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Moving into pole position
Reading moved to the top of the Home Counties Premier League’s Division 2 West following their three-wicket win at Beaconsfield on Saturday.
Dave Barr’s men leapfrogged Thame, who were beaten at home by Finchampstead, and they can boost their title hopes even further next Saturday when their title rivals visit Sonning Lane.
“Obviously, it’s good to be top of table and hopefully we can stay there, but there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us,” said Barr, whose side were winning their fourth game in the last five. “This was another good team effort.
“All four of our bowlers did well and most of the batting guys contributed some runs.”
For the second week running, Luke Beaven took the bowling honours with six wickets as bottom club Beaconsfield were dismissed for 181.
The home side did well to reach that total, as they collapsed to 111-7 before Shakil Ahmed led a late flurry of boundaries, hitting six in his unbeaten 34.
Beaven bowled unchanged, finishing with 6-59 off 29.1 overs.
Fellow spinner David Hartley took
3-65 off 15, while opening paceman Ian Slatcher bowled very economically, taking 1-12 off nine overs.
In reply, Reading got off to a solid start with Simon Steel and Shuki Kang putting on 77 for the first wicket before Steel was out for 41.
Tom Wood was lbw for two, as was Shelvin Gumbs for a duck.
It was largely a case of Reading playing back when they should have gone on the front foot.
But 33 from Kang was followed by 25 from Nathan Stothard, who was dropped before he had scored, to keep the runs ticking over.
Reading were tied down by left-arm spinner Ahmed, bowling around the wicket, and he claimed the wickets of the Beaven brothers, Luke for six and Jack for 12.
Barr, however, played an extremely patient innings, scoring an unbeaten 16 in 91 minutes, and it was left to Slatcher, with two boundaries, to seal victory in the 44th over.
Despite losing seven wickets, Barr was always confident his side were going to win.
“It was just a matter of playing sensibly and not doing anything silly,” he said.
“We lost wickets, but I always felt confident the total was within our reach.”
Ahmed finished 5-43 off 21 overs.
Beaconsfield were forced to take Raheel Zaman out of their attack before he had even completed his first over.
Bowlers are not permitted to bowl more than three beamers above waist level in a game, but the former Reading paceman fired three down in quick succession.
He also delivered three wides and out of his first nine deliveries only three were legitimate.
Magnificent seven strike
Reading are through to the last 16 of the ECB National Clubs Championship after beating Havant by two wickets in the Group 13 final at Sonning Lane.
Their reward is another home tie, against Ealing on Sunday, July 25.
It was a good team performance from Reading with seven different bowlers taking at least one wicket each as the visitors were dismissed for 159 in the last of their 45 overs.
Jack Beaven and Benny Howell each took two wickets and it was Hampshire youngster Howell who produced the man-of-the-match display with a painstaking innings of 60 to set up the Reading win, which they achieved with more than four overs to spare. For a time it looked as though Havant would struggle to get into three figures as they lost their first four wickets for 30 and their sixth for 80.
But wicketkeepr Jeremy Bulled led a mini recovery by making 54 and sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 71 with Sam Walker (28).
Both batsmen fell to Howell, who finished with 2-20 of 5.4 overs.
Reading had lost Jack Beaven from their attack early on when he went over on his ankle while bowling, having taken 2-10 in his opening three overs.
Reading, who had lost by one run to Havant in the 2006 competition, made a bright start to their innings with Howell and Sukhi Kang putting on 36 in 10 overs for the first wicket before Kang was bowled for 13.
Shelvin Gumbs made only one, but Moshin Ali lifted the total to 80 before he was caught for 16.
David Barr (1) and Luke Beaven (7) didn’t hang around for long as Reading slumped to 94-5.
Howell kept his end up well, but his innings of nearly two hours came to an end in the 34th over when he was trapped lbw by Steve Matthews.
His 60 came off 85 balls and included a six and three fours.
Ian Slatcher hit a six, only to be lbw to Matthews’ next ball and, at 129-7, there were anxious faces in the Reading camp.
But the experienced Andy Davis took some sting out of the Havant attack with a couple of boundaries and Jack Beaven, batting with Gumbs as his runner, also found the ropes.
Beaven fell for 14, but Davis hit five fours in his unbeaten 25 before young Qasim Ali hit the winning two runs in the 41st over.
Slatcher hits Henley for six
In three sensational overs, the 18-year-old paceman ripped through a Henley side containing several Berkshire county players, including big-hitters Bjorn Mordt, David Barnes and Jono McLean.
Slatcher reduced the Division 1 title-chasers to 28-6 as they replied to Reading’s 181-5.
Thanks to a half-century from Kyle Hodnett, Henley managed to get to 132, leaving Reading the 49-run winners.
Reading, however, had been in the ascendancy from an early stage with opening bat Shelvin Gumbs taking 19 runs off Mordt’s opening over.
Mordt had won the toss and put Reading in – a decision which he later regretted.
The Sonning Lane men, wearing pink tops and black bottoms, were able to build on that useful start, scoring at more than 10 an over for the first half of their innings.
Jack Beaven was Reading’s top scorer with 46, which included a six and six boundaries.
Gumbs hit two sixes and five fours in his 34 and Sukhi Kang made 29.
Amardeep Singh was forced to leave the field after being hit under his chin, but returned to the crease and finished with 18.
Pick of the Henley bowlers was Nick Denning with 2-28 off four overs.
When Henley batted, Slatcher dismissed Mordt in his first over and he proved virtually unplayable.
After reaching 22-1, the home side lost five wickets in a space of six runs with Gumbs also getting a wicket.
The only batsman to offer any real resistance was No.8 Hodnett, the Berkshire pace bowler.
He hit 65 with three sixes and five fours before being the last man out.
Reading are now through to the semi-finals, where they will again face Division 1 opposition, in Aston Rowant or Oxford.
Unbeaten Reading women were also in winning form last Sunday, defeating Brighton by six runs at Sonning Lane.
They made 180-9 in their 50 overs with Brighton being bowled out for 174 in 46 overs. Rosalie Birch made 49 and Alex Smith 37.
It was Reading’s sixth successive win in the Southern Premier League and they sit top of the table, 10 points clear of nearest rivals Bath.
Bend it like Beaven
Luke Beaven produced an outstanding all-round performance to earn Reading a five-wicket win over Gerrards Cross in their Home Counties League Division 2 West match at Sonning Lane on Saturday.
And younger brother Jack also played a vital role in a match of fluctuating fortunes, which was not decided until the penultimate over.
Luke took 7-78 to restrict the visitors to 211-6 in 60 overs and then went on to make an unbeaten 60 as Reading replied with 212-5 in 48.3 overs.
Jack took 1-24 in 14 overs and scored 34no, sharing an unbroken sixth wicket stand of 103 with Luke.
The brothers were responsible for changing the game in Reading’s favour on two occasions.
With Ian Cockbain blasting the ball over the place as he went in search of his third century of the season, third-in-the-table Gerrards Cross looked to be heading for a big score when they went in for lunch at 112-1 off 30 overs, with Luke having had Hywell Peglar caught for 21.
But when play resumed the Beaven boys soon got to work on a turning wicket.
Two runs later Hamza Taj drove Luke high to mid-off, where Shelvin Gumbs threw himself upwards to grasp the ball with one hand. There is unlikely to be a better catch seen at Sonning Lane this year.
Then at 132 Jack captured the prized wicket of Cockbain, bowling him when he was just five short of his century.
MCC Young Cricketer Cockbain – who fielded for England as 12th man against Australia at Lord’s last year and Bangladash this season – hit a six and 14 fours.
The 23-year-old son of the former Lancashire and Cheshire batsman, also named Ian, had recently played alongside Luke for Gloucestershire 2nd in their win over Somerset 2nd.
The Beavens continued to put the brake on the Bucks side, conceding only 22 runs in 12 overs.
Luke, 20, took another couple of wickets before the visitors had passed 200 and, with 18-year-old Jack being given a rest, Ian Slatcher captured two wickets while Luke took his fifth of the match.
In reply, Reading lost Simon Steel for 27 with the total on 29, but Sukhi Kang and Gumbs lifted the total to 83 before the former was bowled for 21.
Gumbs was bowled by Matt Watson for 38, but Reading were now beginning to get tied down by the Gerrards spinners.
Nathan Stothard (13) and David Barr (3), who had both hit half centuries the previous week, fell in quick succession to leave Reading in trouble at 109-5.
But this brought the Beavens together at the crease and they soon steadied the ship.
Luke was the dominating partner, but Jack also played his part and they guided their side home in the penultimate over.
Luke finished with 60 and Jack 34, the pair adding 103 in 16 overs.
It was a club record for the sixth-wicket in the league, the previous best being 79, set by Barr and Sam Patel in 2003.
Holding out for draw
Reading turned in a sub-standard performance, but managed to get away with a draw against Harefield at Sonning Lane on Saturday.
Having seen the visitors pile up a formidable total of 267, Reading quickly found themselves in a battle for survival when they lost their first three wickets for 19 runs in nine overs.
Half centuries from skipper David Barr and Nathan Stothard added vital substance to the middle-order batting, but it was left to the last pair, Ian Slatcher and David Hartley, to defy Harefield for the final 26 balls in a nail-biting finish, which left Reading on
208-9.
Despite avoiding their first home defeat of the season, coach Mark Simmons admitted he was disappointed and the display was “just not good enough.”
He added: “It was below par, both our performance and the result.
“But at least we are better placed (in the league) than we were at this stage last year.”
Last Saturday was the halfway stage of the league programme and Reading are second in the table despite their failure to beat Harefield, who at the start of play were second from bottom of the table.
It was a match that the visitors dominated from an early stage, with opening bat Jamie Hammerton providing a solid backbone of their innings with 71, while there were also good knocks from Mulelki Nkala (47) and Ashley Reddy with 38.
Barr said: “You’ve got to give credit to Harefield as they batted very well and their total was a few too many for us.”
Reading were forced to make a late change when Jamie Hoddle pulled out due to a twisted ankle and he is extremely doubtful for their home match with Gerrards Cross next Saturday.
Adam Davidson was brought in for his league debut, but made only two before being trapped leg before wicket.
Shelvin Gumbs made only one more before he was bowled by Doug King, who then dismissed Simon Steel for one to leave Reading in deep trouble at 19-3 in nine overs.
Opener Sukhi Kang was caught behind for 25 with the total on 42 and Reading were now struggling to survive the remaining 34 overs.
But Barr and Stothard staged a spirited recovery, taking the total to 116 before the Aussie was caught behind for 53 in the 31st over.
Jack Beaven (18) was bowled and when Barr was stumped for 54, his first half century of the season, Reading were 185-7 in the 42nd over and staring defeat in the face.
Five runs later Luke Beaven was run out for eight and Andy Davis soon followed him back to the pavilion in the 46th over.
This brought Ian Slatcher, who had earlier taken three wickets, and Hartley together and they managed to survive.
In the penultimate over Slatcher survived a big appeal for a catch, but the ball had hit him on his shoulder.
Falkland are flattened
Reading, a team in good heart and with a rod of steel down their spine, moved up to second place in the Home Counties Premier League Division 2 West with a six-wicket win over a Falkland side that had started the day in third spot.
Spinner David Hartley took six wickets as Falkland finished on 206-9 and then Simon Steel smashed 78 off 63 deliveries to steer the visitors home with more than six overs to spare.
It was Reading’s first away league win of the season and came two weeks after they been shot out for just 62 at Dinton.
Since that nine-wicket hammering, the Sonning Lane men have come back strongly, beating Finchampstead and Falkland in successive weeks.
Those two wins have seen veteran spinner Hartley return to his best form, with five wickets against Finch and another six at Enborne Lodge.
He turned the game after Falkland, who without injured skipper George Trewby had made a useful start with Bruce Martin and Jim Ettridge putting on 75 for the first wicket.
But in the 16th over Ettridge was caught off the bowling of Hartley for 23 and in the next over spinner Luke Beaven trapped Martin leg before wicket for 47.
The two Reading bowlers then brought about a dramatic collapse with three more wickets falling in quick succession to leave Falkland on 89-5.
Ollie Green fell to Hartley with the total on 107, but Khalid Zafar and Mark Foster steadied the ship and took the total to 141 before Zafar fell to Hartley for 28.
Wicketkeeper Foster offered good resistance, making 56 off 94 balls, and he and Nigel Trumper (18no) added 44 for the ninth wicket.
Falkland closed on 206-9 with Hartley finishing with 6-66 and Luke Beaven 3-73.
On a hard wicket, with fast outfield and a short boundary on one side, that total looked well in Reading’s reach providing they didn’t do anything rash.
Young open batsmen James Hoddle and Sukhi Kang played with great patience, but eager to punish any loose delivery.
The pair put on 63 in 15 overs before Hoddle (26) was bowled by Joel Martin with a delivery that kept low and in his next over Martin had Kang (27) lbw.
But this brought together Shelvin Gumbs and Steel and they upped the tempo. Steel was particularly savage on the bowlers, showing a cavalier approach, as he hammered the ball frequently to the boundary.
The pair put on 121 before both fell in quick succession.
In the 34th over Gumbs was bowled by Zafar for 36, which came off 47 balls and included two sixes and three fours.
An over later Steel lost his wicket to Bruce Martin, his sparkling 78 coming off just 63 deliveries and containing two sixes and 11 fours.
But their dismissals were only a hiccup, as skipper David Barr and Nathan Stothard, with a six and four, saw Reading home in the 44th over.
“It was a great win. I was very pleased with the performance,” said coach Mark Simmons.
With 25 points in the bag, Reading move above Gerrards Cross and Falkland into second place behind Thame.
Flying back to form against Finch
Nathan Stothard scored an unbeaten half-century as Reading got back to winning form against Finchampstead at Sonning Lane on Saturday.
A week after crashing to a nine-wicket defeat in a low-scoring game at Dinton, Reading bowled out Finch for 178 before going on to win by six wickets.
The hosts won comfortably in the end, but Stothard admitted: “It wasn’t easy batting out there as the wicket was a bit up and down.”
Stothard, with 57, and skipper David Barr, 39, shared an unbroken stand of 85 for the fifth wicket.
“The good thing was that we didn’t have to rush things,” added Stothard.
“We were happy just to keep the scoreboard ticking over as we knew we had enough overs to play with. I finished as top scorer, but all credit to David. He played a sensible captain’s innings.”
While Aussie Stothard, scoring his second half-century in the league this season, and Barr took the batting honours, the foundation for this third home win in a row was laid by spinners Luke Beaven and David Hartley.
Barr brought Beaven into the attack from the start and he bowled unchanged to finish with 4-55 off 29.5 overs, while Hartley took 5-77 off 18.
They were again helped by some smart work from wicketkeeper Andy Davis, who took three stumpings and two catches.
Beaven was completing a good week as he had also turned out for Gloucestershire against Somerset in a 2nd XI at Taunton, taking 4-60 off 14 overs to help Gloucs to a two-wicket victory in a three-day game.
Luke’s brother, Jack, also played his part with a wicket for Reading on Saturday. Bowling faster than he has all season, Jack had in-form Finch skipper Matt Jones caught by Davis for a duck.
Reading coach Mark Simmons said it was a much better performance than the previous week at Dinton, adding: “We showed a lot more discipline, which was good. We must now look to build on this win.”
Strong words after crushing defeat
Reading players held a 40-minute team talk on the pitch after crashing to a nine-wicket defeat at Dinton on Saturday.
But coach Mark Simmons admitted: “We can have no real excuse. We didn’t play well.”
Having been put in to bat on a green wicket, Reading were shot out for just 62 with the Bucks village side needing less than 14 overs to clinch victory.
Openers Jamie Hoddle and Sukhi Kang, making his first league appearance of the season, put on 16 for the first wicket.
Kang was out for four and two runs later Hoddle was a little unluckily run out for six.
Selvin Gumbs (2) soon followed with the total on 19.
Simon Steel, who had scored a century the previous week, was next man out for nine and when Nathan Stothard was caught for one, half the side were back in the pavilion with only 28 on the board.
Luke Beaven (8) lost his wicket at 36 and one run later skipper Dave Barr (1) was following him back to the pavilion.
Jack Beaven added 10 runs for the eighth wicket before seeing Ian Slatcher bowled for a duck.
Beaven went on to make 14, the only batsman to scrape into double figures.
Reading were all out for 62 in a shade under two hours.
Dinton, last season’s Cherwell League champions, bowled well on a green wicket and took some good catches, but the Reading batsmen certainly contributed to their own downfall with some poor decision making.
With the pressure on, their youngsters showed a lack of experience with rash strokes when patience was required.
Scott Bowler, with 4-28 off 16 overs, and Adam Mould (3-22) caused most of the damage. Reading’s score was not a record for a league match, as they had been shot out for 59 by Farnham Royal in September 2007.
Dinton openers Rob King and Leigh Marland made batting look easy as they took the total to 59 before the latter was bowled by Luke Beaven for 31, giving Reading their only bonus point.
It took the batsmen only 51 minutes to knock off the required runs and the match finished just after 3pm.
But it was closer to 3.50 when the players finally got back to the dressing room with Simmons having them sitting just inside the boundary for a team meeting, where all players were given the opportunity to air their views.
Following the meeting skipper Barr said: “We were hammered, and that’s being generous.
“It was very disappointing. It was a good toss to win. They (Dinton) bowled well and fielded well.
“After two wins last weekend, we have had a set-back, but we need to stay focused and get back to winning ways next weekend.”
Simmons added: “I think it might have been a different story had we won the toss and put them into bat.
“But, hopefully, we will have learned the lessons from this and I will be looking for a positive reaction from the players against Finchampstead
Semi slot as Sunbury sunk
READING are through to the semi-finals of Group 11 of the National Clubs Championship after an excellent 3 wicket win at Sunbury on Sunday.
The home side made 220-7 in their 45 overs after losing their first three wickets for 25.
Dan Pope led the recovery with an unbeaten 90, made off 108 balls.
There were two wickets apiece for Jack Beaven and Benny Howell.
And it was the same pair who also took the batting honours for Reading.
Howell scored 70 off 85 balls before being run out, while Jack Beaven smashed an unbeaten 54 off 49 deliveries. Reading won with five balls to spare.
Dave Barr’s men are now away to Weybridge on Sunday June 27.
Showing some Steel
Simon Steel hit a century to help Reading to victory over Farnham Royal, but admitted: “I didn’t feel totally comfortable out there.”
The West Indian scored 110 out of his side’s 223-8 as they replied to the visitors’ 220-8 in the Home Counties League Division 2 West at Sonning Lane on Saturday.
With Reading losing wickets late on as Farnham Royal hit back, they were indebted to 21-year-old Steel.
But the player admitted it was by no means one of the best batting performances of his career.
“I haven’t been happy with my form this season and in the past I have played better than this when making lower totals,” he said.
“But for the first time this season I had a bit of luck. I backed the Derby winner (Workforce) and we won the match, so it hasn’t been a too bad a day for me.”
Steel, seeing the ball quickly and giving himself time to play his shots, scored his century off 101 balls, hitting 21 boundaries in the process.
He and opener Jamie Hoddle shared a third-wicket stand of 124 after Reading had lost two wickets for jut 17.
Hoddle, who struck some superb ground shots to the boundary, was dismissed when just four short of what would have been a deserved half century.
This left Reading 141-3 in the 30th over where they looked to be cruising to victory.
But the middle-order batsmen were unable to stay around for long and they lost wicket five wickets in quick succession, slumping to 219-8.
The Royals, relegated from Division 1 last season, relied heavily on their 17-year-old spinner Gurveer Singh, who had attended the Berkshire county senior squad's indoor nets during the winter.
Singh bowled unchanged from the pavilion end, taking 3-104.
He was in his 25th over when Andy Davis swept him to the boundary to seal Reading’s second league win of the season in the 50th over.
But earlier, spinner Luke Beaven had got through an even longer shift for Reading, bowling 26 overs. He finished with figures of 4-85.
There were also two wickets apiece for Ian Slatcher and Govind Nair.
Nair, a 17-year-old Reading School pupil, was making his league debut for the club.
He took two wickets, including clean bowling visiting skipper Warren Miller for 33. Opener Dan Simpson topped scored for Farnham with 60.
Farnham were 130-1 and then 218-4, but then lost four wickets without any addition to the total.
Reading get Thamed
A record-equalling partnership was the only consolation for Reading as they lost by six wickets at Thame on Saturday.
It was their first defeat of the season in the Home Counties League Division 2 West, but they stay in third place behind new leaders Thame and Falkland.
Ian Slatcher had taken five wickets the previous week, but this time he starred with the bat.
The 18-year-old schoolboy, batting at No. 9, scored 71 not out, while No. 7 Luke Beaven made 53.
Slatcher smacked four sixes and three fours in his two-hour innings.
Beaven, who occupied the crease for virtually the same time, hit a six and six fours.
Their stand of 101 equals the club’s eighth-wicket league record, set by Richard Kirk and Raul Zaman against Banbury two seasons ago.
Slatcher and Beaven came to the rescue after Reading, put in to bat, had slumped to 54-7.
Of the top six batsmen, only George Greed (23) and Selvin Gumbs (16) reached double figures.
Reading finished on 190-9 with Sam Lachlan taking 4-28 off 13 overs.
Jay Bhati, who had taken 7-46 the previous week when Finchampstead’s Russell Lane accused Thame of doctoring their pitch to suit their spinners, weighed in with two wickets.
But a slow, low wicket appeared to suit the paceman more than Saturday.
Reading’s spinners David Hartley and Luke Beaven got through 29 overs between them, but met with little success.
Beaven took two wicket, but was unlucky not to have taken more. He saw his team-mates put down Mike Beard twice early in his innings, and they paid the price.
The 17-year-old 6ft 5in left-hander produced a match-winning innings of 77 not out after sharing an opening stand of 75, made in 16 overs, with Pratik Patel (49).
Two more wickets fell for the addition of just one run with a fine throw by Gumbs having Jeffcock run out for a duck and Beaven had Bharat Damania caught at slip by Nathan Stothard for one.
Jay Bhatti went for 21 with the total on 139, but Michael Higgs (29no) joined Beard and they saw their saw to victory in the 45th over.
Reading coach Mark Simmons was made to suffer a lot more than he had intended.
On a hot afternoon, he had to umpire, from square leg, for the whole game when one of the appointed officials, Jeremy Spring, did not turn up.
Slatch helps win the match
IAN Slatcher took five wickets to help Reading get their home fixtures in the Home Counties Premier League Division 1 West off to a winning start on Saturday.
Beaconsfield were shot out for 131 to give the Sonning Lane men a 13-run victory in a low-scoring game.
Yet at one stage it looked bleak for Reading as they were struggling at 58-5.
But new Aussie Nathan Stothard launched something of a recovery, making 59 off 94 balls.
Reading’s batsmen didn’t help themselves by getting out to some poor shots, although the visiting bowlers did find some deliveries zip off the wicket.
The main destroyer was former Reading paceman Raheel Zaman, who took 7-54 off 17.2 overs.
Beaconsfield’s top batsmen didn’t find it any easier than Reading.
They were soon in trouble with 18-year-old paceman Slatcher taking a wicket in his second, third and fifth overs.
With fellow teenager Jamie Hoddle, who like Slatcher has come up through the Berkshire junior ranks, they had the Bucks side in deep trouble at 62-6.
But the middle-order batsmen slowly improved their side’s position and for a time it started to look like they might pull the game out of the fire.
Reading skipper David Barr, however, never allowed the batsmen to settle by frequently changing his bowlers around and Luke Beaven and David Hartley both chipped in with two wickets, with keeper Andy Davis making a particularly sharp stumping off Beaven to dismiss Zaman.
Skipper Paul Gurnell (23no) and last man John Mahood (20) set up a tense finish by taking the total past 130, but Barr brought Slatcher back at the London Road end and he quickly grabbed Mahood’s wicket to win the match.
It was the first time Slatcher, who attends The Downs School in Newbury, had taken five wickets in a match for Reading.
So Reading had to thank their SAS men, Stothard and Slatcher, for coming to their rescue. But as Hartley said: “It is good that we can play badly and still win a game. Nathan batted well, but it was a day when our pace bowlers won the game for us.”
Aussie not drawn in by the weather
It wasn’t so much of a baptism of fire for Nathan Stothard, more a baptism of ice.
Reading’s new Australian allrounder flew in from sunny Sydney in time to make his debut in the opening Home Counties League Division 2 West match at Gerrards Cross on Saturday, which ended in a draw.
But he and his new team-mates had to endure a cold, miserable day, nothing what would you except for cricket in May.
“I have never played in this cold before,” said 22-year-old Stothard, who wore three jumpers on top of his vest.
Early in the game the players even had to endure light rain, and Stothard added: “Back home we would have been back in the pavilion.”
The Aussie continued: “I am sure it is going to warm up and I am looking forward to the season.
“I’ve been told Reading want to get back in the top division and I will do my best to help them achieve it.”
Stothard, a quantity surveyor in Australia, had a net at Sonning Lane shortly after arriving in this country, even before he got some sleep, having not managed to doze off on the long flight from Down Under.
Batting at No.6, he was caught out by the pace of the wicket at Gerrards Cross and played on to skipper Steve Rimmer with only one run to his name.
The medium pacer wasn’t called on to bowl, but did look lively in the field, though was happy to do plenty of running in order to keep warm.
On Sunday, Stothard scored 48 and took four wickets for Reading in their win over Yateley.
Reading certainly had the better of Saturday’s league opener on a ground where they had lost last year.
Put in to bat, they made 270-8 in 60 overs overs with Simon Steele top scoring with 73, made off as many balls. He smashed three sixes and seven fours.
Steele and Shelvin Gumbs, who made 63 off 71 deliveries, put on 74 for the third wicket.
Reading had a brand new opening pair in George Greed, a Reading University student from Exeter, and Jamie Hoddle.
They helped blunt the Gerrards Cross attack in a stand of 45 before Greed was trapped leg before, while Hoddle went on to make 30 off 47 balls.
The backbone of the innings came from skipper David Barr, who occupied the crease for 80 minutes in scoring 37 not out.
He and Steele put on 65 for the fourth wicket.
There was a mini collapse as Reading went for quick runs before No.10 Ian Slatcher cracked 27 off 21 balls with the help of two sixes and a four.
The total of 270 was respectable and one that the Bucks side never looked like reaching.
Hoddle also opened the bowling and quickly disposed of former Lancashire 2nd XI player and MCC young cricketer Ian Cockbain, while Slatcher dismissed both Hamza Taj and Sam Westaway to leave Gerrards 10-3 in the fourth over.
Buckinghamshire county player Matt Watson, however, dug his side out of a hole, and was just six short of his century when bowled by Luke Beaven in the final over.
Only two other home batsman made it into double figures – Hughes with 37 and Rimmer 25 not out.
Hughes fell to a great running catch in the deep by Gumbs off the bowling of David Hartley.
Gerrards Cross finished on 175-6 off 50 overs.
Beaven took 2-24 off 13 overs and Slatcher 2-29 off eight.
Stags win first league game
The first league game had Reading Stags taking on Cookham Dean 2nds who won Div 6 last year Jim lost the toss and the Stags were inserted. A brilliant batting display for man of the match Alex Beecraft (86*) on a damp slow wkt saw the Stags claiming maximum 25 points. Alex who opened the batting with Jim Cowan had a partnership of 76 before Jim was caught and bowled for 38, this unleashed Graham Cassie who played some elegant strokes for his 29 including a huge 6 over long on. This had us with a score of 116 for 2 after 30 overs with Alex manoeuvring the ball around playing a sound innings never looked in trouble also never gave a chance, it was all set up with 22 overs left for a score in excess of 220+ but a twist came as batsmen 4 to 11 failed to reach double figures. When the final wicket fell Alex was left on 86 not out and the total 194 all out in the 51st over was this enough runs to defend?
After one of the best teas on the circuit Ash Cutts and Jigneas Sheth started with the old ball but with a very strong wind Ash found it difficult to control the ball but Jigneas on the other hand took a wkt in his 4th ball, Jim replaced Ash to try to get control from the pavilion end. With Jim bowling tight Jigneas soon took his 2nd and 3rd wkts Jim however contained Cookham after his 8th over he had 1 wkt and 7 maidens, Jigneas started to tire and Dan Quick was introduced into the attack getting a wkt in this 2nd ball then taking 2 more wkts in his 2nd over but lost his line and length by his 6th over and was replace with young colt Philip Brennan who bowled well but was not rewarded for his effort. Jim finished with 4wkts.
Result; Stags 194 all out v Cookham Dean 2nds 132 all out
Top 3 batsmen
Alex 86*runs
Jim 38 runs
Graham 29 runs
Top 3 Bowlers
Jim 4 wkts
Jigneas 3wkts
Dan 3wkts
Top 3 fielders
Alex 3 caught
Most valuable player
Alex
Twenty/20 vision
Twenty/20 cricket is coming to Sonning Lane with an all
action derby delight to get the season off to a rip-roaring start.
Reading's highly talented Over 40s team take on the might of near
neighbours Wokingham at the lane on Wednesday, May 12 (6pm, bar open).
Reading's Jim Cowan said: "Ashley Cutts came up with the idea of
bringing the fast a furious form of the game to the club and if the
response is good, which it has been so far, we hope to set up a league in the near future.
Reading are laying down the gauntlet to any other Over 40 teams who
fancy their chances against the Sonning Lane side.
If you want to take them on give Ashley Cutts a call on 07914418721 or Jim Cowan on
07855758178
Outdoor nets have started on Thursdays from 6.30 for all players from seniors 1st, 2nds and 3rds to the newly
named Reading Stags (4ths, see last season's updated averages).
New players are welcome
Please contact Jim Cowan on 07855758178.
We look forward to welcoming all current, returning and new players to Reading CC
For more details about the club please contact David Barr 07846425689.
We welcome players of all ages / abilities and ECB qualified coaches. The club has a lot of talented young players and so coaches are needed to assist with their development. We will financially support members who wish to do coaching badges.
(Picture taken by Aubrey Merry)
Thursday 9th of April we celebrated the fantastic achievement of England Ladies winning the World Cup and we welcomed home Reading Cricket Clubs two star players
The Reading Chronicle story
http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/roundup/articles/2009/04/08/37522-taylor-takes-her-place-among-the-alltime-greats/
Registration of players
All possible first team players need to be registered with the HCPL if you have already done this last year you don't need to again this year however if you haven't done it because either you are new or didn't play first team last year can you please do it this. If you have aspirations to play for the first team you NEED to complete the form.
Could you also please fill in a registration form and give to David Barr
http://www.homecountiescricket.com/adm_regist_docs.asp
I think this needs a passport photo aswell
Transfers
If you are new you may need to complete the transfer form. If your not sure please call David Barr 07846425689
http://www.homecountiescricket.com/adm_transfers.asp
Treasurer and Secretary
Reading CC invites offers for these voluntary roles please contact the Chariman Nick Tucker via the Reading CC email - Reading-cc@btconnect.com
News
**'Beaven learns from top Indian coaches'**:-
Luke Beaven has just spent 2 weeks in India courtesy of the ICC Global Cricket Accademy. For the full article follow the link below.
http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/s/2043397_beaven_learns_from_top_indian_coaches
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