Won
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lj Brown | Not Out | 154 | ||||
| Duncan Parr | Out | 0 | ||||
| Richard Anderson | Out | 16 | ||||
| Scott Stevens | Out | 13 | ||||
| Richard Harris | Out | 91 | ||||
| James Ford | Not Out | 5 | ||||
| Adeel Razaq | DNB | |||||
| Jameel Ahamed | DNB | |||||
| Abbas Ghulam | DNB | |||||
| James Reilly | DNB | |||||
| Stephen Mankee | DNB | |||||
| Extras | ||||||
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lj Brown | 11.1 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 3.04 | |
| Duncan Parr | 2.0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Richard Anderson | 4.0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| Adeel Razaq | 5.0 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Jameel Ahamed | 7.0 | 0 | 51 | 1 | 7.29 | |
| Abbas Ghulam | 12.0 | 2 | 49 | 4 | 4.08 | |
| Extras | ||||||
| Fielder | Catches | Run Outs | Stumpings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lj Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| James Reilly | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Sonning greeted Maidenhead and Bray to their home ground which was looking in great condition, especially considering the very wet night and morning that had followed a prolonged dry spell. The home team were missing their skipper Gary Philips ( on Daddy duty!), talismanic batsman from the last decade Mark Richards, and the classy Ian Boyton but had a number of exciting new faces in the line up, especially new overseas player LJ Brown. Bray won the toss and elected to bowl, hoping that the moisture in the atmosphere may create early movement.
The Sonning openers, Duncan Parr and Brown, found things tough to start with against steady bowling, in trying conditions, and Parr was eventually out for a 17 ball duck. This brought club stalwart Richard Anderson to the wicket who used his classical technique and timing to help see off the new ball and create a platform for later batsmen. When he miscued one to be caught for 16, and after Scott Stevens was adjudged lbw soon after for 13 when looking in good nick, Sonning were in a bit of trouble at 65 for 3 after 25 overs. However this is where the game changed as Captain for the day JJ Harris joined Brown at the crease. With the wicket flattening out and the bowlers tiring , the pair started pummelling the ball to all parts in their different ways. Brown played beautifully straight until the ball was dropped even fractionally short when he pulled with great ferocity. Harris played in his more robust way, hitting the ball aerially especially straight down the ground. He was lucky to escape a couple of dropped catches, but the score progressed rapidly until Harris was eventually out for 91 having faced only 65 balls in an innings containing 3 sixes and 12 fours. The partnership realised 212 runs at nearly 12 an over. Soon after Harris declared at 293 for 4 after Brown passed the 150 mark to end up with 154 not out with 10 sixes and 13 fours from 147 balls. It was one of the finest innings seen at Sonning as he started cautiously, gradually building his scoring rate and eventually becoming brutal!
An upbeat Sonning took the field hoping to knock over a demoralised Bray side, and it started well as Sonning Legend Ghulam Abbas bowled one opener and Brown, bowling steady medium pace caught and bowled the number 3. At 22 for 2 off 10 overs, Bray were really struggling but some steady partnerships steadied their boat until number 6 Coyne came to the wicket. He dispatched pretty well whatever was bowled at him to the boundary with great power and timing. Jamil bowled ok after a poor first over, and Adeel Razaq also took a wicket but both were a bit expensive on the now very flat track. Richard Anderson bowled well and took a couple of important wickets, but with Coyne scoring at a serious rate, things were still in the balance until Abbas returned and uprooted his off stump. He then finished off the tail with the help of Brown and some excellent keeping from James Reilly who ended the game with a great stumping off Brown and Bray were all out for 212 giving Sonning an 81 run win.
This was a great start to the season against a club who until recently have been in a different stratosphere to Sonning. The batting was strong, the bowling tight and great enthusiasm was shown in the field. New overseas player Brown looks a class act, and a good bloke (for an Aussie!), and it looks like being a good season as long as this standard is maintained. A special mention must go the the outstanding work of our groundsman Stirk Pownall. The wicket looked good and played magnificently – one of the best I have seen in my years at Sonning! Even the losing captain marked it 6 out of 6 which is a great achievement for club stalwart Stirk.
JJ Harris
