Mcloughlin's Magnificent 83 Inspires First XI Chase as Sonning Salvage Pride from Difficult Weekend

Mcloughlin's Magnificent 83 Inspires First XI Chase as Sonning Salvage Pride from Difficult Weekend

It was a weekend of contrasting fortunes for Sonning Cricket Club, with the 1st XI delivering a superb run chase at King George's Field on Saturday to provide the headline result. Alex Mcloughlin's imperious 83 anchored a comfortable victory over Stoke Green, while the Sunday 1s also recorded a win against Calcot thanks to a fine all-round display. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs, however, all tasted defeat on the road, leaving Sonning with a two-from-four record across the weekend.

1st XI vs Stoke Green — Home — Division 1B — Won

Stoke Green won the toss and chose to bat at King George's Field, and their innings was built around a composed 56 from Danyaal Ishaq (57 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) and a steady 31 from captain Chirag Desai, who shared a crucial sixth-wicket stand of 54. Hamid Riaz contributed 24 before retiring not out, but Sonning's bowlers kept the scoring in check throughout. Damario Goodman was outstanding with the ball, his 15 overs yielding just 23 runs with seven maidens and a wicket — a genuinely miserly spell. Mohammed Zahid claimed 3-53 from 11 overs, while Shenul Widanapathirana's tidy 6-1-15-1 kept pressure on in the middle overs. Stoke Green closed on 201-8 from their 52 overs.

The chase belonged to Alex Mcloughlin, who strode to the crease after Peter Higginbottom fell cheaply and proceeded to play an innings of real authority. Mcloughlin's 83 came from 103 balls and featured 14 fours and a six, setting the tempo throughout. He found an excellent partner in Mohammed Zahid, the pair constructing a match-defining second-wicket partnership of 121 that broke the back of the target. Zahid's 53 from 67 balls, laced with nine boundaries, was a classy knock in its own right, and when both fell the game was already won in all but name.

Muhammad Ayub came in and struck a rapid, unbeaten 24 from just 23 balls, including four fours and a six, to guide Sonning home with plenty to spare. Sid Anilkumar added a calm 12 not out as the 1st XI reached 204-3 in 36.3 overs — a commanding seven-wicket victory that demonstrated real batting depth.

2nd XI vs Bracknell — Away — Division 4B — Lost

Captain Dan Anderson won the toss and elected to bat at Bracknell Cricket Club, but the 2nd XI found runs hard to come by against a disciplined home attack. Meet Bhanvadia was the principal tormentor, his 15 overs of control returning outstanding figures of 5-30 with six maidens, while Bellal Aziz chipped in with 2-5 from 2.1 overs to mop up the tail.

Duncan Parr top-scored with a patient 41 from 76 balls, striking seven fours in an innings that provided the backbone of the Sonning effort. He shared an important opening stand of 64 with Jacob Fitton, who made a useful 23 before being run out. Max Murphy (22 off 28, four fours) and Kavya Panchal (19 off 34) added valuable contributions in the middle order, but regular wickets prevented any sustained momentum and Sonning were bowled out for 153 in 46.1 overs.

In reply, Bracknell slipped to 6-3 as Jack Durrant struck twice and Jack Wolfenden claimed a wicket to give Sonning real hope. However, Nisarg Patel seized the initiative with a blistering 52 from 43 balls, smashing six fours and three sixes, and his fifth-wicket partnership of 69 with Aryan Sethi (36 off 38) turned the match decisively. Akmal Sultan's unbeaten 24 then saw Bracknell home at 154-6 in 31.2 overs, inflicting a frustrating defeat on the visitors.

3rd XI vs Fleet — Away — Division 7A — Lost

Fleet won the toss and batted first at Calthorpe Park, and the 3rd XI endured a tough afternoon in the field. Swaroop Panigrahi anchored the Fleet innings with a fine 73 from 88 balls, hitting ten fours and two sixes, while Ben Steel contributed 48 from 63 deliveries. The pair added 77 for the third wicket after Panigrahi and Josh Otter had already put on 76 for the second. Fleet's lower order accelerated freely in the closing stages, and they posted a formidable 276-9 from their 45 overs.

Ethan Towner was the pick of the Sonning bowlers with 4-48 from his six overs, including key scalps in the middle and lower order. Tom Wolfenden took 2-33 from seven tidy overs, while Wasim Amin's nine overs of steady medium pace yielded 1-32.

Chasing 277, the 3rd XI made a promising start through an opening partnership of 52 between George Rothermel (24 off 26, five fours) and Rahul Sood (21 off 39). However, once that stand was broken, wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Akash Vasa made 16 and Christopher Dowse added 10, but Fleet's varied attack — led by Dhvanil Karia (3-38) and captain Dan Heath (3-10 from four overs) — proved too strong. Sonning were bowled out for 112 in 27.3 overs, losing by 164 runs.

4th XI vs Wokingham — Away — Division 9C — Lost

The 4th XI endured their most difficult afternoon of the season at Reddam House, bowled out for just 49 in 18.4 overs after Wokingham won the toss and inserted them. Luke Buchel did the damage with extraordinary figures of 4-5 from five overs with a maiden, while Adithya Balasubramanian (2-9) and Chris Hudson (2-18) provided excellent support. No Sonning batsman could gain a foothold, with Matthew Dawes's 9 from nine balls the top score and captain Arun Raghavendra contributing 8.

The target of 50 was never likely to trouble Wokingham, and so it proved. Jason Stotesbury raced to 30 from just 20 balls, cracking six fours, before Shahbaz Ali bowled him to claim Sonning's only wicket. It was scant consolation as Wokingham cruised to 50-1 in 7.3 overs for a comprehensive nine-wicket victory.

Sunday 1s vs Calcot — Home — Friendly — Won

Sunday brought welcome relief at King George's Field as the Sunday 1s recorded a convincing win over Calcot in a friendly encounter. Bowling first after Calcot won the toss, Sonning produced an excellent collective display in the field. Robert Jones was the standout performer with 3-25 from eight overs, while captain Arun Raghavendra matched him with 3-21 from seven overs, the pair's combined spell of sustained accuracy strangling the Calcot innings. Kishan Akula chipped in with 1-27, and Elliot Gray struck twice in his brief 1.5-over spell to wrap things up as Calcot were bowled out for 127 in 27.5 overs. Ashish Mehrotra's 29 and Sai Pawan Ananthapuram's 22 were the only significant contributions for the visitors.

In reply, Sonning lost Kanishka Suriarachchi early, but Neil Jasti played fluently for 26 before falling caught. The key innings belonged to Peeush Bajpai, who struck a superb 46 from 60 balls with ten fours — a controlled yet attacking display that put Sonning firmly in command. He shared a third-wicket partnership of 42 with Bharat Rathod (14) that steadied the chase after a brief wobble. When Bajpai fell lbw, Robert Jones arrived to finish the job with an unbeaten 18 from just 16 balls, including four boundaries, as Sonning reached 128-4 in 29.4 overs to complete a comfortable six-wicket win.

With two victories from four completed matches, Sonning will look to build on the 1st XI's excellent form and carry the momentum from Sunday's win into next weekend's fixtures.