Sunday As v Hartley Wintney Sunday 2nd XI

Sunday As Fall Short as Hartley Wintney Chase Down 162 in Tense Friendly

Sonning Sunday As travelled to The Lucy Pygott Centre on 13 July for a friendly fixture against Hartley Wintney and, having won the toss and elected to bat, posted 161 all out from 29 overs. The hosts, however, proved equal to the task, reaching 164 for 9 with just over five overs to spare.

Captain Richard Skiel was the standout performer with the bat for Sonning, striking a blistering 32 from just 19 deliveries, an innings laced with six fours and a six. Skiel's arrival at the crease with the score on 74 for 3 transformed the tempo of the innings, and he shared a crucial 52-run partnership with Raoul Harding for the fourth wicket that took Sonning past the 120 mark and gave them a platform to build on.

Earlier, opener Dhruv Peshkar had given the visitors a solid start, making 26 off 26 balls with four boundaries before being caught by Ollie Steer off the bowling of Alfie McCormick. After Daniel Longridge fell for 8, Peshkar and Robert Jones combined for a productive second-wicket stand of 46. Jones contributed 23, hitting five fours in a fluent knock before Steer had him caught by Boris McCormick. Harding followed with a patient 23 off 37 balls, providing the anchor while Skiel attacked at the other end.

The innings unravelled sharply after Skiel was bowled by Harry Bown, with Sonning collapsing from 126 for 4 to 161 all out. Pravesh Barapatre was the chief destroyer in the lower order, claiming 3 for 8 from his three overs, including the wickets of Moksha Suriarachchi, Neil Jasti, and Neel Kumar. Bown finished with 2 for 11 from four tidy overs, while Jacob Hurley also took 2 for 23. The 34 extras conceded by Hartley Wintney, including 20 byes and 14 wides, proved a significant bonus for Sonning's total.

Hartley Wintney's reply began emphatically. Steer and Hurley put on 53 for the opening wicket, with Hurley particularly aggressive in making 33 off 28 balls, striking four fours and a six. Steer contributed 22 before being bowled by Neil Jasti, and when Hurley fell to a catch by Robert Jones off his own bowling, the hosts were well placed at 92 for 2.

Robert Jones was Sonning's most effective bowler, returning excellent figures of 3 for 21 from his five overs, including a maiden. He removed Hurley, Naqi Sadiq, and captain Jon Puddifant in quick succession, the latter trapped lbw for a duck, to spark a dramatic middle-order collapse that saw Hartley Wintney slide from 92 for 2 to 100 for 6. Dhruv Peshkar chipped in with 2 for 38, including the key wicket of Barapatre for 22 and Alfie McCormick for a first-ball duck, while James Charlton-Perez and Neel Kumar took a wicket apiece.

For a period, Sonning scented an unlikely victory, but Isaac Hedge's counter-attacking 19 off 14 balls steadied the ship before he was caught by Jasti off Kumar's bowling. With the score at 134 for 9 following Harry Bown's run out, the game appeared to be heading for a remarkable Sonning comeback. However, Evan Stickland and Malik Abbas had other ideas, combining in an unbroken tenth-wicket partnership to guide Hartley Wintney home. Stickland finished unbeaten on 14, while Abbas struck 15 not out, including a six, as the pair knocked off the remaining 30 runs to seal victory for the hosts.