KECC results [13-19 may]
Thursday 16th May - KECC U13 41/10 LOST v Goring 42/1 Scorecard
Saturday 18th May TVL Week 2 - KECC 1st XI 170/8 [50 overs] WON v Sonning 1st XI [139/10 34.1 overs] Scorecard
In an enthralling contest at Kidmore End, the home side managed to secure a hard-fought victory over Sonning CC by 31 runs. Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Kidmore End CC posted a competitive total of 170/8 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to a mix of aggressive and patient batting performances.
Kidmore End got off to a brisk start with Manpreet Singh taking the attack to the bowlers. Singh blazed away, his bat rotating like a helicopter blade, to 32 off just 25 balls, striking seven boundaries with a strike rate of 128.00 before being trapped LBW by Zanoxolo Gift Kwatsha. His explosive start laid a solid foundation for Kidmore End, who were looking to capitalize on the early momentum. However, after the fall of Singh, Kidmore End found themselves in a spot of bother as wickets fell at regular intervals. Matt Bolton and Fahad Anwar struggled to build significant partnerships, both falling to disciplined bowling from Peter Higginbottom and Ella Phillips, respectively. Anwar managed a painstaking 14 off 49 balls, showing resilience but failing to accelerate. The innings was anchored by the youthful Daniel Middleton, whose patient knock of 37 off 68 balls provided stability, he played a number of elegant strokes, and was probably the most graceful batter of the afternoon. Middleton's composed innings, featuring four boundaries, was crucial in steering the team through a mid-innings slump. Despite the quick dismissals of Shail Ram and Olly Dugdale, who contributed 0 and 4 respectively, Middleton's calm presence ensured that Kidmore End inched closer to a defendable total. Late contributions from Tom Sheldon (12 off 25), James Frost (12 not out off 37), and Atif Nasim (11 not out off 27) helped push the score to 170. The trio showcased excellent recovery skills, as they managed to rotate the strike, soak up pressure, making sure the full 50 overs were used and vital runs were scored. The longer Kidmore batted, the sometimes errant bowing of Sonning kept adding to the score. 20 extras were accumulated throughout the innings, in the form of wides and no balls; not to mention additional runs scored on the extra balls and the draining effect an extra 20 deliveries had on the fielding side. However that is not to say Sonning bowled poorly, 170 is not a formidable total by any stretch of imagination and a number of the Sonning players bowled very well. Ella Phillips was the standout bowler for Sonning, delivering an exceptional spell of 10 overs, taking 3 wickets for 21 runs. She was well-supported by Kwatsha, who took 2 wickets for 31 runs in his 10 overs, and Mohammed Zahid, who also picked up a wicket. The disciplined bowling effort was marred only by some erratic overs from Michael Longridge and Adil Malik, who conceded 44 and 34 runs respectively.
Chasing 171 to win, no doubt Sonning were feeling buoyant and confident. Sonning CC's innings got off to a disastrous start, losing wickets in quick succession. James Frost produced some vicious deliveries early on, claiming three key wickets, including Mannu Rawat and William Hibberdine, to leave Sonning reeling at 13/3. Frost's fiery spell, yielding figures of 3/28 from 8 overs, set the tone for Kidmore End's bowling attack. Amid the early collapse, Sonning captain Peter Higginbottom stood tall with a valiant knock of 75 off 94 balls. His innings, studded with ten boundaries and a six, kept Sonning in the hunt. Higginbottom’s masterful batting was a display of skill and determination as he single-handedly took on the Kidmore End bowlers. He led an impressive comeback, building partnerships and batting with good sense. The pressure switched back on Kidmore and it was only the inspired decision to have Matt Bolton switch ends after the drinks break that drove momentum back towards Kidmore. Matt Bolton, showcasing fine off-spin bowling, his turn and flight cast a spell over Sonning's batters. Bolton's spell was instrumental, as he finished with impressive figures of 4/18 from 5.1 overs. However, the knockout blow from Kidmore's bowlers, came from Vipin Taliyan, he dismissed Higginbottom with a beautifully flighted ball that spun spitefully past the bat to bowl the valiant Sonning skipper. Sonning’s lower order could not withstand the pressure, and despite brief resistance from Indeveer Sahota (16 off 40) and Ella Phillips (7 off 9), they were bowled out for 139 in 34.1 overs. Kidmore End's bowlers, including Vipin Taliyan (1/23) and Amol Tyagi (1/36), played their roles effectively, ensuring a disciplined and tight bowling performance. Kidmore End only bowled 7 wides, a significant difference to Sonning. Additionally, Tom Sheldon was exceptional behind the stumps for Kidmore End, his wicketkeeping skills pivotal in maintaining pressure on the Sonning batsmen.
Kidmore End's bounce back after last week's performance was commendable. The team showed resilience with the bat, recovery with the lower order, and discipline in their bowling attack. However, there is room for improvement, particularly in strike rotation during batting and maintaining bowling discipline to reduce extras, further still.
Saturday 18th May TVL Week 2 - KECC 2nd XI 209/2 [40 overs] WON v Sonning 2nd XI 208/7[45 overs] Scorecard
Kidmore End 2 crushed local rivals Sonning 2 by 8 wickets, thanks in large part to a 152-run partnership between Logan Turner (98) and Ally Stewart (57*).
Kidmore won the toss and chose to field in perfect bowling conditions. Parr gently nicked behind for 2 off Kavanagh but the opening bowlers couldn’t take further advantage of the swing and seam on offer. Tom Branch bowled quickly, full and tight to the stumps, only going for 6 runs in his first 5 overs, and was unlucky not to get a wicket when Gerard Soames edged through the slip cordon for 4. Jeff Sheldon took a while to settle into his usual rhythm and Sonning number 3 Alex Ray took advantage of his heavier length with cross-batted swats to leg. At 99-1 at drinks, Sonning looked to be in the driving seat. It was the timely introduction of Umer Farooqi, as always, that brought wickets for Kidmore. He caught and bowled Ray for an excellent 56, then snaffled muscly number 4 Raoul Harding, who had struck three giant sixes, well caught by a back-pedalling Abi Chatterjee at fly slip, and finally caught and bowled Ahamed too. Opener Soames amassed 53 mainly by employing ‘tip and run’ which exposed some slightly loose Kidmore fielding. A pep talk from the skipper and some exemplary stops by Richard Frost and AJ Gothoskar rallied the troops and Soames was soon run out by AJ with a good gather by Holland behind the stumps. Assad Ul-Haq tightened the screw with a typically economical spell and bowled Abbas for 3, all ends up. Oli Kavanagh took a second wicket at the death but finished with 12 wides in his 9 overs. Sonning ended on 208-7 off their 45, which felt about par. It proved to be well under.
Only three balls into the Kidmore innings Chatterjee uncharacteristically padded up to the experienced left armer Ghulam Abbas without playing a shot and was given out lbw. At the other end, AJ Gothoskar looked in fine form for a fluent 23 before he retired hurt having tweaked his calf diving for his ground. Number 3 Ally Stewart played an innings of great focus and determination, defending securely and rotating the strike regularly with flicks to leg and dabs to third man. A particular highlight was a controlled pull all along the ground for 4 off Ahamed, lodging the ball deep under the raincovers. Left-hander Turner had one of those days: he middled every ball from the first and smashed a square cut for 4 in his first over at the crease. He went from strength to strength, hitting 14 boundaries including one huge six off the impressive young Sonning quick Tarun which landed fully 10 yards over the longest boundary. It was an innings fully deserving of a century but unfortunately fell 2 runs short when he misjudged the length of a pie from the Sonning skipper Anderson and was bowled with only 15 required. Captain Anthony Holland calmly saw his side home, Stewart hitting the winning runs with five overs remaining. KE2 209-2 go joint top of division 5B - are there hopes of a third successive promotion?
Saturday 18th May TVL Week 2 - KECC 3rd XI 117/3 [25.4 overs] WON v Royal Ascot 3rd XI 114/10 [31.5 overs] Scorecard
Saturday 18th May TVL Week 2 - KECC 4th XI 79/10 [21.1 overs] LOST v Royal Ascot 289/4 [40 overs] 4th XI Scorecard
Sunday 19th May - KECC U13 LOST v Sonning Scorecard
Sunday 19th May - KECC U9 WON v Theale and Tilehurst Scorecard
Sunday 19th May - KECC Sunday Blast 143/10 [35 .3 overs] LOST v Falkland 147/8 [26.2 overs] Scorecard
Round 1 of the Sunday Blast.
On a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon, Kidmore End CC embarked on their Blast season journey against a formidable Falkland CC side that boasted several first XI players from the TVCL Division 1. Despite the challenging opposition, Falkand fielding a number of Saturday 1st XI players who play TVCL Division 1, Kidmore End's youthful team displayed remarkable determination and spirit, fighting valiantly until the end.
Falkland won the toss and elected to field, putting Kidmore End to bat first. Kidmore's innings began with a promising start as Jake Leach (35 off 36) played some exquisite strokes, including five boundaries, maintaining a brisk strike rate of 97.22. However, Falkland's Ted Brown struck early blows, removing Ally Stewart (14 off 26) and Sanay Sadhwani for a golden duck in quick succession. Mark Baker's brief stay at the crease ended with a catch off Jack Rhodes, leaving Kidmore struggling at 40/3. Olly Dugdale then anchored the innings with a solid 33 off 47 balls, including five boundaries and a six. His partnership with Thomas Wilkinson (9 off 11) added some stability, but wickets continued to tumble. James Frost contributed a gritty 22 off 50 balls, but Falkland's bowlers, led by Meika King (3/2) and George Hawkins (2/17), kept the pressure on. Kidmore End was eventually all out for 143 in 35.3 overs, with extras contributing a significant 20 runs.
In response, Kidmore End's bowlers needed to produce something special. Twelve-year-old Tyler Sheldon, making his Blast debut, rose to the occasion with an exceptional performance. He claimed 3 wickets for just 8 runs in his 4 overs, showcasing maturity beyond his years. Sheldon's scalps included the dangerous Aaron Graham (22 off 24), Ted Brown (6 off 7), and Lachie Field (1 off 7), giving Kidmore a glimmer of hope. Mark Baker's catch at mid-wicket is also worth noting. He dived to take a stunning catch as though he was plucking birds out the sky like an athletic cat. His effort with this catch, along with two very good steepling catches by Thomas Wilkinson and Sanay Sadhwani, Ally Stewart maiming his arm with a brave stop, leading from the front as all good captains do, demonstrated the teams determination to fight to the bitter end regardless of what it cost them! Sanay Sadhwani, who settled into his spell as he develops a threatening stock ball, and chipped in with key wickets, with Sadhwani dismissing the aggressive Bobby Brown (55 off 30), who had earlier launched a blistering attack with seven boundaries and three sixes. Frost's tight spell and Olly Dugdale's economical bowling (2/16 in 6.2 overs) further dented Falkland's chase. Despite Kidmore's spirited bowling effort, Falkland managed to reach the target in 26.2 overs, finishing at 147/8. Duncan Johnson's unbeaten 14 off 24 balls ensured Falkland crossed the finish line. The match, however, was far from a one-sided affair, as Kidmore End's young guns fought bravely till the end, earning admiration for their tenacity.
