RELEGATED Reading CC’s last match of the season will go down in the Home Counties Premier League’s record books, writes Dave Wright.

They lost at home by three wickets to High Wycombe, for whom Garth Davson hit exactly 100 out of their total of 182-7.

And that left the 25-year-old South African with a season’s total of 1,060 runs, the highest ever recorded in the league, beating the 1,054 made by David Taylor for Henley in 2004.

Last Saturday’s century, his sixth for Wycombe this year, came off 76 balls and contained 17 boundaries.

Davson, who also plays for Essex 2nds, and Gavin Baker put on 136 for the first wicket before the latter was out for 40.

Both openers fell to the varied spin of Amardeep Dosanjh, who went on to take 5-49 in seven overs. He has been rarely used as a bowler this season.

He also accounted for skipper Nathan Hawkes, who with 10 runs was the only other visiting batsman to reach double figures.

Jack Beaven took 2-43 off 9.5 overs to leave him with 38 wickets for the season, the third highest in the league behind Finchampstead’s Jandre Coetzee with 58 and Henley spinner Gurveer Singh, who snatched second place with four wickets last Saturday.

Reading, who had spent much of the season in the relegation zone, did well to set fourth-placed Wycombe a decent target as they looked in serious trouble at 38-5. But Asim Zaka, with 67, and Jack Beaven, 64, put on 109 for the sixth wicket, by far the team’s best partnership of the season.

Zaka faced 105 balls, hitting a six and 10 fours, while Beaven hung around for just 62 deliveries, smacking one maximum and 12 fours.

Only two other batsmen got out of single figures, Martin Andersson making 13 and fellow opener Firaz Amjad 11.

Reading were dismissed for 181 in 45 overs.

The club’s 2nds’ match in Division 3a of the Thames Valley League at champions Aldershot was abandoned due to heavy rain.

The home side amassed a remarkable 334-3 in 52 overs with Rory Collins blasting 150 and Scott Tilson 110no. Reading were on 6-1 in 2.4 overs when rain came to their rescue.

Finishing second from bottom, the team is relegated with the 3rds and 4ths also suffering a similar fate from Divisions 5b and 8a respectively. Their final fixtures of the season also fell victim to last Saturday’s bad weather.