Thames Valley round-up: Stoke Green rise to fourth after five-wicket win – Photo 1 of 1

Saqlain Basharat who hit 62 in Stoke Green’s victory over Uxbridge.

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Stoke Green have hauled themselves up to fourth in the Thames Valley League Division 1 table after five-wicket win over Uxbridge on Saturday.

Gagan Singh’s side have had a mixed start to the campaign, losing two of their four matches heading into Saturday’s away encounter. However, they may be finding their rhythm after impressively chasing down their hosts’ total on Saturday.

Having won the toss, Uxbridge elected to bat, however, their efforts at the crease were undone by Stoke Green’s bowling attack, with Gurveer Singh (4-39) and Dilraj Malhi (3-28) among those to torment the home batsmen.

Uxbridge managed to get to 169-9 from 52 overs, and did have some decent displays from, amongst others, Khalid Quereshi (32), Sam Kazim (41), Ahsen Shaikh (31) and Asher Hussain (36), but their play was too conservative given the conditions and Green had few problems chasing their target.

With Saqlain Basharat (62) and Pavinder Bhachu (41) in fine form, they reached their target in the 41st over for the loss of five wickets. Fahad Jaffrey made it interesting for a while, taking 3-30, but the visitors always looked in control and had plenty of wickets and time in hand to get the job done.

The switch to red-ball timed matches may suit Green who are now just 16 points behind leaders Eversley, who beat Henley 2nds by a huge 265 runs on Saturday.

Elsewhere in Division 1, Boyne Hill’s inability to bowl out Wokingham accounted for their drawn match with Wokingham 2nds.

Having been put into bat, Ziya Mohamed’s side put on a huge 258-4 from their 52 overs, with Hamid Riaz scoring a magnificent 124.

There were also impressive knocks from James Hammerton (72no) and Mohamed (38), but their efforts with the bat weren’t matched by their bowling unit, as Wokingham managed to play out their 48 overs with wickets in hand. Michael Cowdell hit 65no to anchor the innings and, although they never seriously attempted to chase Hill’s total, they ticked off the overs with Tassawar Nawaz hitting 39. Muteeb Syed took 3-33 for Hill, but Wokingham finished on 160-7 to frustrate their visitors. The result leaves Boyne Hill sixth in the standings.

Captain Greg Davies spoke a good game last week, and his Cookham Dean side delivered for him as they defeated Falkland away by 69 runs for their first win of the season.

After four successive defeats, things were starting to look bleak for Dean, however, Davis felt a win at second placed Uxbridge was possible and they achieved it in some style. Having been put into bat, they produced their best score of the season so far, racking up 271-4 from 52 overs, with Davis himself top scoring with 78no. There was plenty of support as James Isbell made 61 and Zain Khan 51.

And, after a slow start, Dean produced with both bat and ball as they removed Falkland for 202 in 42 overs. The wickets were shared around the team, with Shahzad Asghar (2-10), Khan (2-40) and Elliott Bowles (2-21) each taking two wickets. Connor Wardlaw top scored with 46, but the hosts finished 69 runs shy of their target. The result elevated Dean off the bottom of the league above Wokingham 2nds.

Marlow have moved to within a point of leaders High Wycombe 2nds in TVL Division 2A after beating Wraysbury by 43 runs on Saturday.

Marlow picked up their fourth win from six this weekend with a comprehensive performance, restricting Wraysbury to 175 runs to win by 43 runs.

After winning the toss, Marlow put on 218 before being bowled out at the end of their 52 overs. Jonathan Pears top scored with 69 while Chris Goede made 36, Imran Nawaz 31 and Phil Lines 27. Mo Nawaz took 5-36 on a good day personally for him, however, Wraysbury’s response was undone by another player with a five-fer, as John Venianakis took 5-50. Fahim Baharami bludgeoned 50 but Wraysbury were skittled for 175 in the 45th over. The result knocks Wraysbury down to fourth.

In Division 2B Hurst fell 12 runs short of victory as they were held to a draw by visitors Sonning. Chasing 224-5, in 52 overs, Hurst were restricted to 213-8 in 48 overs. B Malik top scored for Sonning with 51no with P Higgs taking 4-33, while in Hurst’s innings, J Watt smashed 79, with B Malik taking 3-43 in a very decent all-round display. The result leaves the two sides bottom of the Division 2B table, with Hurst propping up the rest.

Burnham’s fine start to the season was checked by a draw at Cove on Saturday. Having won the toss and opted to bat, Burnham smashed 256-7 from their 52 overs, with Muhammed Arshad top scoring with 91. However, Cove diligently batted out their 48 overs, finishing on 201-6 with Doug Bewley making 53 and Mohammed Choudhury 56. It leaves Burnham second behind Reading, who have opened a gap of 28 points at the top.

In Division 3A, Windsor defeated Theale & Tilehurst by six wickets to move up to second in the division.

The hosts produced a commanding display with the bat, having restricted their visitors to 199-9 in 52 overs. Chasing 200 for victory they reached their target in 34.3 overs for the loss of only four wickets. Theale played well with the bat, with Rehan Hassan making 92no, however, Isaac Dibsdall (4-60) and Ryan Lewin (3-46) kept them to under 200 runs. In reply, Vinay Vasita smashed an unbeaten 73 and Mark Lines made 67 as Windsor eased to victory. James Bozarth took 4-58 for the visitors.

Rock bottom Royal Ascot remain without a win in the same division after Fleet beat them by 38 runs on Saturday. Batting first, Fleet put on 200-8 from their 52 overs and then bowled out Ascot for 162 runs.

Maidenhead & Bray sit second in the TVL Division 3B table after beating Ickenham by four wickets on Saturday, however, leaders Hayes beat Tring Park by three wickets to remain 13 points above them.

Visitors Ickenham were restricted to 218-9 from their 52 overs, with Noah Mungrue scoring an unbeaten 89. However, Bray are full of confidence this season and Ben Ward Jnr smashed a brilliant 115, with support from Faizal Aziz (42no) as the hosts chased down their target in the 45th over with four wickets in hand. In the same division Wooburn Narkovians moved off the bottom of the table with an eight-wicket win over Amersham 2nds.