Senior Roundup: A Frustrating Weekend for Sonning

Senior Roundup: A Frustrating Weekend for Sonning

It was a weekend to forget for Sonning Cricket Club, with both Saturday league fixtures falling victim to cancellations and the Sunday 1s suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of The Luddites. With no points gained across the board, the club will be eager to bounce back when action resumes next week.

2nd XI vs Bracknell (Home) — Cancelled

Sonning's 2nd XI were due to host Bracknell United at King George's Field in their Division 4B fixture, but the match was cancelled. A frustrating outcome for the side, who will hope to get back on the park sooner rather than later.

3rd XI vs Fleet (Home) — Cancelled

It was a similar story for the 3rd XI, whose Division 7A clash against Fleet at Knowl Hill was also called off. Two Saturday cancellations in one weekend is far from ideal as the season reaches its midpoint, and the side will be keen to make up for lost time.

Sunday 1s vs The Luddites (Home) — Lost by 155 runs

The Sunday 1s welcomed The Luddites from Bristol to King George's Field, and after captain Richard Skeil won the toss and chose to field, his side were made to pay dearly. Jimmy Wood produced a magnificent century for the visitors, striking an unbeaten 101 from 106 balls laced with 18 fours before retiring. He was well supported by David Maunder (35 off 51), the pair putting on a commanding 142-run stand for the second wicket that formed the backbone of The Luddites' imposing total of 230 for 7 from their 35 overs.

Robert Jones was the pick of the Sonning bowlers, returning tidy figures of 2-22 from seven overs including three maidens. Moksha Suriarachchi chipped in with 2-35 from five overs, while Elliot Gray claimed 1-18. Young Aahaan Sharma bowled a miserly spell of 0-5 from three overs with two maidens, but the damage had already been done during Wood's imperious innings.

In reply, Sonning never got going. Kishan Akula fell for a duck in the second over before Skeil (16 off 21, three fours) and Jones (22 off 26, three fours) steadied things with a 30-run partnership for the second wicket — the only notable stand of the innings. Once both fell, wickets tumbled regularly against the accurate Luddites attack, with Rupert W (3-23) and Manish Sharma (3-11) sharing six wickets between them. Daniel Bailey offered some late resistance with 11 off 30 balls, while Qasim Anwar finished unbeaten on 4, but Sonning were bowled out for just 75 in 22.3 overs — well short of the target.

It was a chastening afternoon, though Jones could take heart from a solid all-round contribution with both bat and ball, and Sharma's economical spell with the new ball showed promise for the future.

Sonning will look to put this difficult weekend firmly behind them and return to winning ways when the fixtures resume next Saturday.