U13 Sabres v Sandhurst Sandhurst CC U13 Strikers

Sabres Post 214 in Commanding Victory Over Sandhurst

Sonning U13 Sabres produced a devastating batting display to amass 214 for 3 from their 20 overs before bowling Sandhurst out for 116 at Knowl Hill on Tuesday evening, securing a comprehensive 98-run victory in the BYCL Under 13 Challenge (Tier 2) East.

Captain Henry Bright won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that was emphatically vindicated as the Sabres' top order took the Sandhurst attack apart from the outset. Saurav Sivaram set the tone at the top of the order, striking six fours in a fluent 32 from 27 balls before retiring not out. His opening stand of 30 with Charlie Bright gave the innings early momentum, and although Bright fell for 9 — caught by Rohan Nayeb off the bowling of Abdur Khan — the platform had been laid.

Finley Andrews continued the onslaught at number three, racing to 30 from just 16 deliveries with six boundaries before also retiring. Frederick Parkes maintained the tempo with an attacking 26 off 18 balls, including four fours, before being trapped lbw by Alex McLean. That dismissal brought the score to 134 for 2, but Charlie Koslicki ensured there was no let-up, smashing five fours and a six in his rapid 30 off 15 balls before retiring. The second-wicket partnership between Parkes and Koslicki was worth a match-defining 104 runs.

The late order continued to plunder runs with relish. Jamie Dollinger was particularly destructive, crashing four fours and a six in an unbeaten 27 from 14 balls, while Tejus Maddi added a brisk 12 not out from eight deliveries. Their unbroken stand, combined with a 50-run third-wicket partnership, pushed the total well beyond 200. Sandhurst used ten bowlers, but none could stem the tide — Owen Hancock's two overs cost 30 runs, and Jack Phillips conceded 20 from his solitary over.

Facing a daunting target of 215, Sandhurst's reply got off to the worst possible start when Abdur Khan was bowled for a duck by Santhosh Murugaraj, who delivered an outstanding opening spell of 2-1-1-1 including a maiden. Rohan Nayeb showed resilience at the top of the order, accumulating 16 from 30 balls before retiring not out, but he found precious little support at the other end as Frederick Parkes removed Ben Oliver for 6 to leave Sandhurst 20 for 2.

Hamza Umer provided the visitors' most threatening innings, striking four boundaries in an aggressive 21 off 18 balls. His partnership of 60 with Jack Phillips for the third wicket briefly gave Sandhurst hope, taking them to 80 before Umer was caught by Jamie Dollinger off the bowling of Charlie Koslicki. From there, the innings unravelled rapidly. Koslicki struck again to dismiss Phillips for 5, and Tejus Maddi bowled Finley Bateman in a miserly spell of 2-1-3-1. Finley Andrews then delivered the killer blows, cleaning up Alex McLean and Shaan Boparai in quick succession as Sandhurst slumped from 85 for 4 to 99 for 7.

Leo Farrant offered some late resistance with an unbeaten 13, and Alfie Killick added a brief 6 before Saurav Sivaram had him bowled to claim the eighth wicket. All ten Sonning bowlers were used, with wickets shared around — Koslicki and Andrews each took two, while Murugaraj, Parkes, Maddi, and Sivaram claimed one apiece. It was a thoroughly dominant all-round performance from the Sabres, whose ruthless batting and disciplined bowling proved far too much for the Sandhurst attack and batting line-up alike.