4th XI v Aldershot 5th XI

Ali Parkes' Unbeaten 143 Powers Sonning 4th XI to Commanding Win over Aldershot

Ali Parkes produced one of the innings of the season, an unbeaten 143 laced with 25 boundaries, as Sonning 4th XI piled up 303 for 5 and then dismissed Aldershot 5th XI for 190 at Yateley Manor School to complete a 113-run victory in Division 9C.

Aldershot captain Purnachandra Rao Jagarlamudi won the toss and inserted the hosts, a decision that looked justified inside the opening overs when Kanishka Suriarachchi was caught off Andrew Shurlock's bowling for a 11-ball duck, the wicketkeeper's own catch leaving Sonning 4 for 1. Parkes, however, had other ideas. Joined by Peeush Bajpai, he began to work the gaps and then to punish anything short, the pair adding 77 for the second wicket before Bajpai was bowled by Eugene Schrikker for a brisk 26 from 31 balls.

Parkes simply changed gear. He and captain Arun Raghavendra put on 44 for the third wicket before Raghavendra, having made a steady 15, was caught by Stanley Longbottom off Harry Badland. Rishabh Singh then provided the ideal foil, striking two sixes in a 17-ball 21 as another 54 runs came, and by the time Singh was caught behind by Jon Ford off Jagarlamudi, Parkes was into the nineties and Sonning were 179 for 4.

Jagarlamudi struck again almost immediately, Mark Padwick holding on to remove Rish Bajpai for 1, but the final ten overs belonged entirely to the home side. Shahbaz Ali, promoted to number seven, launched into the Aldershot attack with astonishing freedom, reaching an unbeaten 56 from just 30 balls with seven fours and two sixes. At the other end Parkes moved through his century without ever slowing, finishing 143 not out from 130 deliveries as the pair took the total past 300. Shurlock was the pick of the Aldershot bowlers with 1 for 20 from his six overs, but Abik Gurung conceded 55 and Padwick 47 from three as the innings accelerated. Forty-one extras did little to help the visiting cause.

Chasing 304, Aldershot needed a fast start and did not get one. Arthur Parkes trapped Longbottom lbw for 6 with the opener having consumed 20 balls, and although Jon Ford counter-attacked with real purpose, Rish Bajpai bowled Megan Irwin to leave the visitors 40 for 2.

Ford and Jagarlamudi then produced the innings' most substantial resistance, adding 74 for the third wicket and briefly threatening to make a contest of it. Aahaan Sharma broke the stand, having Jagarlamudi caught for 20, and the young seamer proved the decisive figure. Sharma also accounted for Ford, bowling him for a fine 52 from 56 balls, and then removed Shurlock first ball as three wickets tumbled at 124 — Harry Badland having been run out by Sharma in between.

From 124 for 6 the innings unravelled. Raghavendra bowled William Barclay, Siddharth Kumar accounted for both Schrikker and Gurung, and Shahbaz Ali capped an outstanding all-round afternoon by bowling Padwick to end the innings on 190 in the 32nd over. Only Azaan Ali offered late defiance, carrying his bat for exactly 50 from 47 balls with nine fours and a six, including a 25-run last-wicket stand that at least gave the scoreboard some respectability.

Sharma's 3 for 33 from six overs led the Sonning attack, supported by Siddharth Kumar's 2 for 22 and economical spells from Raghavendra (1 for 21) and Shahbaz Ali (3-1-12-1). The 22 points earned represented a thoroughly professional performance built on a batting display that few in Division 9C will match this season.