THE next time Reading are seen playing at Sonning Lane will be in the Thames Valley League next May. But in which decision has yet to be decided.

Relegated for the second successive year, they have failed to win a match so far this season and, apart from the odd occasion, never looked like doing so.

Dropping down just one level – to Division 1 of the TVL – may not stop their sad decline and both the club and league may feel that Division Two would be the better option to them.

Reading faced an even more impossible task last Saturday as it was a must-win game for Thame Town in their bid to finish runners-up to local rivals Aston Rowant and so join them in Division One next season. The top two meet this coming Saturday with third-placed Chesham also challenging for second place.

Reading were put in to bat and were soon in trouble at 44-5. However, Firaz Amjad, who has worked hard in his first season as the captain with little reward, made 25 and Asim Zaka 30 to delay the obvious below-par score, the team just managing to creep into three figures with exactly 100 from 33.1 overs.

Thame needed just 25 overs to win the match after Callum Russell and Will Sutcliffe had shared an opening stand of 81.

Sutcliffe was stumped by Zaka off Amjad for 45, while Russell stayed unbeaten on 42 off 75 balls.

Reading end their season this coming Saturday by visiting a Datchet side, who can call on three Berkshire players in James Morris, Chris Peploe and Joe Thomas, along with the county’s head coach Tom Lambert.

They were looking well placed for promotion until losing their last two games and slipping down the table to fifth.

In the Thames Valley Leagu, Reading 2nds earned a vital three-wicket win over Bagshot 2nds that will mean them finishing clear of the Division 4a relegation zone.

They bowled out their hosts for 133 with Anwar Whight taking 3-13 off 10 overs and Simeon Farnworth 3-36 off 9.3.

Farnworth went on to make 33, while Kurt Fletcher contributed 42 and skipper Vikramjit Sidhu 32 as Reading reached their target in the 34th over.

Reading 3rds, who have also lifted themselves clear of finishing in the bottom two, lost by five wickets to Farnham Common 2nds.

But it was a day to remember for the Narayanasamy family.

Nat hit an excellent 82 not out and son Shashank 52 not out while sharing an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 101, taking their side to 192-7 off 52 overs.

But there was no happy ending, as Farnham replied with 195-5 in 45.1 overs.