Sunday As v Littlewick Green Sunday 1st XI

Sharma's Defiant Half-Century Not Enough as Sunday As Fall Short at Littlewick Green

Sonning Sunday As suffered a 45-run defeat in their friendly fixture at Littlewick Green on 10th August, falling to 194 for 8 in reply to the hosts' imposing 239 for 7 from their 35 overs.

Littlewick Green, having won the toss and elected to bat, lost opener Louis Russell cheaply for 9, bowled by Henry Cook. Ben Duxbury then anchored the innings with a commanding 57 from 57 balls, striking ten fours as he forged a crucial 76-run partnership with captain Max Williams for the fourth wicket. That stand took the hosts from a precarious 51 for 3 to 127 for 4 and laid the platform for what followed.

Moksha Suriarachchi had earlier provided Sonning with a breakthrough when he had Rudy Redshaw caught for 24 before bowling Nanda Devaiah for just 1 in his next over, reducing Littlewick Green to 51 for 3. Robert Jones then removed both Duxbury and Williams, finishing with excellent figures of 2 for 28 from his seven overs, including a maiden.

The hosts' middle and lower order, however, proved destructive. Woody Redshaw blazed 37 from just 22 balls, hammering six fours and a six before Aahaan Sharma trapped him lbw. Zack Sullivan then struck 38 from 32 deliveries in a quickfire seventh-wicket stand of 51 with Devansh Mehrotra, who remained unbeaten on 12. Sullivan was eventually stumped by Neil Jasti off the bowling of Sunit Bansode, but the damage was done as 33 extras further boosted the total.

Sonning's reply began brightly. Captain Richard Skeil attacked from the outset, racing to 32 from 26 balls with seven fours, and put on 58 for the first wicket with Muammad Zain Shahid. Skeil was run out by Ben Duxbury, but Shahid continued to bat fluently, and Robert Jones contributed 19 as the pair added 38 for the second wicket, taking the score to 96 before Jones was also run out.

At 104 for 3, Shahid fell for a composed 49, caught by Zack Sullivan off the bowling of Ketan Patel, having struck nine fours in a fine knock. His dismissal, followed swiftly by a cluster of wickets — Sunit Bansode run out for 9 and Suriarachchi caught by Duxbury off Ketan Patel for 1 — left Sonning reeling at 130 for 6 and in need of a rescue act.

Aahaan Sharma provided exactly that, playing the innings of the day with a superb 55 from 49 balls, laced with eight fours. He added a vital 41 for the seventh wicket with Neil Jasti, who contributed a useful 10 before falling lbw to Pranshu Patel. Joseph Dowse chipped in with an unbeaten 8 as he and Sharma put on 22 for the eighth wicket, but Sharma's run out — again at the hands of Duxbury — for 55 with the score on 193 effectively ended Sonning's hopes. Captain Max Williams was particularly miserly with the ball, returning figures of 1 for 7 from five overs with three maidens, while Ketan Patel's 2 for 18 proved decisive for the hosts.

Despite Sharma's outstanding effort and a spirited opening from Skeil and Shahid, four run outs in the innings proved costly as the Sunday As ultimately fell 45 runs short of their target.