Wargrave CC upset league leaders North Maidenhead

Neal Robinson bowling.

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Wargrave’s Neal Robinson and Ashera Mahavidanalage put together a stunning partnership to upset Thames Valley Cricket League Division 1 league leaders North Maidenhead on Saturday.

A difficult time at the crease set the tone for the North Maids six-wicket defeat as only Fahim Quereshi (54) and Imran Butt (43) really got to grips with their hosts’ impressive bowling, before a collapse gave Wargrave a less than competitive 157 target to chase down.

Having won the toss, the visitors elected to bat first and a solid partnership between openers Qureshi and Butt looked to have set a solid foundation for North Maids.

But, after Mark Firth (4-64) played his part in dismissing both openers, North Maids never really got going. Qamer Shan (16) was the next highest scorer for the visitors, but batting at number nine the middle order collapse was plain to see.

Ashera Mahavidanalage (3-24) and Shiryar Ahmed (3-19) chipped in with wickets as the North Maids batting order struggled to cope, falling all out at 156. The hosts’ reply was a levelled one as they got over the line inside 35 overs as Neal Robinson led the way with his unbeaten 70, but not before Sahaan John (2-70) picked up a few wickets.

Mandip Sohi (21) and M Salaman Khalid (3) started the reply with a 24-run partnership before both fell in quick succession to Raheel Zaman (1-23) and John.

Michael Holder then fell nine runs later as North Maids made sure the Wargrave chase was not going to be a straightforward one.

But after captain Imran Malik (15) fell at 54-4, Neal Robinson (70no) and Mahavidanalage (42no) struck up the perfect partnership to steer the hosts to victory. The two both looked comfortable at the crease as their unbroken partnership of 106 helped move Wargrave up a place to fifth with the win.  For North Maids, they remain top of the table despite the loss after both Boyne Hill and Cove failed to pick up victories over the weekend.