Newcomers Harefield would have been happy to tick off Henley’s 245, having only lost four wickets, and Oxford Downs would have been thrilled to bowl out Aston Rowant after only putting 168 on the board.
After batting first, Henley would have been in high spirits going into their bowling innings after Charlie Dunnet brought up his first century of the league season from 127 balls. His innings consisted of just 7 fours and a six, with 66 of his runs added by running in the heat of Saturday.
Striker, and Berkshire opener, Johnny Connell aided his partner in the opening stages of the innings with a half-century of his own, although not at his usual blistering pace. The opening batsman who struck 5 fours, only had a strike rate of 67, showing his rigour and grit throughout the innings.
Munjot Rajasansir’s 3-40 were the best figures of the Harefield bowling innings, as he cleaned up the middle order consisting of Richardson, Dalrymple and Desai. With a skittling middle order falling cheaply, it left Henley with a total on or slightly below par.
Whilst Harefield would have been sad to say goodbye to Nick Kelly, who was selected to play for New Zealand and will miss out on the Hares, their selection of Gareth Severin seems to have done the trick. A league debut of 92 from 80 balls was just what Harefield needed in the opening stages of their innings, chasing 245. Zain Ali articulated himself well as Severin’s opening partner and picked up a half-century, the opening pair putting on a stand of 158 before Jon Denning removed Severin.
T. McLeod and K.Jariwala kept the momentum up, despite a few wobbly moments with Ogden and Shepherd removed quickly. Both batted with intent, averaging at around a hundred strike rate between the pair, and knocked off the total inside 46 overs.
Simultaneously, Aston Rowant were let down by Oxford Downs who stamped an early victory and arguably made a statement to the league that they’re here to stay long-term.
After being bowled out for just 168, with only George Sandbach crawling over 30, Oxford Downs would have been feeling anxious going into the second half, especially as Thomas Condon ticked off his first half-century of the league.
But both Tom Costley and Louis Delport found themselves as the heroes of this affair. Costley picked up 4-36 from his 10-over spell, including the scalps of dangerman Condon, Oliver Ebsworth-Burland, Darren Rolfe and Karl Penhale. Delport had slightly better stats of 4-32 from his 10 overs, cleaning up the middle order, particularly Hayden Rossouw who had scored 96 the year prior against Oxford Downs.
In the 46th over, Warner had picked up the final wicket, having bowled Aston Rowant out for just 151 and picked up 20 points.
Great Brickhill who housed Finchampstead only lasted 12 overs before the umpires had to abandon the match due to an unsafe pitch. A couple of rogue deliveries which had popped into the faces of the Finch batters, meant that no-more play was available for the day.
Meanwhile, High Wycombe proved that their new signings have helped to bolster their team as they secured a 154-run victory over newcomers Stoke Green.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Cam Hemp found his form with the bat after a struggle pre-season. His 74 run stint in 75 balls was a much more calm approach to the crease than Hemp is used to, perhaps showing some more level-headed batting. New signing Lincoln would have helped at the non-strikers end as he continued his pre-season form with 62.
Billy Dodds (27), Teddie Casterton (36) and Josh Lincoln (48) all chipped in around the middle order, allowing Wycombe to climb to 291 – a score that seemed just about par at the time.
Aatish Anthathi came out strong with some scintilating boundaries from the onset. With 6 fours hit in quick succession, he looked poised for a big score.
Yet, Wycombe young seamer Archie Dodds picked up his wicket and Stoke Green failed to keep up with the momentum. Despite that, Passikku Madusanka played a patient innings for 41 from 39, but without anyone by his side, it was a difficult affair to catch up.
Spinning pair Haddow (3-17) and Uttley (2-38) continued their form from last year, with Haddow, who is trialling with Northants 2s, killing the game with his economy rate. The two, alongside Dodds and Parsons, were able to remove all Stoke Green batters for just 137.
Finally, Banbury picked up the victory over Wargrave who appeared to struggle for form on the T20 regional finals.
Wargrave batted first and Isaac Humphrey took the reigns with the bat. His innings of 66 from 112 was patient, acted as a foundation for the other Wargrave batters to play with freedom around him. Yet, no-one was able to capitalise on that freedom, except Neal Robinson who scored 42 from 60, remaining not out until the end.
Wickets for Banbury were spread around, Tait, Thomas, Hill each picking up 2 wickets, but it was Taylor’s 3-30 who stole the show as he removed both Wargrave opening batters including Rhys Lewis, who then struck his maiden hundred for Berkshire the next day.
Whilst Lloyd Sabin was removed early, Banbury never looked so strong. Joe White and Arjun Ramkumar both picked up half-centuries and chalked off the majority of the runs. Both batters played a patient innings, with only 14 boundaries combined.
Skipper Kieran Coyne cemented his mark on the innings once White was removed, scoring his very own half-century in just 44 balls, including 9 fours. The injection of energy into the innings saw Banbury cross the line just two wickets down in the 42nd over.
