3rd XI v Wokingham 6th XI

Kennealy's Five Turns the Screw as Sonning Fall Just Short at Home

James Kennealy produced the outstanding individual performance of the afternoon, a five-wicket haul that repeatedly dragged Sonning back into contention, but Wokingham's sixth XI held their nerve to reach 189 for nine and win a Division 9A tie that stayed alive until the final over.

Put in after Wokingham won the toss and chose to field, Sonning were quickly one down but soon settled through William Hibberdine, whose watchful 27 anchored the first hour. He added 36 with Shamitha Widanapathirana, who struck the innings' first six before departing, then a further 35 alongside Dave Rintoul to take the score to 71 for two and give the innings its shape.

The middle order then found the going harder on a day when Shiv Muniyappa and Atul Pawar bowled tidy, disciplined spells, and four wickets fell for 30 runs to leave the home side 101 for six. Kennealy's response was to take the attack on, three sixes among his 25, and Matthew Calhoum played with similar intent before Mark Lilley began to rebuild in the company of the lower order.

Lilley's unbeaten 27, his best return of the summer so far, was the innings that steadied everything, and it was given real momentum in the closing stages by Charles Astwood. Coming in at number nine, Astwood raced to 31 not out from 19 balls with five fours and a six, and the pair's stand lifted Sonning to 186 for seven from their 40 overs, a total that looked thoroughly competitive given the way the middle of the innings had gone.

Shahid Imtiaz and Rintoul opened up with real control, and inside the first ten overs Wokingham had lost three wickets for very few. Imtiaz went through his full ten overs for 39 without reward, while Rintoul, who finished with three for 42 from his allocation, kept a lid on the scoring at the other end.

The visitors were rescued by a fine fourth-wicket partnership of 73 between Arnav Kulkarni and Gregor O'Keefe. Kulkarni's 46 was the highest score of the match, brisk and full of well-timed drives, and O'Keefe made 28 before Rintoul broke through. Kennealy then began to work his way through the order, and when Patrick Coyne and Andrew McGrenaghan put on 45 for the seventh wicket, both making 33, it was Kennealy again who intervened.

Wickets kept falling to him, five in all from eight overs, a haul that equals his best for the club and the third time he has taken five in Sonning colours. With nine down, Wokingham still needed a handful of runs, and Dilip Maringanti's late 12 not out saw them home with one wicket in hand and 1.5 overs unused, Arun Kumar Pera having claimed the ninth to keep Sonning in the hunt to the last.

Three runs and one wicket separated the sides at the close, and Sonning will take plenty from an afternoon in which Kennealy shone with ball and bat, Rintoul bowled his full quota with real control and the lower order added 58 valuable runs when the innings needed them most.