Thames Valley round-up: Cookham Dean remain bottom after six-wicket defeat

Cookham captain Greg Davis

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Cookham Dean's poor start to the league season continued on Saturday as Henley 2nds chased them down for a six-wicket victory at Whyteladyies Lane on Saturday.

Greg Davis' side have struggled for form in the early weeks of the Thames Valley Division 1 season, losing all four of the matches they've played after rain washed out the hopes of play on the opening day.

Saturday's defeat leaves them bottom of the standings on 37 points, already 11 points adrift of Wokingham 2nds in second bottom. They're also the only side in the division that are yet to record a victory this season, something they'll be hoping to put right at Falkland on Saturday.

Batting first on home turf, they put up something of a fight at the crease, making 170 before being bowled out in the 42nd over, however, Davis will be disappointed his side failed to bat out their overs once again. Jake Lawson (27) and Dileepa Jayalath (27) top scored for the hosts, however, Connor Lamsdale chipped in with 3-51 for Henley to keep Dean to under 200 runs. In reply, Henley applied themselves well, reaching 171 for the loss of only four wickets in the 43rd over. Ben Purchese (52) stoked the innings with an impressive half-century while Nathan Hopkins finished with 40 not out and Charlie Hunt on 26. Matt Dempster took 2-33 in a losing cause for Cookham.

It proved to be a disappointing Saturday for all our local teams in TVL Division 1, with Stoke Green and Boyne Hill slipping down the table following defeats to Falkland and Eversley. Henley, Falkland and Eversley lead the way, each with three wins to their name so far, with Stoke Green and Boyne Hill sat sixth and seventh respectively after five match weekends.

Ziya Mohamed's Hill side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets at home to Eversley on Saturday. Having opted to bat after winning the toss, the hosts were dismissed for 170 in the 44th over. Salman Abbasi made 40 and Simon Carter 28 as the hosts began with confidence, however, Noah Vojinov (3-17) and Ben Salter (3-28) tore up their scorecard to leave them on an under par 170 given the conditions. The chase proved relatively comfortable for Eversley with Oli Parsons (57) and Salter (56no) driving the visitors to victory in 25.3 overs. Moteeb Syed took 1-31 for the hosts.

Stoke Green had hoped to build on their victory over Henley 2nds, but instead slipped up against Falkland as they struggled with the bat. Having limited Falkland to 197 all out in the 45th over, with Bobby Sher taking 4-20, Green could only manage 152 with the bat before being dismissed in the 36th over. Jamie Odell made 31 and Karanpreet Singh 45, but their efforts were undone by the bowling of Brandon Gilmour (4-31) and Elliot Seddon (4-41).

In Division 2A, Marlow suffered their first defeat of the season, losing by 96 runs at home to second placed Harefield 2nds.

Having won the toss and opted to bat, Harefield put on a magnificent 262-9 from their 50 overs, a target Marlow fell 96 runs short of. Will Shepherd led the way with 82 runs for Harefield and Oliver Stadler added a useful 47. Imran Nawaz took 3-37 for Marlow, but the hosts fell short with the bat, despite the best efforts of Jonathan Pears (41) and Phil Lines (49). Will Shepherd took 4-33 in a fine individual display.

Elsewhere, Wraysbury skipped above Marlow to third after beating Beaconsfield by 131 runs on Saturday. The hosts put on a magnificent 308-8 with Andy Prasad top scoring with 79. Fahim Baharami (3-9) and Mo Nawaz (3-61) then did well with the ball to restrict Beaconsfield to 177 all out.

Burnham are finding form in TVL Division 2B after beating Finchampstead 2nds by eight wickets for their third victory of the season.

The toss was won by Finch, but they managed only 160 before being dismissed in the 50th over. In response U Totuka smashed an unbeaten 92 as Burnham chased down their target for the loss of only two wickets in 30.2 overs. The win lifts them to second in the table behind leaders Reading.

Their fine start is in stark contrast to Sonning and Hurst, however, with the bottom two sides both losing again. Bottom club Hurst lost by 65 runs to Binfield while Slough 2nds got the better of Sonning by 84 runs. Chris Morgan smashed 116 for Binfield to lay down the gauntlet for Hurst, and while Lewis Smith (51) and Max Carroll (55) both scored well, they finished 65 runs short of Binfield's 243-6. Theo Penn took 5-42 for the hosts to stall Hurst's reply.

In Division 2B, Windsor picked up a vital second win of the campaign as they sneaked past Bagshot by five runs. Having won the toss, they managed 287-5 from their 45 overs, with Mark Lazaczuk smashing 133, with able assistance from Vishal Nair (54). In reply Mark Lines took 4-58 as Bagshot finished six runs short of victory. B Passfield made 56 and Heathcote was unbeaten on 49 not out, but the hosts couldn't quite get over the line as Windsor held on.

Royal Ascot remain bottom of the league without a win after losing by six wickets to Peppard Stoke Row. Having been put into bat, Ascot managed 240-7 from their 45 overs, with Kamran Zaki top scoring with 43, but Oli Sedgewick led the reply for Peppard with an unbeaten 78 as the hosts reached 241-4 in 35.4 overs.

Maidenhead & Bray slipped up for the first time this season as they lost by 103 runs to Datchet 2nds in TVL Division 3B. Having been set 290-9 by their hosts, with Tom Jones (80) in particularly fine form, Bray stuttered to 187 all out in the 39th over. Wayne Whitson top scored with 61 and Brett Van Niekerk made 31, but Anthony Moorthoti took 4-46 to back up his excellent 60 with the bat for an excellent all-round display.

Elsewhere in the division, Wooburn Narkovians lost by 129 runs against Gerrards Cross 2nds. Having been set 259 for victory, the hosts fell someway short in their run-chase. In Division 4B Farnham Royal beat Farnham Common by seven wickets after Common made just 85 with the bat.