1st XI vs Kidmore End

Higginbottom's Heroic 75 Not Enough as Kidmore End Claim Victory at Gallowstree Common

Kidmore End claimed a home victory against Sonning in the Thames Valley Cricket League Division 2B on Saturday, despite a valiant 75 from Sonning captain Peter Higginbottom. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Kidmore End posted 170-8 from their 50 overs before dismissing the visitors for 139.

Batting first, Kidmore End's innings was anchored by Daniel Middleton's patient 37 from 68 balls, while captain Manpreet Singh provided early impetus with a quick-fire 32 from just 25 deliveries, including seven boundaries. Their most significant partnership came in the opening stages when Singh and Matt Bolton added 48 for the first wicket before Singh fell lbw to Zanoxolo Gift Kwatsha.

Sonning's bowling attack was led by Ella Phillips, who returned excellent figures of 3-21 from her ten overs, including the crucial wickets of Fahad Anwar, Middleton, and Shail Ram. Kwatsha also impressed with 2-31, while Peter Higginbottom and Mohammed Zahid claimed a wicket apiece, both conceding just 17 runs from their ten-over spells.

Chasing 171 for victory, Sonning's innings got off to a disastrous start as they lost Mannu Rawat, Mohammed Zahid, and William Hibberdine with just 13 runs on the board. Captain Higginbottom stood firm amid the collapse, constructing a determined innings that featured ten boundaries and one six.

The key partnership of the match came when Higginbottom was joined by Indeveer Sahota with the score at 41-5. Together they added 61 crucial runs for the sixth wicket, briefly raising Sonning's hopes of an unlikely victory. However, when Sahota was bowled by Matt Bolton for 16, Sonning's resistance began to crumble.

Bolton proved to be Kidmore End's unlikely bowling hero, taking 4-18 from 5.1 overs after switching from his opening batsman role. James Frost also made significant contributions with the ball, claiming 3-28, while Vipin Taliyan delivered the critical blow by dismissing Higginbottom for 75 when Sonning still needed 34 runs with two wickets in hand.

The result leaves Sonning with work to do in the early stages of the Division 2B campaign, though they can take heart from Higginbottom's performance with the bat and their disciplined bowling display that restricted Kidmore End to a modest total on their home ground.