PEPPARD Stoke Row gave their Berkshire, Mid Bucks and Chilterns League Championship Division survival hopes a major boost with a stunning 139-run destruction of previously unbeaten leaders Harpsden, writes Richard Ashton.
Things started terribly for PSR as Andy Watts was bowled for a duck by Tom Hancock, but they rallied well with Jason Vaughan-Davies and Jamie Sharrock.
In his last game before moving away, Sharrock made a magnificent 95, and with Dan Hayden (45) also chipping in, PSR ended their 46 overs on 241-7, Hancock (3-65) and Abdul Khaliq (2-40) the stand-out bowlers.
In reply, Sam Fooks trapped Adam Birkett lbw first ball, and with Peter Lamsdale (2-26) accounting for Duncan Verry and Australian Blake Hogan-Keogh, Harspden were in trouble.
No batsman really got going for the leaders, and with spinners Dion Sampson (4-36) and Connor Lamsdale (2-8) bowling with excellent control, they were eventually dismissed for 102.
Second-placed Holmer Green were also stunned by basement side Penn & Tylers Green, the hosts snatching a one-wicket win in a low-scoring affair.
After crashing to 9-4, Prasantha Weerakoon (41) got Holmer Green to 108, Raunak Biswas (4-24), Charlie Beard (2-24), Toby Radford (2-28) and Matt Lance (2-30) taking the bowling honours.
The Penn reply was an edgy affair as Rommel Foster (7-44) and Weerakoon (2-15) put the pressure on, but the hosts eventually reached 109-9 in 28.5 overs.
Hafeez Ul-Wahab (4-17), Atiq Javed (3-47) and Omer Khalid (2-43) were all in form with the ball as West Reading (196-5) beat Ley Hill (192) by five wickets, Akeel Khan making an unbeaten 53 in the run chase.
A magnificent 114 from Ruislip Victoria captain Kashif Maan proved in vain as his side lost by three wickets at home to Braywood.
The Victorians posted a competitive 220-8 despite useful spells from Kamran Hafeez (2-39), Attiq Uddin (2-40) and Faisal Malik (2-55), but useful knocks from Malik (63) and Syed Kazmi (52) helped Braywood reach 221-7 in 33.3 overs.
Ilija Krunic (4-53) and Zafran Akhtar (2-40) were the pick of the Ruislip attack.
Resurgent Ballinger Waggoners dominated their draw with third-placed Checkendon.
Freddie Thompson struck a masterful 139, and with Stuart Clark adding 43, the hosts posted an impressive 291-6, despite the best efforts of Amol Tyagi (2-55) and Raj Tiwari (2-62).
Openers Manpreet Singh (70) and Jim Warren (78) gave Checks a solid base, but they fell away against the bowling of Tom Petrie (3-36) and skipper Ian Maciver (3-36) and only just survived on 229-9.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here