Cookham Dean relegated after 17-run defeat in 'winner-takes-all' clash with Eversley

Jamie Odell finished unbeaten on 83 for Cookham in their defeat to Eversley

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Cookham Dean were relegated from the top level of the Thames Valley Cricket League on Saturday after narrowly losing by 17 runs to their closest relegation rivals Eversley.

Dean had momentum heading into this 'winner-takes-all' clash at Eversley Cross Green after their victory over Beaconsfield the previous weekend, but the hosts managed to snap their losing streak at the perfect time to come out on top in a tightly contested final game of the season.

Having won the toss, the home side elected to bat and managed to put on 204-7 from 38 overs in a rain-affected contest.

With both sides having to come off for poor weather, Dean were then given a target of 161 from 25 overs and they ended up coming in 17 runs short with some wickets in hand.

Notable contributions for Eversley came from the bats of Harry Maxfield - who hit 50 from 55 balls - and Hugo South - who was unbeaten on 56 at the end. His late stand with Ben Barnard - who scored a rapid 49 from 49 balls - probably tipped this encounter in Eversley's favour.

For Dean, James Le Flemming took 2-55 while Tom Glenton-Forsdike finished with the visitors’ best figures of 4-35 but with the weather conditions not exactly playing ball, Eversley had the advantage at the changeover.

In reply, Cookham carried the fight to their hosts, with Jamie Odell finishing unbeaten on 83 from only 67 balls. But aside from a dutiful stand with captain Greg Davis - who made 32- no one else was able to come up with that one innings that might just have taken the visitors to victory and salvaged their place in Division 1.

Elsewhere in Division 1, Boyne Hill finished third in the table - not far adrift of second placed Tring Park - after a 36-run win at Ickenham.

Batting first, Boyne Hill managed what looked an under par toral of 131 all out in 30.2 overs - with Oliver West (20) and Tharushan Iddamalgoda (24) providing their two best knocks.

However, their hosts collapsed to 95 all out in response with Rohan Agrawal taking 4-20.

A season which promised so much for newly promoted Marlow finished with a bit of a whimper as Phil Lines side were beaten at home by 85 runs by Henley 2nds.

Marlow came roaring into the division and were in the mix for promotion during the first half of the campaign, however, a more challenging second half saw them slip out of contention and Saturday's defeat sees them finish in fifth place - still a creditable achievement.

Having opted to bat on winning the toss, Henley managed 151 runs before being dismissed in the 31st over. A score that was about par given the conditions, and Hamza Arif took an impressive 6-39 for the home side.

However, they slumped to just 66 all out in response with the bat with the best of their meagre batting efforts coming from Lines who scored 16.

In Division 2B, champions Burnham finished with another impressive victory - this time defeating visitors Cove by 59 runs.

Adnan Shabbir's side finished 48 runs clear of second placed Sonning and were just 14 points shy of the Thames Valley League all-time points record - set by Wraysbury in winning Division 4B in 2018. Had their game against Sulhamstead & Ufton a few weeks ago not been rained off, they would surely have broken the record.

Instead, they had to content themselves with an incredibly consistent season which finished off on another high note. Having been put into bat, Burnham managed 296-9 from their 50 overs, with Usman Ilyas top scoring with 78 not out. Because of poor weather, Cove were given a revised target of 167 from 28 overs for victory and ended up falling well short, despite losing only four wickets.

Maidenhead & Bray are celebrating promotion to Division 2 after Saturday's 10-wicket win at Datchet 2nds saw them finish second in the Division 3B table behind champions Amersham.

This victory was about as emphatic as it gets, with the home side being bowled out for just 54 in 23.4 overs. S Mookhtiar took 4-14 and Y Dahiya 3-13 before opening batsmen Viney (33no) and Kieran Grey (25no) chased down the modest total with ease.

Bray were competing against Bushy Park and Farnham Royal for that second promotion spot and whereas Bushy managed a three-wicket win over Amersham, Farnham Royal were beaten by 24 runs by Hounslow & Whitton.