U13 Sabres v Crowthorne & Crown Wood Under 13 Cobras

Sabres Hold Nerve to Chase Down 124 in Tight League Encounter

Sonning U13 Sabres secured a seven-wicket victory over Crowthorne & Crown Wood at Knowl Hill, chasing down a target of 124 with an over to spare in this BYCL Under 13 Challenge fixture on 17 June.

Crowthorne & Crown Wood won the toss and elected to bat, but found themselves in immediate difficulty against a disciplined Sonning attack. Elias Haidari struck in his opening spell, having Jacob Vale caught by Daniel Moseley for 8, before captain Finn Reid bowled Joshua Lansley for just 1. Fawaz Attiq then removed Owen Storrie to leave the visitors reeling at 19 for 3, and when Charlie Koslicki took a caught-and-bowled to dismiss Henry Law for a duck, the scoreboard read a perilous 19 for 4.

Crowthorne's middle order threatened a recovery through captain Anser Ahmad, who struck four boundaries in an aggressive 22 off 17 balls. Ahmad and Zach Darby combined for a partnership of 31 for the seventh wicket, lifting the score from 40 to 71 and giving their innings much-needed momentum. Darby contributed 10 before both batters fell lbw — Ahmad trapped by Oliver Barker and Darby by Attiq, who finished with excellent figures of 2-11 from his two overs.

Daniel Moseley proved equally effective with the ball, claiming 2-9 from his two overs, including the wickets of Olivia Amor and Beau Elrick. A late cameo from George Johnson, who hit 14 off 15 balls at number eleven, and an unbeaten 33-run last-wicket stand with Edward Bradley pushed the total to 123 all out in 19.1 overs. The Sonning bowlers shared the wickets impressively across nine bowlers, though 48 extras — including 28 wides — inflated the opposition total considerably.

The Sabres' reply began shakily when Finley Andrews was caught for a duck in the first over off Henry Law, bringing Oliver Barker to the crease at 0 for 1. Barker responded positively, striking three fours in an innings of 17 off 21 balls, and together with Reid put on 34 for the second wicket to stabilise the chase. Beau Elrick then struck twice in quick succession, bowling Barker and Charlie Koslicki for a duck to leave Sonning wobbling at 34 for 3.

Reid anchored the middle overs with a composed 14 off 30 balls before retiring not out, and it was Nicholas Jones and Daniel Moseley who guided Sonning home. Jones batted with patience and purpose for an unbeaten 19 off 28 deliveries, while Moseley was the top scorer of the innings with 23 off 30 balls, including two boundaries, before also retiring not out. Their assured partnership ensured there were no further alarms as the target was overhauled.

Crowthorne's bowling, while producing three wickets, was undermined by a staggering 51 extras in the Sonning innings — 40 of them wides — with George Johnson's two overs alone conceding 16 wides and two no-balls. The Sabres ultimately reached 124 for 3 in 19 overs, closing out a professional run chase built on contributions across the batting order and a bowling effort in which all nine Sonning bowlers used took at least one wicket between them.