Hard graft earns Reading victory over Aston Rowant
Sportsdesk • Published 30 Jun 2011 08:30
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READING captain David Barr believes the partnership in the middle order of their innings was crucial in achieving the 112-run victory over Aston Rowant on Saturday.
Play at Sonning Lane was delayed by almost two hours due to heavy overnight rain the night before so the damp track made for far from ideal batting conditions.
Runs were at a premium but hard-grafting by the likes of Tom Fray (33) and Sukhi Kang (41) helped Reading reach 181 for 9 off 50 overs.
With the overs reduced to 40 due to the conditions, the Aston Rowant batters found it tough to get going and were bowled out cheaply for just 69, earning the home side a maximim 25-point victory.
The victory puts them fourth in Home Counties Division Two West and closing in on Slough, who are 18 points in front.
Reading lost the toss and were put into bat in difficult conditions. However, openers George Greed and Tom Fray worked hard to put runs on the board, with Greed patiently reaching 11 off 44 balls, while his partner put on 33 off 62. Both were trapped lbw by Karl Penhale (3-22), who went on to take three of the top four batsmen.
After Shelvin Gumbs (0) and Jamie Hoddle (6) were dismissed cheaply, there was a crucial partnership between wicketkeeper Kang and Armadeep Dosanjh (26), which yielded 77 runs, putting Reading into a more commanding position at 150-6.
Luke Beaven added a useful 17 to push the hosts to 181-9.
Reading's skipper Barr was pleased with his side's overall performance, commenting: "It was really good to register that win.
"It was a good all-round team performance that was pleasing to see. We bowled quite well and we took catches in the field. I think everyone can take something out of the game."
Reading's bowlers were quick to take advantage of the conditions. Jack Beaven and Ian Slatcher dismissed the top four batsmen between them for a combined total of 21 runs. Aston Rowant's top scorer was Richard Cook who managed some kind of resistance with 27, supported by the skipper Wesley Morrick (16).
However, any hopes were completely dashed when Luke Beaven demolished the tail enders, trapping three of the last four batsmen for ducks. He finished with the day's best bowling figures of 4-24 as the visitors were skittled out for 69 off 26 overs.
Barr said: "It wasn't easy batting first because of the heavy overnight rain on Friday. We got a score of 180 which I thought was going to be competitive given they only had 40 overs to bat.
"Tom Fray got a good 30 odd. Crucially it was a stand between Sukhi Kang and Armadeep Dosanjh that pushed us up from 90-5 to 150-6 which was really important in the context of the game."
He added: "If we can build on this result and put together a decent run, then perhaps we can cement our position at the top half of the league."
Reading travel to Gerrards Cross this Saturday (11.30am), who broke their losing streak last weekend with a six-wicket win over Farnham Royal.
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