Wins for Thatcham, Newbury and Purley in Thames Valley Cricket League
Thatcham Town Cricket Club won their first game of the season on Saturday.
Jack Young starred with the bat, helping his side to their first win under new captain Michael Klichowicz.
They travelled to Maidenhead & Bray 2nd, where they lost the toss and were made to bat first.
Klichowicz’ innings was over almost immediately, as he was caught for a golden duck.
His partner made a stronger stand however, as Simon Lewis hit a tidy 47 from 67 balls.
In at four was wicketkeeper Jack Young, who faced 106 balls and finished not out.
Young hit a masterful century, reaching 102 thanks to eleven fours and two sixes.
This transformed Thatcham’s innings, with Harley Sheridan-Hawkins hitting 29 to help his side to 247-6 after 45 overs.
In response, Thatcham bowled well, as Olly Thorne went 3-28.
Seamus Levin and Mike Green also took two wickets each, as Thatcham quickly stormed through the middle order and bowled the hosts out for 175 in 40 overs.
A 72 run win is a welcome development for Thatcham, who will look to build on their first win of the campaign.
Elsewhere in Division 3A of the Thames Valley Cricket League, Purley on Thames beat Reading by 52 runs at home.
Purley chose to bat first, with opener Andrew Clarke the star of the show.
He hit 108 from 101 balls to lead the way, while James Denton hit 42 and Patrick Allen a handy 41.
Jacob Hearn took four wickets for just 36 runs to limit Reading’s reply, sealing a 52 run win for Purley.
Theale & Tilehurst were less fortunate elsewhere in the division, losing away to Harpsden by 28 runs.
They bowled first and met the obstacle of Ollie McConkey, who hit 74 from fourth in the order as the hosts finished 252 all out.
Captain Baber Hussain struck 81 to lead Theale’s response, but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat.
In Division 2A, Sulhamstead & Ufton lost by eighteen runs at Cookham Dean.
Doug MacDonald went 3-46 with the ball, before Abdullah Sadiqi smashed 74 runs in a valiant effort with the ball.
The result leaves them bottom of the league after four matches.
Meanwhile, in Division 4A, Newbury made it three wins from four with a 68 run win over Eversley 2nd at Northcroft Lane.
Newbury lost the toss and were asked to bat, but Eversley were soon regretting this decision as Newbury put on 50 for the first wicket.
A 100 run partnership between Bhupendra Shekhawat and Lewis Mitchard then put Newbury in pole position.
Newbury continued to pile on the runs, as quick scoring cameos from Jagjit Singh and Rohit Sengupta led Newbury to 287 all out from their 45 overs.
Eversley's chase started badly, with left-armer Singh trapping Will Tucker LBW for four.
He then had Maneesh Mali soon after, leaving Eversley 30-2.
Eversley skipper John Matthews scored an impressive 66, before he was caught by Thomas Kingston.
Newbury wrapped up the tail, with Vinoth Kumar taking the final wicket leaving them 219 all out.
Kevin Mills finished with 6-30, while Lewis Mitchard's 100 was the first of the season by a Newbury player and his second overall since joining the club.
Newbury travel to Fleet on Saturday, with both teams having won three of four so far.
