3rd XI v Sulhamstead & Ufton 3rd XI

Sonning 3rd XI Bowled Out for 78 as Fernando's Fifty Seals Sulhamstead Victory

Sonning 3rd XI endured a chastening afternoon at Knowl Hill as Sulhamstead & Ufton chased down a meagre target of 79 with seven wickets in hand, wrapping up a comprehensive Division 7A victory in just 17.2 overs.

Having won the toss and inserted Sonning, Sulhamstead's bowlers justified their captain Ian Gibson's decision from the very first over. Robert Wardle struck immediately, bowling Harrison Lott for a duck with only three balls faced, leaving the home side reeling at 0-1. Hugo Popplewell counter-attacked briskly, striking 14 from 16 balls with two boundaries, but Wardle had him caught by Andrew Harris-Makinson to leave Sonning 17-2.

Aseem Shafi provided the only real resistance of the innings, anchoring the Sonning batting with a patient 25 from 50 deliveries. He found a willing partner in Daniel Edwards, and the pair steadied things somewhat, but Edwards fell to a sharp run out — Harris-Makinson again involved — for 7, ending a stand that had taken the score to 35. Shamitha Widanapathirana departed without scoring in the same Wardle over, caught behind by Grant Meadows, and Wardle finished with excellent figures of 3-25 from his nine overs.

When Shafi was eventually caught by Jason Doole off Gibson's bowling for 25, the innings was 56-5 and effectively done as a contest. Isa Pandor then ripped through the lower order with devastating economy, claiming 3-9 from four overs including two maidens. Sam Taylor and Nischal Tiwari both fell to Pandor catches, while Marthish Shivaramaiah chipped in with 2-13, dismissing Bikash Gurung lbw for 11 and bowling Syed Adnan to close out the innings. Asad Imam remained unbeaten on 9, but Sonning were dismissed for just 78 in 26.1 overs.

The reply began promisingly for Sonning's bowlers. Asad Imam, who had shown fight with the bat, produced a superb opening spell of 7-3-16-2. He had Haris Khan caught by wicketkeeper Daniel Edwards for a first-ball duck, reducing the visitors to 1-1, and later bowled the obdurate Jason Doole for 7 to make it 31-2.

However, Julian Fernando had other ideas entirely. The number three batsman played an innings of real authority, smashing an unbeaten 53 from just 45 balls, an effort laced with five fours and three sixes. He put on 30 with Doole for the second wicket and then another 30 with Harris-Makinson for the third, dominating both partnerships. Harris-Makinson contributed a useful 11 from 20 balls before falling lbw to Bikash Gurung, but by then the damage was done. Fernando continued to attack with impunity, and Grant Meadows struck a quick-fire boundary to see Sulhamstead home with the minimum of fuss.

Sonning captain Arun Kumar Pera will know his side were well below par with the bat on a surface that, as Fernando demonstrated emphatically, offered plenty for stroke-makers. The 3rd XI pick up two bonus bowling points but take nothing else from a match that got away from them inside the opening hour.