Boyne Hill drag themselves back into Division 1 promotion picture
Thames Valley League round-up: Notable contributions from Ilyas and Ali as Hill beat Cookham by five-wickets
Boyne Hill are making progress towards the top of the Division One table having beaten Cookham Dean by five wickets at the weekend.
For the second week in a row, Hill overcame a local rival rather convincingly and, as a result, rise to fifth place in the league while Dean slip to eighth.
Batting first on home turf, Ben Millar’s men posted 113 all out from
40.1 overs.
The skipper opened the innings with a respectable 25 runs and partner Shahzad Asghar added 50, but the batsmen thereafter weren’t up to scratch largely owed to Samad Fallah’s (5-44) bowling.
In reply, Ziya Mohamed’s men managed 114-5 from 35.3 overs, with notable contributions coming from Usman
Ilyas (45) and Sajid Ali (28) while Jaisreet Bajwa (2-30) took the most wickets.
Stoke Green took second place with a slender one-run win over Falkland.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Gagan Singh’s side managed 168 all out from 49 overs thanks to the modest figures of Saqlain Basharat
(28), Kashif Abassi (27) and Pavinder Bhachu (43).
James Bird (4-20) was as unflappable with the ball as he was with the bat in the second innings.
Bird knocked 30 runs before Brandon Gilmour later added 60 as the duo proved to be Falkland’s most formidable batsmen. Gurveer Singh (4-53) and Zulfi Butt (4-38), meanwhile, were Green’s most prolific spinners. From 44.2 overs, Falkland managed 167 all out.
Elsewhere in the division, honours were even between Burnham and Eversley.
Electing to field first at the Memorial Ground, Burnham restricted Eversley to 235-6 from 52 overs with impressive contributions coming from Benjamin
Salter (111), Sam Kennet (40), and Chris Last (34no).
In reply, Adnan Malik (69no) and Faisal Choudhry (33) chalked up the best figures for Burnham as the side managed 176-7 from 48 overs.
With just eight points taken from this encounter, Adnan Shabbir’s men stay at the foot of the table.
In Division 2A, Wraysbury overcame Kew by five runs to move into first place.
Choosing to bat first, Wraysbury achieved 200 all out from 44.2 overs. On their way to this target, the side were suppressed by Zoheb Sharif (3-44), Nicholas Huckle (3-28), and Kadivar Renish Ramjanbhai (3-50).
Nevertheless, Naeem Baig (36), Guy Sheena (34), and Hikmatullah Kakar
(27) obtained the best runs with the bat.
In reply, Sheena displayed his prowess with the ball, taking 6-56, as Dave Ramsden (29), Frederick Preston (29), and Nicholas Baxter (46) batted Kew’s best.
At the end of the second innings, the side had managed 195 all out from 51.1 overs.
Elsewhere, Marlow drew with Uxbridge but move into fifth place following the result.
Inserted at the crease first, Uxbridge obtained some robust contributions from Amaan Quadri (47), Sami Kazim (52), Fahad Jaffery (31), and Kishan Varsani (64) as they managed 291 for 9 dec from 51 overs.
Kester Charlemagne took 3-79 and
Mark Dozell claimed 3-65 as Marlow’s best bowlers in the first innings.
With the bat, James Martin’s men got off to a strong start with the likes of Imran Nawaz striking 59 runs before Dominic Spencer (25), Graeme Paskins (27), Charlemagne (64) and Sam North (43) supported in the chase.
Kamran Mian was Uxbridge’s star spinner, taking five wickets for 41 runs, but in the end Marlow managed 243-9 from 49 overs.
In Division 2B, seventh-placed Royal Ascot were trounced by six wickets to Reading.
Having won the toss, Ascot elected to bat first and set a target of 193-8 from 52 overs. This was largely inspired by Adam Smith (32) and C Karemaker (100no) who swatted away a century of runs.
R Akram (2-5), L Jones (3-45), and L Beaven (3-33) took the best figures with the ball.
In reply, Reading reached the target with just four wickets sacrificed, managing 194 runs from 43.2 overs. Akram (46), A Srinivasan (31), F Amjad (44), and Beaven (33no) struck the best numbers and W Ellison took 3-41 with the ball.
In Division 3A, Thatcham Town (fifth) were beaten by eight wickets to Wargrave 2nds, White Waltham (ninth) were thumped by 104 runs to Theale & Tilehurst, and Windsor (eighth) drew with Kidmore End.
In Division 3B, Farnham Royal (eighth) lost to Stoke Green 2nds by 38 runs while spoils were shared between Maidenhead & Bray (fourth) and Datchet 2nds.
Elsewhere, Taplow (ninth) drew with Henley 3rds in Division 4A, while Wooburn Narkovians (second) beat Hillingdon Manor by six wickets and Farnham Common (fourth) beat Beaconsfield 2nds by six wickets in Division 4B.