Scorecard

Royal Ascot v Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday on Sat 30 May 2015 at 1.00
Thatcham Town Cricket Club Won by 119 runs

Match report The Thatcham Town juggernaut rolled on relentlessly as Royal Ascot were blown away by 119 runs on Saturday as they opened up a 14 point lead over Aldershot at the top of Thames Valley League Division 3a.

Thatcham skipper Duncan Johnson won a fourth toss in a row and elected to bat first. Josh O'Flynn and Peter Spriggs opened up and looked in little trouble as they posted a 50 run partnership through 14 overs. O'Flynn was the dominant force as he moved through the gears but just as he looked set for a half century he 'clothed' spinner May to Kendall for 47. The in form Jack Young had a rare failure as he fell lbw for 3, also to May, as Ascot started to peg the visitors back. A very quiet period then followed as Spriggs and Tom Mahoney could only add 11 runs between overs 20 and 30, and at 84-2, Thatcham were in danger of letting a good start slip away. Spriggs 92 ball stay ended when he was bowled by May for 31 and when Mahoney followed shortly after for 26, Ascot were turning the tide. Duncan Johnson and Steve Bartholomew looked to up the tempo until the Thatcham skipper went back to a quicker ball from May and lost his off stump for 11. Matt Denness (7) was sensible in giving the hard hitting Bartholomew as much of the strike as possible until he was stumped, which left John Williams to do what he does best in a situation tailor made for his attacking strokeplay. The two aggressive left handers batted beautifully together and took their side to 216-6 through 51 overs when Johnson decided enough was enough and declared. Bartholomew ended unbeaten on 44 and Williams on 29. Summers was the pick of the Ascot attack as he bowled unchanged for 18 overs to return 0-35, although it was the spin of May, 4-76 from 19 overs that picked up the wickets.

Thatcham took the old ball and opened up with the spin of Chris Bird and John Williams with early breakthroughs into the Ascot batting required. Bird's very first over provided it as the dangerous Miller aimed a wild heave from his second ball and he edged hard to a juggling Jack Young who eventually held on. Williams then did exactly the same in his opening over, Kendall edging hard to Duncan Johnson at 1st slip and the Thatcham skipper held a blinder. Gamble and Batchu looked to rebuild, but the taking of the new ball in the 14th over reaped immediate rewards as Scott Gibson picked up Gamble, caught by Williams in the slips, for 8. Ascot skipper Nick Sweetman (12) joined the impressive Batchu and looked in good touch, driving Callum Johnson through the covers on three occasions. The young seamer had the last laugh however as Sweetman flashed hard through the gully region only to see his opposite number hold on to his second great grab of the day. Batchu (32) was the big wicket and he was next to go, Johnson producing a fantastic away swinging delivery which Batchu could only edge through to Jack Young behind the stumps. 19 year old Johnson was in the middle of a purple patch as Wensley (0) edged to Scott Gibson at 3rd slip and he was followed next ball by Try (0) who edged through to Young. The hat trick ball came to nothing but at the end of his 7 overs, Johnson had 4-19 and had ripped the Ascot middle order out. Scott Gibson took his 2nd wicket when Payne chipped up to Spriggs at mid on for 1 and when the returning John Williams bowled Edrich for 13 with one that kept a little low, Ascot were 80-9 through 32 overs and the end was near. May and Summers provided some much needed resistance as they tried to get some bonus batting points but Bird's flight proved too much of a temptation for Summers and he picked out Tom Mahoney in the outfield for 12 to give Thatcham a much deserved victory. Ascot were all out for 97, with just a 3 point return from the afternoon. Thatcham returned another maximum 25 point haul and with 95 points on the board after the opening 4 fixtures, things are looking very positive for the West Berkshire side.

All four Thatcham bowlers used were excellent, Callum Johnson 4-19, Scott Gibson 2-17, Chris Bird 2-11 and John Williams 2-45 and they were backed up by some excellent catching and fielding from a buoyant Thatcham team who's confidence is gaining and are looking a real force.

Thatcham face Purley at Brownsfield on Saturday as they seek a 5th win on the bounce.

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 5w 4b 7lb 
for 6 wickets
18
216		        
Josh O'Flynn Caught  47 63 72 6 1 65.28
Peter Spriggs Bowled  31 102 92 2 33.70 1
Jack Young Lbw  3 9 9 33.33 3
Tom Mahoney Caught  26 44 42 3 61.90 1
Duncan Johnson Bowled  11 1 2
Steve Bartholomew Not Out  44 5 1
Matthew Denness Stumped  7
John Williams Not Out  29 3 1
Callum Johnson  
Scott Gibson   1
Chris Bird  

Royal Ascot Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
J Summers18.053500.001.94
J Kendall6.003600.006.00
K May19.0476419.004.00
G Payne4.0125125.006.25
J Gamble4.0033133.008.25

Royal Ascot Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 3w 1b 4lb 
for 10 wickets
9
97 (36.1 overs)		     
J Kendall Caught  1
W Miller Caught  0
J Gamble Caught  8
C Batchu Caught  32
N Sweetman Caught  12
J Wensley Caught  0
P Edrich Bowled  13
R Try Caught  0
G Payne Caught  1
K May Not Out  9
J Summers Caught  12

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Chris Bird8.131125.501.35
John Williams11.0245222.504.09
Callum Johnson7.001944.752.71
Scott Gibson10.031728.501.70

  • Umpire :
    Panel
  • Scorer :