Thames Valley round-up: Cookham Dean beaten on one of the wettest July days on record

Cookham Dean’s Sohil Mangat

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One of the wettest July days on record led to most Thames Valley Cricket League matches being cancelled or abandoned on Saturday afternoon, however, one Division 1 clash went the distance with Cookham Dean losing by four wickets at home to Eversley.

The cancellations this weekend mean the status quo is maintained at the top of the division, with Phil Lines' Marlow in third place - 11 points behind leaders Falkland, who they drew with last time out - heading into Saturday's game against Cookham at Ricketts Field.

Despite the gloomy conditions, and heavy morning rainfall, Cookham's pitch was in a playable condition for the visit of Eversley on Saturday.

With Eversley unsurprisingly opting to field on winning the toss, Dean's batsmen were given a torrid time at the crease as they limped along to 116-9 in 39 overs.

Sohil Mangat opened creditably well for the home side, making 36 from 48 deliveries - a knock that included six boundaries - however, few of his teammates could match that application, with only Moteeb Syed (15) Matt Dempster (12no) and Nimnaka Jayathilake (18no) managing to resist the Eversley bowlers further down the order.

Kyle Bienefelt took 4-39 and Noah Vojinov 4-30 as Dean were reduced to 70-8 before staging a small recovery.

Eversley also had their issues at the crease, giving up six of their wickets, but their batsmen had enough about them to get over the line in just over 30 overs. Pete De Lange (26) and James Magowan (24) saw them through a tricky spell, while Arno Hattingh (18no) diligently batted them to their target. The result lifts Eversley off the bottom of the table to ninth place, just a point behind Dean in eighth place.

No matches were possible in TVL Division 2A, however, Burnham took a massive stride towards promotion in Division 2B as they defeated Cove by five wickets.

With their closest rivals Sonning unable to play due to the weather, Adnan Shabbir's side moved 17 points clear at the top thanks to an excellent batting display in difficult conditions.

Having won the toss and elected to field, Burnham restricted their hosts to 189-7 in 42 overs. Nadith Samarappulige took 4-44 for the visitors.

Given the conditions, the score was around par and fourth-placed Cove must have felt confident they could defend it. However, Burnham have been in brilliant form with the bat this summer, chasing result after result to put themselves in the running for the title. On this occasion, they reached their target in 34.2 overs for the loss of five wickets with Usman Ilyas (73) and Imran Butt (34) and Shabbir (36no) laying the groundwork for a magnificent chase.

Burnham will now look to build on their lead when they visit Kidmore End on Saturday.

There was no play in TVL Division 3A, but Farnham Royal put themselves back in promotion contention in Division 3B with a convincing 105-run victory at Hounslow & Whitton.

Having been thrust into bat at Whitton Park, Royal adapted well to the pitch and conditions to reach 219-7 from their 44 overs. Saqib Ahmed hit a half century 52 but his efforts were outshone by those of Sameer Rokade who smashed an undefeated 88.

Hounslow's reply came up more than 100 runs short, with Tom Nicholas taking 4-18 and Marwan Mohammed 3-17 for the visitors. The home side's best batting efforts came from Prasham Gandhi (23) and Kushal Arora (25).

The result lifts Farnham Royal to fourth in the standings, three points behind third placed Maidenhead & Bray and just 26 points behind leaders Amersham 2nds.

This Saturday, Royal visit Maidenhead & Bray with both clubs believing that some late season form could carry them to the title.