Sunday 1s v Odney Friendly XI

Sonning Sunday 1s Fall Short as Odney Post Commanding Total at Cookham

Odney captain Kelvin Baillie won the toss and chose to bat on a pleasant afternoon at the Odney Club in Cookham, and his side made full use of the decision, posting an imposing 251 for 3 from their 40 overs against Sonning's Sunday 1s in this early-season friendly.

Baillie led from the front with a commanding 69, striking nine fours and two sixes as he and wicketkeeper Jon Wilkinson put on 127 for the opening stand. Wilkinson contributed a fluent 36, laced with five boundaries, before he was caught by Sonning skipper Richard Skeil off the bowling of Arun Raghavendra. The same bowler then accounted for Baillie, again caught by Skeil, to leave Odney 166 for 2.

Vedant Bhatnagar ensured there was no let-up, compiling 57 with ten fours before James Charlton-Perez had him caught by Skeil — who took two fine catches in the innings — at 247 for 3. Alistair Wood finished unbeaten on 42, an innings punctuated by three sixes and three fours, as the hosts piled on the runs in the closing overs. A hefty extras tally of 49, including 18 byes and 15 wides, further swelled the total. Raghavendra was the pick of the Sonning attack with 2 for 23 from his five overs, while Ethan Towner was economical with 0 for 25 from seven.

Chasing 252, Sonning were immediately in difficulty. Skeil fell for 7 with the score on 17, caught by Graham Swales off Amit John, and Rahul Sood was bowled by Amit Bhatnagar for just 1 to make it 18 for 2. Neil Jasti steadied the ship, but wickets continued to tumble around him as Shamitha Widanapathirana departed for 21 at 53 for 3.

Jasti and Saranjeet Singh rebuilt with the most productive partnership of the Sonning innings, adding 45 for the fourth wicket. Singh struck 30 before he was caught by Amit John off Rahul Mohindru at 98 for 4. Jasti battled on gamely to top-score with 41, anchoring the middle order before he was caught by Amit John off Swales.

The lower order offered brief resistance. Asad Imam made a useful 19 and Raghavendra chipped in with 16, but Aseem Shafi proved devastating late on, claiming 3 for 6 from 3.3 overs — including a maiden — to rip through the tail. Mohindru finished with 2 for 28 from six overs and Amit Bhatnagar took 2 for 30 from eight, as Sonning were bowled out for 157 in 34.3 overs, losing by 94 runs.

It was a comprehensive victory for the hosts, built on the platform of their top-order batting. For Sonning, Jasti's 41 was the lone highlight with the bat, while Raghavendra's tidy spell with the ball offered some encouragement as the Sunday 1s look to regroup ahead of their next fixture.