4th XI v Yateley 2nd XI

Astwood Returns With 155 Not Out As Sonning 4ths Post 322 And Win By 200 Runs

Charles Astwood chose the most emphatic way imaginable to mark his first appearance of the season, an unbeaten 155 from 126 balls that carried Sonning's 4th XI to 322 for 4 and set up a 200 run victory over Yateley at Yateley Manor School.

Yateley won the toss and elected to field, and for a while the decision looked reasonable enough. Alastair Driver was given out lbw for 4 with the opening stand worth 23, and although Dhiren Panchal struck six fours in a brisk 26 from 29 balls, his departure at 81 for 2 and the loss of Bharat Rathod shortly afterwards left the innings needing a firm hand.

What followed was the defining passage of the day. Astwood, on 152 at the end of it, and captain Arun Raghavendra put on 208 for the fourth wicket, taking the score from 98 to 306 and leaving the home total beyond reach. Raghavendra's 86 from 71 balls contained 17 fours and came at a strike rate of 121, with a boundary every 4.2 balls, and it was very nearly the equal of his partner's for sheer momentum.

Astwood's innings was built almost entirely in boundaries: 29 fours and a six accounted for 122 of his 155 runs, 79 per cent of his total, and he too found the rope once every 4.2 balls. It is his highest ever score for the club, beating a previous best of 108, and the second century of his Sonning career, arriving in his 126th appearance for the club. He might not have got there at all, having been given out lbw to a ball that came off the middle of the bat, only for the Yateley fielders to reverse their appeal in a fine piece of sportsmanship.

Raghavendra's contribution was another career milestone, a highest ever score for the club that beats his previous best of 58 and his second fifty for Sonning, taking his season tally to 323 runs. Rish Bajpai finished unbeaten on 7 as Sonning closed on 322 for 4 at 8.05 an over, with 55 boundaries in the innings and 41 extras added to the pile. Stuart Harris was the pick of the Yateley attack, conceding just 39 from his eight overs, while Sathya Potharla took 2 for 75 and bowled the innings' only maiden.

The reply never quite got going, with Sonning's bowlers offering nothing loose. Neel Kumar was outstanding, eight overs for 15 runs and 2 wickets with three maidens among them, while Rish Bajpai returned 2 for 17 from 6.2 overs at under three an over. Yateley were 2 for 1 early and needed Tyler Fagan's 19 and a fifth wicket stand of 35 between Srikanth Chowdary and Bertie Henstock to steady things.

Chowdary made 25 from 27 balls with four fours and a six, and Jez Daines added 21 from 28, sharing 24 for the seventh wicket with Harris to lift the score to 105 for 6. From there Sonning's bowlers finished the job quickly, four wickets falling for 17 runs as Yateley were bowled out for 122 in 29.2 overs. Siddharth Kumar took 3 for 22 from his five overs, equalling his best haul for the club and lifting him to 10 wickets for the season, with Pranoy Ramankandath claiming 2 for 21.

It was a complete performance: 16 boundaries conceded across the Yateley innings, a run rate held to 4.16, and contributions from six different bowlers, with Raghavendra himself sending down two overs for five runs. On a day when two Sonning batters recorded career bests, the bowling and fielding effort that followed made sure the runs counted for everything they were worth.