 in the 4th over. Then some rebuilding work seemed to be in place when Nayeem and Jamie staring to look good. Then
Jamie did the school boy error and did not run his bat in and was run out from a direct hit from the boundary leaving Sandhurst
at 35-3. With A.Feltz falling for a duck in the 11th over Sandhurst were in real trouble at 39-4 and 100 looking a distant
dream But N.Ahmed and A.Birch (jnr) knuckled down and started hitting gaps and the score kept building. With Sandhurst
being 98-4 at the half way point 200 looked on which would have been a more than competitive total on a difficult wicket
to bat on. But after bringing up his 50 N.Amed holed out in the deep for 55 (third week running) and ending a stand of
75, leaving Sandhurst on 119-5. But with A. Bradshaw falling with no runs added things looked bleak especially with M.Clapham
falling for 0 leaving Sandhurst on 125-7 in the 27th over. But sensible batting by R.Dobson let A.Birch take responsibility
to score the bulk of the runs as it seemed to be working with them going at 5 an over and A.Birch bringing up his 50 till
he was nicely caught at cover leaving Sandhurst at 144-8. Then with M.Bridges getting a golden Sandhurst were in real danger
of not using the over’s up. But a good last wicket partnership between J.Coswell and R.Dobson added 26 for the last
wicket in 7.3 over’s till R.Dobson tried to up the rate and was caught at slip. Sandhurst ended up on 170 all out
in the 39th over.
Sandhurst neededeEarly wickets and despite a good opening spell by A.Clapham, Sandhurst were
hampered by the withdrawal of A.Bradshaw due to injury. But two wickets in two balls by A.Clapham and M.Clapham getting
J.Belcher caught at mid on brought Sandhurst right back into the game. But with D.Belcher playing nicely down the other
end Sandhurst knew he was the key man and when A.Bradshaw dropped him (would have been catch on the season) and R.Dobson
being inches away from getting his hands to one Sandhurst might have thought it wouldn’t be their day. With
Old Basing closing in on their target, Birch passed over the keeping gear to Bradshaw for the final few over, bringing back
memories of hes Colt years behind the stumps. Sumit Malla struck next getting the break through wicket of D.Belcher stumped
by A.Bradshaw for 87. Leaving Old Basin on 148-4, but when R.Dobson had M.Donaldson lbw for 10 with the score on 159-5
it was still game on. But with Old Basing making it to 169-5 it seemed there would be no more twist, but G.Donaldson was
nicely caught at long-on by A.Clapham off Dobson, left A.Birch to make himself a hero. He had M.Daniels nicely caught by
A.Clapham for 0 and D.Smith stumped sharply by A.Bradshaw, and the unthinkable was possible after a double wicket maiden.
Then N.Ahmed bowled a complete long hop to start the 38th which was duly smashed for 4 to mean old basing had won by
2 wickets.
Again Sandhurst were left to rue a poor batting effort, which they nearly made up for with a brilliant
bowling and fielding effort. Written by
R.Dobson
Sandhurst Sunday XI 135
v.
Basingstoke 137-4
Sunday League
After winning the toss Sandhurst decided to bat first on a warm if little overcast day and it looked
a good decision with Sandhurst reaching 50 without loss in the 13th over. N.Ahmed continued where he had left off in the
previous week easily out scoring his fellow opener. Then M.Clapham who made G.Boycott looks aggressive was bowled off an
inside edge for 5 with the score being 65-1 in the 17th over. With N.Ahmed looking in fine form a big score was still in
sandhurst hands, but with N.Ahmed falling in the next over trying to clear long on for 47 some rebuilng was needed, but
with A.Clapham and S.Sullivan both falling for 0 Sandhurst were now 65-4 in the 20th over. From then on it was going to
always be difficult and with A.Feltz and J.Orwin falling cheaply.
Sandhurst looked like they might struggle to
make 100 being 81-7. But some good batting by M.Nadeem and M.Orwin got Sandhurst over the 100 mark till M.Nadeem went lbw
for 27. An aggressive 15 (from 15 balls) from M.Bridges gave Sandhurst hope of a real competive total till he was bowled
for 15. Then two wickets went down in the last couple of over with M.Orwin falling for 16 and R.Dobson for 1. Sandhurst
ended up on 137 all out in the 39th over, which after the opening stand was mightily disappointing.
Sandhurst
needed early wickets to make it competive but had very little luck. A.Clapham bowled a fiery opening spell with the batsmen
playing and missing continually. With a couple of edges failing just short and a couple flying just over players too.
With M.Clapham also bowling tightly Sandhurst were deemed hard done by to not have two or three. Then with A.Clapham got
his deserved wicket on the last ball of his spell with H.Hawkes caught at cover by M.Owrin for 18, ending with figures of
1-32 in his 8 over’s.
With M.Bridges bowling well and was unlucky to not get wickets, then J.Cowsill made
the breakthrough getiing S.Bucksey caught at deep square leg for 51 leaving Basingstoke at 101-2, and sandhurst still in
the game. But there was no heroic come back from Sandhurst with only one more success with R.Dobson having T.Marrgill being
brilliantly caught at long-on by A.Clapham for 30 with the score being 128-3. Then Basingstoke’s D.Coombs won the
game with a six off N.Nadeem.
Sandhurst were left to rue what could have been and lamented another poor batting
display
Eversley CC 234-9 v.
Sandhurst
Sunday XI 233-5
Friendly
SANDHURST lose, taking eversley to the last ball!. After loosing
the toss sandhurst were put into bat after a fair few of the team had been out drinking night before so a few sore heads
were expected but thankfully there were none. N.Ahmed and A.clapham got Sandhurst off to a flying start putting on 97 in
16 overs till N.Ahmed holled out in at long off for 71 (with 60 being in 4's).
Then
A.Clapham fell quickly after failing to get under a cut shot for 27. With A.Birch holing out in the deep for 17 and A.Feltz
falling for 5 in quick succession the good early work seemed to be undone. But J.Debeer (playing his first game in England)
and R.Jenkins repaired the damaged till R.Jenkins was brilliantly caught one handed at long on for 18. But some big hitting
from J.Debeer and J.Ford (on loan from eversley) got Sandhurst up to a respectable 233-5 in 40 overs.
Sandhurst
bowlers bowled well at the start with C.Hall beating the edge on numerous occasions. But it was J.Debeer making the first
break as first change through with a small nick down the leg side with S.Edwards being caught down the leg-side by A.Birch.
C.Hall made the next break through with J.Ford brilliantly catching his usual team mate (D.Breakspear) at mid on. Then
J.Debeer had wicket caught by R.Dobson at mid off (after dropping a fairly simple chance at mid off, off C.Hall). With
R.Jenkins catching a sharp chance at fine leg off C.Hall's bowling Sandhurst were on top, with Eversley on 91-4. But then
a partnership was built for Eversley with G.Jenkins and S.Green both making 50's, but with the brilliant run out by I.Shakir
and the wicket of S.Green caught behind by A.Birch off Sumit for 70 the balance swung back to Sandhurst.
Then with C.Hall getting 2 wickets in two balls in the penultimate over
and with 9 required off the final over and with two Eversley wickets left the game was in the balance, but a brilliant 5
balls from I.Shakir who only went for 3 including a wicket off the penultimate ball of the last over, 4 was needed off the
last ball for Eversley to win. I.Shakir bowled a back of a length ball which J.Sever skipped down the wicket hitting a six,
clearing J.Debeer at long off by inches to win the game by one wicket for Eversley.
Sandhurst Sunday XI 151 Hook 289-4
Sunday League
AN entertaining half century from Jamie McDermott
lifted the gloom temporarily, as Sandhurst Sunday XI were again handed a bit of a battering - this time at the hands of Hook
(June 6th).
Hook won the toss and opted to bat first, and on another flat track and quick outfield they
ran riot, whilst riding their luck a little early on.
The one Sandhurst highlight in Hook's innings was the
performance of Martin Bridges (3-31 from 8 overs). Bridges' display may have prevented the hosts from passing the 300 mark.
In the end, they settled for a daunting 289-4 from their 40 overs.
One thing Sandhurst required in reply was a
good start. That didn't happen, as Jordan Clement fell early. Nayeem Ahmed then blazed his way to 48, before holing out in
search of the glory shot to bring up his 50.
With hope fading, McDermott raised a few smiles, thumping his way
to 51 (including 11 boundaries). His innings included a huge six.
Sadly, wickets fell all too regularly and - despite
being up with the required rate - the Sunday XI were dismissed for just 151 in only the 26th over, to lose by 138 runs. Staines & Laleham 385-2
Sandhurst
Sunday XI 122
SANDHURST Sunday XI suffered a second successive
heavy defeat, this time at Staines & Laleham in a cup encounter (May 30th).
It did little to aid Sandhurst's
cause, when they turned up at Staines & Laleham with just ten players.
On a bright, sunny afternoon, the home
side won the toss and proceeded to make the most of a flat wicket and quick outfield.
Two Staines players made
centuries, with one reaching 156 and another unbeaten on 132 as they ended just 15 runs short of the 400 mark! In Sandhurst's
defence, this was a Staines side which boasted six first-teamers, and had defeated a team last season which included Australian
Test cricketer Shaun Tait.
In reply, Anthony Clapham (34), Sumit Malla (26) and Ross Darrah (24) made starts, but
the target was never threatened as the visitors crumpled inside 24 overs to lose by a staggering 263 runs. Sandhurst Sunday XI 170-9
Frimley 171-2
Sunday League
SANDHURST Sunday suffered a heavy eight-wicket
defeat at home to Frimley (May 23rd), despite a decent knock from youngster Jordan Clement.
Batting first,
Sandhurst wickets tumbled with frightening regularity. The previous week's centurion, Nayeem Ahmed, managed just four. Anthony
Clapham (18) and Sumit Malla (12) fared little better.
Clement top scored with a determined 74, and was ably supported
by Mark Clapham (15). The pair's contribution at least gave Sandhurst a total to defend, as they managed 170-9 from their
40 overs.
Early wickets were needed to apply pressure to the Frimley batsmen, but they never materialised. Dropped
catches did not aid the Sandhurst cause, as Frimley scampered home for the loss of just two wickets and with almost six overs
to spare.
Mark Clapham (1-21) and Richard Dobson (1-23) were the only wicket-takers.
Sandhurst Sunday XI 304-7Pinkneys Green 157-7
A MAIDEN century for Nayeem Ahmed heaped misery on Pinkneys
Green, as Sandhurst Sunday XI romped to victory by 147 runs (May 16th), chalking up a first win in charge for skipper Richard
Dobson.
Under cloudy skies, it appeared a bad toss to lose as Dobson's side were put
into bat, but openers Anthony Clapham and Nayeem soon eased any worries with all-out assault on the visitors.
The pair thumped Pinkneys to all parts of the ground, rattling up 158 off 22 overs before the first wicket fell.
Clapham was the first to go, out for a fine 76. When Kevin Speakman went without scoring moments later, the furrowed brows
returned.
Fear not, though, as Sumit Malla (52) and Nayeem continued the Pinkneys punishment.
Nayeem brought up his maiden century, before being caught in the deep for a magnificent 103.
A late slog for Jordan Clement (35) and Jamie McDermott (15), enabled Sandhurst to register a mammoth 304-7 from
their 40 overs!
Rain interrupted Pinkneys' reply, but they were never really in the run chase.
With a wet ball making fielding a little tricky, standards dropped, allowing the Pinkneys pair of J Taylor and B Hiab to put
on a century partnership. Mark Gane, though, did perform well on his Sunday debut, and put in a decent spell of bowling.
Dobson entered the fray and made the breakthrough, having Taylor caught by Clement for 51. A flurry
of wickets followed.
The Sandhurst skipper, who was on a hat-trick at one point, finished with match
figures of 4-26. Clapham ended with 3-19, as Pinkneys tailed off to close on 157-7.
Sandhurst XI 259-2 Emmbrook
& Bearwood 208
Pre-season
friendly
THINK of great father and son cricketers, and the names of Colin and Chris Cowdrey, Chris and Stuart
Broad, and Lance and Chris Cairns may spring to mind.
Well, add to that list, the
names of Mark and Anthony Clapham, who both showed early season promise last Saturday (April 24th), as a Sandhurst Select
XI swept to a 51-run win over Emmbrook & Bearwood.
The opening partnership of 'Pa'
Mark and 'Boy' Anthony was an untried and risky combination, but one which skipper Simon Coxwell opted for after winning the
toss. Anthony carried on his fine form of last
year and got off to a fluent start, whereas Mark looked as though his engines were affected by volcanic dust, taking a little
while to get going.
In what must be a Sandhurst record, both of them went on to score
fifties, Anthony ending up with 83, including 3 sixes and 10 fours, and Mark on 77 not out (15 fours and no sixes)! A superb
opening stand of 145 in 27 overs was followed by a stand of 105 for the second wicket, with Adam Birch - fresh from his winter
sojourn to Australia - making exactly 50.
In reply, Calvin Hall took a wicket in his first
over, trapping Sanjeev LBW. Phipps and McEnelly put on a rapid 60 for the second wicket, before Coxwell bowled McEnelly for
33.
Sumit Malla and Coxwell then went through the Emmbrook middle order, before Martin
Pharo cleaned up the tail. Despite a late rally from Patterson and opener Phipps - scoring an excellent century - Emmbrook
fell 51 runs short and Sandhurst, courtesy of the Clapham Generation Game recorded a comfortable victory ahead of this week's
first league fixture.
* Sandhurst Sunday XI lost to Crane
by 21 runs (April 25th). Batting first, Crane were dismissed for 134 in 33 overs. Jordan Clement took 3-14. Sandhurst were
then skittled out for just 113. Sumit Malla top scored with 36.
U13 Spitfires
Emmbrook & Bearwood 89-4
Sandhurst
U13 Spitfires 88-7
BYCL Division B
SANDHURST U13 Spitfires were beaten by six wickets at
Emmbrook & Bearwood on Monday (July 12th), having under-achieved with the bat.
Batting first, Sandhurst climbed to a total of 88 for 7 from the full 20
overs. George Holden led the way with a careful 25 with Adam Wills
chipping in with a useful 14.
But 88 was
always going to be around 20 runs short on a good track and a fast outfield. Emmbrook saw off the total with five overs
to
spare, despite some good, tight bowling from Jack O'Neil and Ryan Honey.
The Spitfires' final game
of the season is away to Finch Falcons on July 23.
Sandhurst U13 Spitfires 77
Crown Wood 78-8
BYCL Division B
AN
IMPROVED Spitfires narrowly came off second best in this contest on Monday (July 5th), as they lost by two wickets
to Crown Wood.
Batting first, the Sandhurst innings was built around a quick-fire 21 from Ryan Honey.
But when Honey departed LBW, the innings fell away, with 77 managed by the home side.
Crown Wood's response
was steady, before Honey continued his one-man assault by disrupting the middle order. At one point he was on a hat-trick,
before finishing with figures of 3-9 from four overs!
The match went to the last over, with Crown Wood eight wickets down. They managed to hit their 78th run with just three balls remaining.
Manager, Ross Holden, admitted afterwards: "A much better performance but we lost, ultimately, as a result of too many
unnecessary run outs." Binfield 150-6 Sandhurst U13
Spitfires 61
BYCL Division B BINFIELD handed Sandhurst U13 Spitfires a sound
beating by a hefty 89 runs on Monday (June 28th).
Batting first, the home side made the most of a flat
track and lightning outfield to amass 150 from their 20 overs. The Sandhurst cause was not helped by some questionable fielding.
The Spitfires' reply rarely edged out of first gear, and although Adam Wills looked dangerous for a while in making
12, and Lewis Bird crashed a couple of quality boundaries late on, the innings ended with the score on just 61.
Ascot & Sunningdale Princes
v.
Sandhurst U13 Spitfires
Berkshire Youth Cricket League Division B
MATCH details not submitted. Result not known.
Sandhurst U13 Spitfires v.
Wokingham Golden Oaks
Berkshire Youth Cricket League Division B
MATCH details not submitted. Result not known.
Hurst Spitfires v. Sandhurst
U13 Spitfires
Berkshire Youth Cricket League Division B
MATCH details not submitted. Result not known.
Sandhurst U13 Spitfires 83-9Royal Ascot 93-7County Cup, first round
GEORGE Holden impressed with a personal
best of 29, but it was not quite enough to help the U13 Spitfires into the second round of the County Cup, as they lost at
home to Royal Ascot by ten runs (May 9th). Royal Ascot batted first, and arguably had the better of drizzly conditions, with the bowlers' run-up getting a little
greasy underfoot. That said,
Sandhurst - led by new skipper Connor Pharo - did well to restrict the visitors to 93-7, helped by tidy keeping from Mark
Paget and decent bowling from debutant Lewis Bird. Bird also impressed with the bat, as did Holden, but the Spitfires just fell short, to lose by ten runs. U12 Sharks
Wokingham Red Oaks 132-7
Sandhurst U12 Sharks 99
BYCL Division C
EXTRAS were again a factor in Sandhurst U12
Sharks suffering defeat in the Berkshire Youth Cricket League, as they were beaten by 33 runs at Wokingham on Monday
(July 5th).
Bowling first, the Sharks had the Red Oaks
reeling at 17-3, with Dan Bird (1-7) and Harris Khamisani (4-19) making the most of a pitch resembling a Himalayan outpost.
Match that with a fantastic run out from Billy Rooney and things were looking up, until the change bowlers got
taken apart by the Wokingham middle order with some very indifferent fielding not helping, plus the usual 30-plus extras!
So, for the second game running the Sharks needed seven an over
to win. Man-of-the-match Khamisani (15) got them off to a good start, but wickets started to fall as the Oaks' bowlers
- who were used to bowling in this kind of 'mountainous' terrain - wreaked havoc with the middle order.
Only Ed
Batchelor (30*, including a huge six over the travelling Sharks' fans) and Jason Wiseman (17) got bat to ball with enough
urgency, as the Sharks fell way short of a gettable target. Sandhurst U12 Sharks 84-8 Woodley
U13 34-9
EBYL U13 Division C DAN Bird scored a combined total of 45, but could
not prevent Sandhurst U12 Sharks from a 23-run defeat at home to Waltham St Lawrence on Monday (June 28th).
The visitors boasted a number of county standard players in their side, and
it showed, as their openers both reached 30 before retiring.
Only Bird and
Aidan Buckingham had any success with the ball, claiming a wicket a piece. The latter also weighed in with two superb run
outs from the deep, but four dropped catches did not help ... neither did almost 30 extras.
In reply, the
Sharks started brightly, with Mark Paget (18) and Harris Khamisani (16) getting
off to a slow but steady start. A succession of cheap wickets fell in the middle order, before skipper Bird came to the
crease to help rescue the side.
He hit a 14-ball 30 and retired, leaving the tail requiring only six
an over, against wayward Waltham bowling. Again, though, wickets fell cheaply and despite Bird coming back in for another
quick 15 runs (45), the Sharks fell way short of the target.
Manager Ian Cousins said: "It
was a good effort against a good side, but having to play our homes games on the artificial wicket every week does not help
these boys develop their game."
Sandhurst U12 Sharks 84-8 Woodley
U13 34-9
EBYL U13 Division C TOP quality fielding and bowling sent Sandhurst U12 Sharks to a comfortable
victory by 50 runs last Friday (June 18th), and soaring to third in the table.
Skipper Dan Bird won the toss and strangely decided to bat first.
On an overcast and drizzly night in
Sandhurst, the Sharks' openers strode to the crease and got off to a good start, with Alfie Gibbons (9) taking the attack
apart.
The youngster struck three classy cover drives off of some very
good Woodley bowling, which would have resulted in boundaries but for the long grass.
Once the openers had
departed, Billy Rooney (8) and Bird (16) steadied proceedings. Both got started, but then fell away as the innings slowed
to a crawl at the end.
Callum Lindsey (9 no) and Ryan Morris (5 no) were the not out batsmen, and 84-8 appeared
a meagre total to defend.
In gathering gloom, Woodley set about the
modest target, but wickets soon fell with some top-notch work from the hosts.
At least one Rooney in white was
on song last Friday, as Billy claimed 2-13. Bird (2-2) and Aidan Buckingham (1-3) also helped thwart any Woodley thought of
a victory surge.
There were moments of magic in the field, with run-outs from Bird, Ted Batchelor and
Ben Cousins, as Sandhurst stopped Woodley in their tracks to record an easy win.
Hurst Hurricanes U13 140-5
Sandhurst U12 Sharks 73
EBYL U13 Division C
SANDHURST U12 Sharks were blown away by Hurst Hurricanes on Monday
night (June 21st), who breezed to a 67-run win.
Bowling first, the Sharks' attack put the wind up their
hosts Hurst early on, thanks to tight, tidy spells from Dan Bird (2-16) and Aidan Buckingham (2-14).
But Hurricanes,
boasting several county squad players, whipped up a storm and unleashed boundary after boundary with impressive shots. Sandhurst's
discipline slipped also, as 38 extras were gift-wrapped for the opposition.
Set seven an over to win, Sharks started
brightly with Mark Paget in good nick.
However, a trickle of wickets from some good but playable bowling left
Sandhurst behind the rate in the middle overs.
Hurst turned the screw, and raised the run-rate even further,
eventually dismissing the visitors for just 73. Only Alfie Gibbons (14) and Callum Lindsey (12) got into double figures
on a difficult night for the Sharks.
Wargrave U13s 126-6
Sandhurst Sharks
U12s 81-7
SANDHURST were far too generous at Wargrave
on Tuesday (May 25th), gifting the home side too many extras in a 45-run defeat.
The home side batted
first and stormed out of the blocks, despite losing a couple of early wickets.
Sandhurst did manage to reign them
in throughout the middle order, but the visitors were leaking extras. There was some sloppy fielding, whilst a number
of dropped catches did not help either.
Pick of the bowlers were Aidan Buckingham (1-13), Ben Cousins (1-8) and
Dan Bird (1-10).
Set six an over to win, the Sharks began far too slowly against some accurate Wargrave bowling
and were soon behind the run rate.
When Alfie Gibbons (30 not out, retired) opened his shoulders, Sandhurst were
matching Wargrave for runs off the bat, but giving away more than 40 extras gave the Sharks too much work to do.
Team manager, Ian Cousins, said: "Giving away 40+ extras, and then struggling to pick up quick runs,
will make it difficult for any side to recover." Sandhurst U12 Sharks 51-5Sonning & Charvil U13 50Berkshire Youth Cricket League Division C
SHARKS skipper, Dan Bird, played a captain's
innings as the U12s enjoyed their first league victory of the new season with a five-wicket win over Sonning & Charvil
(May 17th).
Bird won the toss and opted to have bowl on a glorious evening at the Memorial Park.
Newly-formed Sonning & Charvil were soon
in trouble, as Aidan Buckingham (3-21) tore into the top order. Sandhurst's cause was aided by some excellent fielding, which
included run outs by Ben Cousins and Ted Batchelor, and catches by Tom Brown and Prashant Sanklha.
The visitors were flagging somewhat by the time Bird (4-2) tidied
up the tail, leaving Sandhurst needing three an over for victory.
Sandhurst's response began badly, with two wickets tumbling in only the second over, including a silly run
out. This left the Sharks on the back foot, and worse was to come when 3, 4 and 5 were duly sent back with only 13 on the
board, courtesy of some really good tight Sonning bowling.
It was left to Bird (24 no) and Batchelor (6 no) to see the side home with almost seven overs to spare, to
collect maximum points.
Sharks' coach,
Ian Cousins, said: "It was a good team effort and the fielding was spot on, even though we did give
away another 18 extras in their total of 50!"
Reading Lions U13 100-4Sandhurst U12 Sharks 98-5BYCL Division C
THE U12 Sharks began their league
season with a six-wicket defeat at Reading Lions U13 on Monday (May 10th). Batting first, Sandhurst skipper Dan Bird led from the front with an unbeaten 25.
Alfie Gibbons also dazzled with the bat, scoring 23, as the visitors registered 98-5 from their 20 overs. In reply, Reading raced to victory with 16 balls to spare,
for the loss of just four wickets. Notable
bowling performances came from Callum Lindsey (2-10) and Alfie Gibbons (1-10, plus one run out).
Sandhurst U12 Sharks 99-5Crown Wood U12 104-3Pre-season friendly
Sloppy bowling cost the U12 Sharks
dear in this pre-season friendly at home to Crown Wood (May 7th), which they lost narrowly by five runs. Asked to field first, Sandhurst gifted Crown Wood 33 runs
in extras, including 28 wides. Key bowlers were skipper Dan Bird, whose three overs cost a miserly nine runs, as well as Tom
Brown (1-13, plus one run out) and Mark Paget (1-17). Paget then performed wonders with the bat, notching up 21. Alfie Gibbons top scored with an impressive
32 not out, but Sandhurst lost their way late on. They were on course for a win, but managed just 20 runs from the last five
overs, and fell six runs short of victory.
 |
|
2nd XI
Shinfield
2nd IX 70
Sandhurst 2nd XI 246-3
Berkshire
Cricket League Division Four
SANDHURST 2nd XI travelled to bottom club Shinfield more in hope than expectation, Sandhurst’s home game
having already been called off due to a waterlogged pitch and with plenty of heavy rain showers around. Having driven
through a couple of deluges on the journey, open mouths aghast greeted the oasis that was Shinfield’s ground, and unbelievably
play started punctually. Shinfield’s captain Duncan Roberts won the toss and elected to field first. Promising youngster Sunam Malla was given the opportunity to open the innings for Sandhurst
with the experienced, if not to say ageing, Nigel Birt. Malla punched his first ball through the covers for 4 and then
carefully placed a long hop next ball gently into the hands of square leg. Sell your wicket dearly Sunam and you will
score a lot of runs!!! This brought Steve Sullivan to the wicket, determined
to bring the crowds back after last week’s dotfest, and indeed after crawling to 1 run off his first 8 balls let fly
with a Tafftastic 5 fours before falling for 29 off 26 balls. Mark Honey was next to bat and batted
very nicely and responsibly for 18 runs until he was caught spectacularly at square leg for 18. Blast from the past
Steve ‘Juicy’ James came in at number 5, and despite not having batted for 6 years provided excellent support
for Nigel and this pair put on a superb 157 for the 4th wicket. Nigel hitting 20 fours and a six in a chanceless
123 and Steve rolling back the years with 62 not out at better than a run a ball. Skipper Simon Coxwell
declared once Birt was out with the score at 246 after 39.4 overs. In reply, under threatening skies, opening bowlers Calvin Hall & Coxwell took an early wicket each courtesy of catches
at mid on by Rob Lloyd and Steve Sullivan. Shortly the heavens opened and the umpires had no choice but to take the players
off. After some heavy rain and 11 lost overs play resumed and Hall found it very difficult to bowl in the conditions
and was replaced by Russell Stone whose mixture of half trackers and full tosses was all too much for
the Shinfield middle order, taking 5-15, and with Simon Coxwell finishing with 4-35, Shinfield were bowled out for 70.
This 35 point win gave Sandhurst an unassailable lead and the Fourth division title
with 2 games to spare. Enormous credit should go to Shinfield for their
positive attitude to getting the game played in terrible conditions. Sincere thanks to them. I will review the season after the last game. Suffice to say the 2nd XI captain is extremely proud
of all his players this year. Many thanks to Russ for turning out at short
notice to stand in a wet field for hours and to Juicy for reminding us what a quality batsman and bloke he is. Well
done to the firsts for coming over and lending their support. Lets stay
focused for the Knowl Hill & Purley games to finish the season on a high. Written by S.Coxwell Sandhurst
2nd XI 233-8
Welford Park 2nd XI 120-9
Berkshire Cricket League Division Four
SANDHURST 2nd XI make it 9 games without a loss, As they hosted a top of the table
clash against Welford Park. Welford Park won the toss for this keenly anticipated top of the table clash and
elected to field first on a green top wicket under overcast skies and sure enough rain stopped play at 1.45 p.m and 2 overs
were lost by the resumption. The conditions meant that the ball was doing allsorts and making batting tricky, but despite
this Sandhurst makeshift openers Coxwell ( 42 ) & Speakman ( 32 ) put on 69 for the first wicket inside 12 overs helped by the extras column which was eventually to total 65 including 53 wides!! Steve Sullivan brought some
stability to the innings with a very ‘dotty’ knock of 16 off 50 balls, no doubt distracted by the thought of eating
St. Michael’s Lemon drizzle cake at tea time.
Coxwell was eventually out for 42 which brought Chris Pharo to the wicket and he proceeded to smash his way back to form with
a scintillating knock of 28 off 25 balls. A mid innings collapse followed with 5 wickets falling for 53 runs before Lloyd
steadied the ship with 17 not out to allow some strong hitting from Malla, Stone and Clapham ( yes I did say Clapham ) who
was playing his last game of the season before swanning off to watch horses running and taking a holiday
during the cricket season. Sandhurst posting a creditable total of 233 for 8 off 44 overs. In reply Welford’s top order was blown away by a superb spell of strike fast bowling by Sunam Malla who
took a 2 wicket maiden in his second over and an opening spell of 3-18 off 8 overs, leaving Welford tottering at 24-3.
This soon became 49-6 when Mark Clapham took over from the excellent Russell Stone and snared 3 quick wickets. With Hall and
Coxwell also taking wickets the end looked nigh when the 9th wicket was taken in the 38th over, leaving
Brown and Carter to bat out 6 overs to save the match. Speakman nearly took a brilliant catch at short point to win
it and Carter nearly walked after edging one behind but it was not to be and Sandhurst had to settle
for a winning draw and 24 points to strengthen their position at the top of the division. Many thanks to Senior Clapham for all his help this season, to Sunam Malla for cutting his holiday short
to play, to Steve Sullivan and M & S for an excellent tea and especially to Connor Pharo for turning out and contributing
very effectively in the field. Bring on Shinfield next week. Waltham
St Lawrence 113
Sandhurst
2nd XI 114-4
Berkshire Cricket League Division Four
SANDHURST 2ND XI recorded their 7th straight win,
which although unconfirmed, may be a club record. What was confirmed was that Russell Stone produced his best bowling
figures for Sandhurst – coming up with 7 wickets for 45 runs from his 15 overs – a great spell of bowling –
a match winning effort. Mark Clapham standing in as skipper
won the toss and elected to field first, Sunam Malla and Russell took the new ball, and bowled tight lines for 10 overs
before Russell claimed his first wicket with 39 runs on the scoreboard. Sunam had a frustrating afternoon, not taking any
wickets but bowled 12 overs for 53 runs and was great support for an ‘on-fire’ Stone, once the first wicket had
gone down the wickets began to tumble at regular intervals. Sandhurst fielded well, a few drops went down but they stuck
to their task well. 26 overs gone,
Russell claimed the seventh Waltham wicket – all
seven wickets had gone to Russell. Calvin Hall then joined the proceedings,
taking 2 wickets, including a wicket maiden, returning figures of 2-10 from his 4 overs.
Not much for the skipper, Mark Clapham to do, claiming the last wicket from
his 5th ball, thanks to a smart catch from Nigel Birt in the slips, resembling a leaping Salmon. Special mention to Chris
Pharo – kept wicket really well - no byes!! Waltham St Lawrence all out for 113 – Sandhurst had 58 overs to chase down the score Nigel Birt and Chris Pharo (6) opened the batting, a self confessed moment of madness
from Chris saw his middle stump tumbling with the score on 13, this brought Kevin Speakman to the crease. Nigel and Kevin
played patiently, waiting for the odd bad ball, the scoreboard had moved onto 45 before Kevin holed out. Andrew Birch was
next man in, out for a duck last week, but clipped a single of his first delivery and any nerves were gone. Drew wasn’t
hanging around, finding the boundaries with ease, one massive six into the Pavillion sent the Sandhurst team diving in all
directions. Nigel (23) was caught with the score on 78 which brought Mark Honey to the crease. Mark, keen for a bat after
playing a few games for the 1’s showed great maturity, scoring a fine 20 not out . Drew (25) eventually skied one to
a Waltham fielder, which brought Steve Sullivan to the middle to try and finish the game – Steve was dropped on 1
and was not going to hang around, his next 3 scoring shots were fours, including the winning runs. A superb all round performace, but an outstanding bowling display by Russell Stone. Thanks to Martin Pharo for Umpiring! Sandhurst 2nd XI 197-6 Catcliffe Way
182
Berkshire Cricket League Division Four
THIS was not a game for the faint of heart, as Catcliffe looked on course to end Sandhurst's winning streak
on Saturday (July 10th), only to fall apart and hand the leaders a sixth straight victory.
Catcliffe won the
toss, and - having witnessed Sandhurst disintegrate earlier in the season - put the home side in.
Nigel Birt and Chris Pharo opened the batting, and showed great patience against the very good opening bowlers of
Catcliffe. Both punished bad balls and played no false shots, so when the first drinks break came at 15 overs, Sandhurst sat
on 51 without loss.
Catcliffe changed their bowlers, taking the pace off at one end and bought on a left arm bowler
at the other. Pharo and Birt started to cash in, playing some superb scoring shots, but with both looking good for their fifties,
the pair eventually holed out against the Catcliffe spinner. Pharo went for 36 and Birt 45.
Drew Birch failed to
add to his run tally with his first duck of the season. Kevin Speakman (left) and Rob Lloyd were left to rebuild the innings,
and a top job they did, putting on 87 before Lloyd was run out on 32. Speakman tried to kick on after a signal from skipper
Simon Coxwell, but fell two runs later after a fine innings of 65.
The big-hitting trio of Steve Sullivan, Sunam
Malla and Russell Stone tried their best to get Sandhurst to their target of 200, but fell slightly short at 197–6. Coxwell and Stone took the new ball. Stone bowled tight lines from one end whilst Coxwell
out-thought their openers with varying deliveries. Runs were hard to come by and eventually the 2nd XI captain made the first
breakthough with the score on 27 (16 overs had gone by though, and it already looked like Catcliffe had a losing draw on their
minds).
The Catcliffe opener R Casey was starting to frustrate Sandhurst, as he had earlier in the campaign when
scoring 50+. He started to find the middle of his bat, and after a succession of fours moved onto 36, before Drew Birch
took a good catch at mid-wicket. Twenty-eight overs were now gone, and a draw was still the favourite result.
Coxwell
made the switch, and introduced new bowlers. Mark Clapham - with his first ball - had a plumb LBW turned down, unbelievably
because the umpire had a bug fly in his eye just at the point of delivery!
A couple of drop catches added
to the team's frustration, although Calvin Hall did well to hold one for the third wicket. Catcliffe were quietly going about
their business. Their required run rate had been at nine an over, but was coming down to a run a ball.
At 151–4, with seven overs left, the game changed direction. The Catcliffe skipper had batted his team into a great
position, but then ballooned one to mid-off, into the safe hands of Steve Sullivan.
What followed was amazing,
and Sandhurst must thank the Catcliffe number seven – Schippers – who managed to run out three of his team mates,
assisted by smart fielding by Malla and good calling by Chris Pharo.
In fact, Sandhurst took four wickets for 13
runs, which left them needing one wicket with two overs to go. Stone needed just two balls of the 44th over to remove
middle stump, and the celebrations begun. Sandhurst won by just 15 runs, and have further increased their lead at the top
of the table.
Twyford 163 Sandhurst 2nd XI
210-8
Berkshire Cricket League Division Four STAND-IN skipper Mark Clapham maintained
his perfect record for the 2nd XI, as he led the team to a 47-run win over Twyford on Saturday (July 3rd), to increase the
side's advantage at the top of Division Four.
Former 1st XI captain, Chris Pharo, opened the batting with
Rob Lloyd, but was soon on his way back to the pavilion with the score on just three.
Lloyd and Drew Birch consolidated
matters, putting on 44 for the second wicket, before the former was clean bowled for 18. Birch followed five runs later, for
22, leaving Steve Sullivan and Adam Birch to rebuild.
The pair put on 39, whereupon Birch (junior) departed for
20. Sullivan stood strong, and again played another vital innings. He finally went for 40.
Decent, if not brilliant,
knocks followed from Russell Stone (24), Jamie McDermott (22) and Sunam Malla (27) got the score up to 210, which Clapham
felt was possibly 20 runs short of what he had initially expected. That said, the target for Twyford was certainly one Clapham
felt would be a problem.
Stone and Malla picked up a wicket each inside the opening four overs, but Twyford's number
three - N Eddy - kept plugging away, helped by some wayward bowling from Malla.
Wickets continued to fall, with
Calvin Hall in on the act. Stone added to his tally, but Eddy stood stubbornly strong. With the tide turning Twyford's way,
Eddy's wicket was the key. Having had two previous LBW shouts turned down, it proved third-time lucky for Stone, as the umpire
signalled the end of Eddy for a stirring 59. Stone finished with 2-45 from his 15 overs.
At this point, Sandhurst
required four wickets, whilst Twyford needed 60 runs. The match was back in the balance.
Some smart fielding came in the next over. A quick pick up by McDermott, a 'keeper's call
from Chris Pharo and the bails were removed with the Twford batsman three yards shy.
Clapham then bowled their
next man for a golden duck, swinging the initiative back in Sandhurst's favour. Richard Dobson had a couple of overs,
with little reward, before Clapham (3-31) snared another man.
With one wicket needed for the league leaders, Malla
returned, sent down a perfect delivery which popped up. Adam Birch lunged forward and took the catch one handed, to secure
maxiumum points for the 2nd XI. Purley 3rd XI 173 Sandhurst
2nd XI 177-6
Berkshire Cricket League division four
AT THE midway point in the season, Sandhurst 2nd XI sit on top of the table after recording their fourth
win in a row (June 26th).
The day began rather comically, as skipper Simon Coxwell went to the wrong
ground. He even changed into his whites and inspected the pitch, whilst awaiting the arrival of his 2nd XI team-mates.
It turned out that Coxwell had gone to the pitch used by Purley's 1st and 2nd XI, rather than the ground frequented
by their 3rd team! He finally stumbled upon the correct venue, by which time stand-in skipper Mark Clapham had lost the
toss, and the hosts were to bat first. A flat track and a fast outfield made bowling and fielding a test, but Sandhurst applied the
disciplines well. At the first drinks break (15 overs), Purley had only managed 47 runs, but had only lost one wicket.
Regular bowling changes to try and force breakthroughs were the order of the day. The tight bowling continued throughout
the afternoon and wickets proceeded to fall with the last wicket being claimed on the very last ball, after good work by debutant
wicket-keeper David Thomas. Thankfully, Coxwell took a liking to
the ground - once he'd found it - and returned figures of 4-31. A special mention also goes to Chris Whiteoak who managed
to keep spirits up throughout the fielding with his constant support and 'clever banter'.
Sandhurst's reply was built on a solid opening partnership,
between Nayeem Ahmed and Adam Birch (39). Birch, still recovering from a knee injury, had been given the all clear to
bat only, so after 45 overs at first slip, the message was to deal in boundaries and keep walking/running between wickets
to a minimum.
The message clearly got through, as Birch's first three scoring shots were 4’s - all in
the first over. Not to be outdone, Nayeem raced to 26 from 11 deliveries as the pair put on 53.
Thomas then
arrived for his batting debut and - clearly wanting to do well - dotted out his first 10 deliveries before going
onto score 28 from 20 deliveries! The theme continued, with Steve Sullivan (24), Sunham Malla (14) and Russell Stone (19)
all getting in ... and all getting themselves out.
Calvin Hall calmly walked to the crease, needing five for victory
and six for maximum batting points. Two fours later, the match was over, and Sandhurst were top of the pile.
Sandhurst 2nd XI v. Knowl Hill
Berkshire Cricket League division four
MATCH details not submitted.
Sandhurst 2nd XI 219-2 Shinfield
102
Berkshire Cricket League division four NIGEL Birt batted brilliantly for an unbeaten
95, as Sandhurst 2nd XI crushed sorry Shinfield by a whopping 117 runs on Saturday (June 12th) to move up to second in the
table.
Batting first, home side Sandhurst tore into the Shinfield bowling, with Birt and stand-in
skipper Mark Clapham (14) putting on 56 for the first wicket.
Kevin Speakman then joined Birt, and the pair put
on 124 for the second wicket. Speakman fell for 60, allowing Drew Birch (21*) to get in on the act as Sandhurst posted 219
for the loss of just two wickets.
In reply, Shinfield struggled from the very off, with one of their openers clean
bowled by Sunam Malla in the very first over.
Sandhurst spilled five catches, whilst some excellent bowling
from Russell Stone and Sunam went unrewarded.
Sumit Malla made the second breakthrough, with ever-improving
wicket-keeper Mark Honey taking the first of three catches on what was a good afternoon for the youngster.
Shinfield
crumbled after the drinks break, as Clapham (3-8), Calvin Hall (2-17) and Richard Jenkins (1-19) rattled through the order.
Speakman also impressed with a smart run out, as the 2nd XI built on their wonder win at Welford the previous weekend.
Welford Park 119 Sandhurst 2nd
XI 120-2
Berkshire Cricket League division four
CALVIN Hall almost single-handedly dismantled
the league leaders as Sandhurst 2nd XI showed their true potential with an eight-wicket demolition of Welford Park.
Hall collected 6-17 from six overs, as the 2nd XI's topsy-turvy season hit new heights.
Batting first, having
won the toss, the home side - at one point - were limping along at less than two an over, thanks to some tight bowling
and disciplined, tidy fielding.
Opening bowling pair, Simon Coxwell (1-33) and Mark Clapham (3-50), dictated the
early exchanges, as Welford Park's batsmen had no answer to the combination of guile and swing.
Any hope Welford
Park had of launching a late assault was stifled by the first change of Sunam Malla and Hall. Malla's hostile spell was the
perfect foil for Hall, who found extra pace and life to restrict the hosts to just 119.
The Sandhurst reply was
steady, with Nigel Birt (50*) and Coxwell comfortably coping with the Welford attack. Coxwell was harshly adjudged LBW for
21, making way for the destructive Drew Birch who - in a controlled manner - joined forces with Birt to take Sandhurst to
within two runs of victory.
Birch (24) became the second LBW victim, allowing Mark Honey to hit the winning runs
with almost 20 overs to spare. Sandhurst 2nd XI 155 Grouse
& Label 181-8
Berkshire Cricket League division four
FOR the second time this season, Sandhurst 2nd XI only have themselves to blame for losing a match
which was there for the taking.
Having capitulated at Catcliffe Way earlier in the campaign, due to poor
fielding and woeful batting, the 2nd XI again flopped in key areas to allow Grouse & Label to win their first match of
the year.
To be fair, the visitors did field a number of their 1st XI, whose division three fixture had been cancelled,
but Sandhurst were still at fault for this defeat.
The start was delayed for an hour due to rain, which left the
outfield greasy. Having lost the toss, Sandhurst were asked to field and by the time the first Grouse & Label wicket went
down at 38, Simon Coxwell's side had already dropped six catches!
They then went on to take much tougher catches,
with Sunam Malla, Rob Lloyd and Richard Fleming involved in a little acrobatics to slow Grouse & Label, who lacked finesse
but seemed happy to slog their way to 181-8.
Coxwell claimed 4-47 and Russell Stone 3-40. Mark Clapham was the
victim of the early dodgy fielding, as Grouse & Label's batsmen chanced their arms.
Having chased down 208
in their previous match, Sandhurst remained confident, though that confidence disintegrated as six men marched back to the
pavilion with just 47 on the board. This included an entertaining 21 from Mark Honey.
Richards Jenkins (42) and
Fleming (14) then put on 61 for the seventh wicket, but both fell in quick succession.
Stone went without scoring,
and Sandhurst stood on 109-9, and some way short.
The last wicket pair of Malla and Calvin Hall almost dragged
victory from the jaws of defeat, as they crashed, smashed and battered their way to within 27 runs of their victory target
with a partnership of 44, before Malla was bowled for 24. Hall remained unbeaten on 20.
Too many errors in the
field, left Sandhurst chasing 40 runs more than they ought to have been. That, coupled with the inability to build partnerships
when batting, gifted Grouse & Label their first win of the season.
Sandhurst 2nd XI 209-9Waltham St Lawrence 208Berkshire Cricket League division four
SMILES returned to the faces
of Sandhurst 2nd XI on Saturday (May 15th), as they got back to winning ways with this narrow victory over Waltham St Lawrence.
A week after their humiliation at Catclffe Way, the 2nd XI knuckled
down and produced a fine display to chase down a big score for a one-wicket win.Sandhurst skipper, Simon Coxwell, won the toss and elected to field first.
Saj Abassi was rewarded for his impressive bowling at Catcliffe by being given the first over, and again bowled a
good line and got movement.Opening
with Coxwell they started economically enough but failed to get a breakthrough.
The first wicket fell courtesy
of some excellent fielding and Stuart Nock was run out for 11. His opening partner Neil Wilkinson was also run out, this time
as a result of superb work by Calvin Hall and wicket keeper Mark Honey.
First change bowlers Richard Jenkins and Calvin Hall each picked up a wicket.
Hall's dismissal was an excellent caught and bowled, drilled back at him low and hard, which lodged safely in his Springbok
mitts.Russell Stone bowled his first
spell of the season and got a breakthrough, bowling Chris England for 24. Coxwell (3-42) came back to pick up three late wickets,
including clean bowling skipper Colin Parker for 42.
Abassi’s (2-38) second spell brought him a couple of
scalps also, as Waltham St Lawrence finished up with 208 all out.In reply, Sandhurst opened with veterans Nigel Birt and Simon Coxwell, who struggled to get some tight
bowling away, though crucially they kept their wickets intact.
After scoring only 20 runs from the first 10 overs, the next 10 brought 55 runs as the
pair accelerated. Birt was the first to go, caught off the bowling of Abbas for 36, ending an opening partnership of 75.Jenkins came in at three and kept the momentum
going with a quick-fire 21 off 16 balls, before missing a straight one!
Not one for taking unnecessary risks, Rob
Lloyd decided to steady an already steady ship with a stonewall Boycottian one run off 18 balls, before being third
man out with the score at 131 off 30 overs.
This
was the start of a flurry of wickets with skipper Coxwell caught behind for 43 and Mark Honey continuing his sorry form, as
he was clean bowled for a second consecutive golden duck.The
value of batting all the way down was shown with only the unfortunate Calvin Hall not contributing - he was run out without
facing a delivery!
Birch made the understandable error of mistaking the middle-aged white South African for the
black Jamaican sprint sensation, and double Olympic champion, Usain Bolt.
Abassi, Stone, Jamie McDermott and Sunam Malla all held their nerve to see Sandhurst
home with one wicket and 10 balls to spare. Birch played a patient innings and remained unbeaten on 32.
Chris England was Waltham's most productive bowler,
finishing with 4–72 from 12.2 overs.
Catcliffe Way 87-1 Sandhurst 2nd XI 86Berkshire Cricket League
division four
WARNING: some cricketers may find the following match report
disturbing. IF
Sandhurst 2nd XI fall short in their bid for promotion this season, as they did so agonisingly last year, then they may just
look back on this thumping at Catcliffe Way as one that got away. A week after demolishing last season's high-flyers Twyford by nine wickets, Sandhurst
were themselves on the end of a nine-wicket mauling. Few players emerged with their reputations enhanced, as Simon Coxwell's side let themselves down in
all departments. Batting first
on an unpredictable track, there were few signs of the carnage to come, as Nigel Birt (17) and Mark Clapham eased their way
to 20 without loss. The 2nd XI
crumbled from 20-0 to 26-3 and then 40-5. Saj Abassi (20) and Richard Fleming then put on 28 for the sixth wicket - the highest
partnership of a miserable innings. Sandhurst mustered just 86 runs from more than 30 overs, which included 26 extras! Promoted from division five last season, newcomers Catcliffe
Way were far from convincing. Even before the one and only wicket went down, chances were offered. In all, as many as six
catches were dropped, and two possible stumpings went begging. Consequently, defeat was swift but no less painful, as Catcliffe Way cruised to victory in the 20th
over. Sandhurst 2nd XI 122-1 Twyford 121 all outBerkshire Cricket League
division four
SIMON Coxwell's side
have hurled down the gauntlet with an emphatic nine-wicket win in their opening league
game of the new season, over the
team which finished a place above them
in third last term. Sandhurst 2nd XI suffered a losing draw in both meetings with Twyford in 2009, but they launched their
2010 campaign with a crushing victory at home on Saturday (May 1st). Coxwell won the toss and invited Twyford to bat. The visitors' openers rode their luck, and reached
33 without loss, before Calvin Hall (4-58) claimed the first of his four wickets. Twyford wickets fell regularly, thanks to slick fielding.
They crumbled from 33 without loss to 62 for six. A little resistance was offered by the lower order, with a seventh-wicket stand of 28, but once Chris Fort
was dismissed by Hall for eight, the tail was well and truly exposed. With eight wickets down going into the final over, Drew Birch snared one with his
first delivery. Twyford's determined skipper Adam Smith (41) was then run out off the penultimate ball of the innings,
with the score on 121.
Hall was the pick of the bowlers. Other wickets went to
Mark Clapham (3-26), Coxwell (1-21) and Birch (1-8). Sandhurst made swift work of their run chase, thanks to a cracking opening partnership of 99 between
Nigel Birt (51 not out) and Drew Birch (55). They hurtled to 62 off just ten overs, and by the time Birch was trapped LBW,
Twyford knew the game was up. The
hosts reached their victory target with more than 23 overs to spare. Sandhurst Midweek XI 150-6
Bracknell
CC 176-5
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League SANDHURST Midweek XI may have dented their hopes
of a top spot finish in this years Midweek League as they suffered a loss to rivals Bracknell. On a drizzling Tuesday evening things looked good for the home side as they were up into the field by the Bracknell
skipper, which is what Sandhurst skipper Adam Birch would have done if he had won the toss. Unfortunately the decision for
Bracknell to bat first seemed like a brilliant one. Bracknell openers G.Henly(84*) and G.Seymore(58) raced to 110 off only
8 overs, with the help of a wet ball or "bar of soap" and some fielding footwork even the England team would shudder
at. M.Clapham going for 45 unfotuate not to pick up a wicket and bowled better than figures suggest. M.Bridges 0-28 off 2
and C.Hall 0-30 off 2. With Bracknell racing along and looking like they were heading for 200+,
Sumit Malla was brought on to bowl his off-spin. Unfortunately he didn't have the same success as he had on Saturday
but kept an end tight only conceding 0-38 off his 4 overs. It was at the other end where success came.
Moe.Nadeem
joined Malla on restricting the Bracknell batting in the final 8 overs to only 176. A very chase-able target. Moe finished
with fine figures of 5-34 off 4 overs. including 3 wickets in his final over and a stumping off the last ball to get his the
magical 5th. Sandhurst headed back into the changing rooms knowing it wasn't their best Fielding
display of the year but knew they have fought back to keep Bracknell's total within reach. S.Malla was joined by yet another
opening partner K.Speakman with regular Shallom a.w.o.l. The opening pair followed Bracknell's way of batting and too raced
along at over 10 an over. K.Speakman(57) reaching his Fifty in rapid time supported well by Malla(36). The two shared and
opening partnership of 97 before Speakman trying to up the rate even more was bowled.
This lead to a collapse of 4 wickets
in 6 balls. Malla run out, Bridges and Honey both bowled.
This threw a massive spanner in the works in-terms
of the chase as it was getting hard and hard to hit the ball. By the last 3 overs Sandhurst required 50 to win. with the recent
form of J.Mcdermott(23) still in joined by skipper A.Birch there was still a chance. Unfortunately not as the Birch fell for
2 and with that Sandhurst hope of a win died out too as 36 was require off the last over. Sandhurst finished on 150-6
Sandhurst Midweek XI 150-6
Bracknell
CC 176-5
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League SANDHURST Midweek XI may have dented their hopes
of a top spot finish in this years Midweek League as they suffered a loss to rivals Bracknell. On a drizzling Tuesday evening things looked good for the home side as they were up into the field by the Bracknell
skipper, which is what Sandhurst skipper Adam Birch would have done if he had won the toss. Unfortunately the decision for
Bracknell to bat first seemed like a brilliant one. Bracknell openers G.Henly(84*) and G.Seymore(58) raced to 110 off only
8 overs, with the help of a wet ball or "bar of soap" and some fielding footwork even the England team would shudder
at. M.Clapham going for 45 unfotuate not to pick up a wicket and bowled better than figures suggest. M.Bridges 0-28 off 2
and C.Hall 0-30 off 2. With Bracknell racing along and looking like they were heading for 200+,
Sumit Malla was brought on to bowl his off-spin. Unfortunately he didn't have the same success as he had on Saturday
but kept an end tight only conceding 0-38 off his 4 overs. It was at the other end where success came.
Moe.Nadeem
joined Malla on restricting the Bracknell batting in the final 8 overs to only 176. A very chase-able target. Moe finished
with fine figures of 5-34 off 4 overs. including 3 wickets in his final over and a stumping off the last ball to get his the
magical 5th. Sandhurst headed back into the changing rooms knowing it wasn't their best Fielding
display of the year but knew they have fought back to keep Bracknell's total within reach. S.Malla was joined by yet another
opening partner K.Speakman with regular Shallom a.w.o.l. The opening pair followed Bracknell's way of batting and too raced
along at over 10 an over. K.Speakman(57) reaching his Fifty in rapid time supported well by Malla(36). The two shared and
opening partnership of 97 before Speakman trying to up the rate even more was bowled.
This lead to a collapse of 4 wickets
in 6 balls. Malla run out, Bridges and Honey both bowled.
This threw a massive spanner in the works in-terms
of the chase as it was getting hard and hard to hit the ball. By the last 3 overs Sandhurst required 50 to win. with the recent
form of J.Mcdermott(23) still in joined by skipper A.Birch there was still a chance. Unfortunately not as the Birch fell for
2 and with that Sandhurst hope of a win died out too as 36 was require off the last over. Sandhurst finished on 150-6
Old Beans 145-4
Sandhurst Midweek
XI 144-4
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League SANDHURST Midweek XI remain in contention
in the league, despite this set-back against Old Beans (July 6th).
The one bonus
to emerge from this six-wicket defeat was the continuing form of Jamie McDermott, who made an unbeaten 55!
Sandhurst's
total of 144-4, though, was an average one, with notable contributions from Sumit Malla (20), Jordan Clement (19) and Steve
Sullivan (18).
The first half of Old Beans' reply went well, as Sandhurst restricted them to 75 runs, whilst removing
the top four batsmen (Clement 1-44; Martin Bridges 3-31).
Unfortunately, all that hard work was undone by the next
three overs, during which Old Beans helped themselves to 50 runs. Richard Dobson was clouted for 32 off two overs. Richard
Jenkins went for 18 off just one!
That burst of runs put Old Beans on the brink, leaving them needing just 21 runs
off five eight-ball overs. They past the Sandhurst total with 23 balls to spare.
Sandhurst Midweek XI 170-3 BFBC
171-1
Bracknell & District Evening Midweek
League Cup semi-final SANDHURST Midweek XI were dumped out
of the cup on Tuesday (June 29th), after losing by nine wickets to a strengthened Bracknell Forest Borough Council.
Batting first, Aron Shallom and Jordan Clement fell cheaply, to leave Sandhurst on 13-2 off three overs. Jamie
McDermott and Sumit Malla then put on a fantastic 152 for the third wicket.
McDermott smashed 86, which included
four fours and eight sixes! Malla remained unbeaten on 72. His knock contained seven fours and one six.
BFBC lost
just the one wicket in their run chase, claimed by Calvin Hall. It was then left to the impressive pairing of Sweetman (65*)
and Hutcheson (75*) to ease the visitors to victory with 17 balls to spare.
Hutcheson was a player known to Sandhurst.
He scored an unbeaten 180 for Royal Ascot a couple of years ago, and is a batsman with terrific technical ability.
Sandhurst Midweek XI 149-8 Binfield
85
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League Cup SANDHURST have a meeting with the Council
to see if they can play in the Midweek League Cup final next month, having eased to victory over arch-rivals Binfield on Thursday
(June 24th).
Bracknell Forest Borough Council will visit Sandhurst on Tuesday (June 29th) in the semi-final
of the cup, just a week after the Midweek XI beat them in a league fixture.
Sandhurst made sure of progress in
the competition, by defeating Binfield by 64 runs.
Batting first, Sandhurst were in early trouble, wobbling at
12-2 in the third over, with Jordan Clement and Aron Shallom both back in the pavilion.
Mark Honey (38) continued
his recent fine form with the bat to revive the innings, aided by Anthony Clapham (25) and Mo Nadeem (22). Nadeem retired
hurt at one point, having edged the ball into his bottom lip, but he returned to help Sandhurst record 149-8 from their 16
overs.
In reply, the dangerous Binfield were soon in trouble. Clement snapped up two wickets in his first over.
Calvin Hall grabbed one in his opening over, to have Binfield reeling at 3-3.
Clement captured a third wicket,
that of Portsmouth midfielder Hayden Mullins, before Hall removed Binfield's big-hitting skipper Paul Eddington with a wonderful
caught and bowled.
Binfield veteran Ian Goddard had the home side sweating a little, as he smashed 18 off the first
six deliveries of Martin Bridges' second over. Bridges conjured up the perfect reply, yorking Goddard for 25, and thereby
ending any hope Binfield had of progressing to the semi-finals.
Sandhurst Midweek XI 175-5 BFBC 152-1
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League
THE MALLA brothers, Sumit and Sunam,
had good nights with the bat (June 22nd), as Sandhurst gained a psychological advantage ahead of their cup clash with
Bracknell Forest Borough Council.
Sandhurst batted first and - having broken free
from their shackles - proceeded to pepper the boundary.
Opening duo, Aron Shallom and Sunam Malla, both got their
eye in quickly and delighted their team-mates with some big hitting.
After a slow start, the Sandhurst pair plundered
26 off the fifth over. Shallom departed for 33, but Jordan Clement chipped in with a rapid 23 to keep the scoreboard ticking
over.
Sumit top scored with 57, whilst sibling Sunam smashed a quick-fire 30, which included two sixes and
four fours.
BFBC lost their one and only wicket as early as the third over, caught by Anthony Clapham off of Clement's
bowling. Tidy work from Sandhurst slowed down the run rate early on, but they were unable to add to their tally of wickets.
Bowling and fielding became a little more erratic as the innings progressed, with all but Mark Clapham and Clement
going for 10-11 each over. In the end, though, BFBC ran out of overs, falling 24 runs short of victory.
Sandhurst Midweek XI 162-7
Finchampstead 161-5
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League SANDHURST scrambled to a three-wicket win with
just four balls to spare in a high-scoring midweek match at home to Finchampstead (June 15th).
The victory
charge was led by Sumit Malla, who remained unbeaten on 82, and had been the mainstay of the Sandhurst innings.
Stand-in
skipper Jordan Clement lost the toss, and Finch screeched away from the starting grid, blasting 47 in the first three overs.
Clement took some punishment, going for 28 off two overs. Mo Nadeem fared little better, with 20 bludgeoned off his
two overs.
Aron Shallom and Sunam Malla forced Finch to flinch, and ease off the pedal. Shallom collected 2-28
from three overs. Sunam was unfortunate to pick up just the one wicket, with three catches dropped off his bowling.
Richard Dobson was the pick of the bowlers, snaring Finch's top batsman with a wonderful yorker. Dobson's bowling appears
to have come on this season, though he must work on his celebration!
Dobson and Martin Bridges tightened up
proceedings towards the end of the Finch innings, as the visitors managed just 50 from the last six eight-ball overs.
Chasing 162 to win, Shallom thumped a massive six through point off the second ball of the innings. He was caught next delivery,
attempting a repeat!
Clement steadied the early wobble with a decent 20. He departed, to be followed by Jamie McDermott
and Sunam Malla, with little inroads being made.
The one constant throughout was Sumit. He reached his maiden midweek
50, and then pushed on. With support from the middle order, including a swift knock of 10 from Mark Honey, the target was
reduced to 28 off 20 balls.
That target was achieved, thanks to Sumit, who worked the field well, in pushing, prodding
and nudging Sandhurst to a thrilling victory.
Midweek captain, Adam Birch, said: "I was very pleased with the attitude of the players to bounce back after getting a
beating in the first 9 overs.
"Jordan
impressed me with his captaincy and made some very good bowling changes and field settings.
"Sumit did what
I have wanted him to do all season, and I'm glad I persisted with him opening the batting. It allowed others to
play their natural aggressive game while he kept the score ticking over with ones and twos."
Old Beans 166-3
Sandhurst
Midweek XI 167-7
Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League
SANDHURST's Midweek XI returned to winning ways
with a three-wicket victory over Old Beans on Tuesday (May 25th), but they did make hard work of it.
Old
Beans batted first and were able to reach 166-3 from their 16 eight-ball overs. S Longfield top scored for Old Beans with
71. Wickets went to Martin Bridges (2-28) and Jordan Clement (1-19).
Dropped catches and questionable fielding
threatened to take the match beyond Sandhurst, but - in reply - Clement (69) picked up where he left off for the Sunday XI,
and put on 86 in just five overs with Sumit Malla (20).
Despite a wobbly start, during which the top three batsmen
all got settled before losing their wicket, Sandhurst claimed victory with 2.1 overs to spare.
Bracknell 97-6Sandhurst Midweek XI 94Bracknell & District
Evening Cricket League
POOR batting, four dropped catches and
some questionable fielding sent Sandhurst Midweek XI to their first defeat of the season, beaten by four wickets at Bracknell
on Wednesday (May 19th).
When openers Aron Shallom and
Kevin Speakman plundered 18 runs off the first over, the visitors seemed set for a big score and a resounding victory.
But when the experienced Shallom (15) got an edge and trudged back from whence he came, the Sandhurst collapse began.
Sumit Malla was next man out, caught at cover after prodding at his first delivery. Richard Jenkins
followed soon after, mis-timing one and skying to deep extra cover.
As the wheels came clattering off around him, stand-in skipper Speakman soldiered on. He top scored
with 25, whilst Jamie McDermott hit an entertaining 15 (including a six over mid-wicket).
Too few other batsmen contributed, though youngster Connor Pharo produced arguably the shot of the innings
with a lovely four through cover. When he was bowled, the sorry Sandhurst innings drew to a premature close. They were all
for just 94, in the final over.
With such a meagre total to defend, safe hands were order
of the day. Unfortunately, four chances were put down, which made the task even tougher. That said, Sandhurst were very much
in the hunt, thanks to Mark Clapham's 3-23 and some tight, tidy bowling from Shallom (1-11).
One
big over towards the end swung the match back in Bracknell's favour, and they got across the line with 10 balls to spare.
BFBC 61 Sandhurst Midweek XI 62-5 Bracknell & District Evening Cricket League
SANDHURST made hard work of this Midweek
League victory over Bracknell Forest Borough Council (May 11th), before passing the modest target in the 13th over, for the
loss of five wickets.
Poor
fielding let BFBC off the hook as early as the first over, as two straight-forward run outs went begging.
Richard Jenkins made the breakthrough in the second over,
with a run-out, which triggered a brace of wickets for Aron Shallom (3-21). Richard Dobson (2-14) snapped up two wickets
in his first over, as the Council team struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Other notable performances came from Jenkins (2-9) and Mark Clapham, whose trusty
hands took two catches. Martin Pharo and Sunam Malla were the other wicket-takers, as BFBC were dismissed for a paltry 61.
The target should have been
well within Sandhurst's reach, but they contrived to make a game of it. Openers Sumit Malla (5) and Shallom (17) were swiftly
followed back to the pavilion by Jamie McDermott (7), Sunam Malla (golden duck) and Jordan Clement (0).
It was left to stand-in skipper Kevin Speakman (20*) and
Jenkins (14*) to bring some semblance of order, with Sandhurst winning by five wickets.
Old Beans 141-7Sandhurst Midweek XI 142-2Bracknell & District Evening CricketLeague Cup preliminary
round
SANDHURST'S Midweek maestros made
the perfect start to their 2010 season with an eight-wicket win over Old Beans (May 4th), to set up a quarter-final fixture
with rivals Binfield in the League Cup. Anthony Clapham skippered the side, in the absence of the injured Adam Birch, and appeared to relish the role, scoring
an unbeaten 60 (five 4s and two 6s) and claiming 2-13 (he was on a hat-trick). Old Beans batted first, and found Sandhurst in lively form. Sunam Malla opened the
bowling, and took a tidy 2-16 off three overs. Mark Clapham chipped in with 2-31 off four overs. Richard Jenkins was unfortunate
not to snap up at least one wicket, as Old Beans managed 141-7 from their 16 eight-ball overs. The Sandhurst response got off to the worst possible start, when Sumit Malla was
trapped LBW first ball. Skipper Clapham, alongside the experienced Aron Shallom (35), steadied the innings. Shallom's departure brought Kevin Speakman (28 not out)
to the middle, and it was he and Clapham who led the Sandhurst side to victory with almost three overs to spare.
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