SHINFIELD extended their winning streak to four games with a 140-run margin victory against Crowthorne & Crown Wood to climb up to second place in the Berkshire Cricket League Premier Division.
Despite losing Saketh Chodimella early in the innings for a return of zero runs, opening batsman Michael Page scored a decent total of 34 in an innings full of several strong scores from Shinfield.
Wicket keeper Amit Gandhi was also dismissed for a duck but Shinfield held firm to recover as Muhammad Hafeez top scored for his side as he hit seven fours and two sixes on his way to scoring 48 runs from 34 balls.
The partnership in the middle order from Naveed Naseer (33) and Anuraag Shukla (38) contributed greatly to Shinfield’s total.
The pair kept the score ticking over with several boundaries, including a treble of sixes from Shukla, as they both scored quickly and efficiently nearing the end of the innings as Shinfield posted a total of 218 from 40 overs to defend.
A stunning bowling and fielding display from Shinfield saw them defend their total with relative ease.
Shahank Garg performed wonders with the ball as Shinfield made an early breakthrough and by the time Garg had taken his fourth wicket of the game, they looked to be cruising to victory with Crowthorne & Crown Wood struggling on 37-5.
Muhammad Hafeez complimented the bowling of Garg perfectly as he picked up two more wickets of his own in quick succession to take his tally for the day to three, while Garg collected two more of his own wickets to put the visitors in a commanding position.
Prashant Gandhi enjoyed a clinical afternoon in the field, taking two catches and also running out Christopher Emes as Shinfield displayed an amazing fielding performance to secure their fourth win of the season.
Shinfield were relentless in their pursuit for victory and they claimed the win after just 25.5 overs as Hassan Safdar took the final wicket.
Shinfield batting: Page 34, Chodimella 0, Deshmukh 26, A Gandhi 0, Hafeez 48, Joseph 12, Naseer 33, Shukla 38, P Gandhi 12no, Safdar 0, Garg 4no.
Crowthorne & Crown Wood bowling: Chandran 0-41, Emes 2-51, Crinnion 2-32, Ryan 1-35, Pun 2-29, Vogel 2-28.
Crowthorne & Crown Wood batting: Barron 8, Mehta 5, Cartledge 1, Avrili 3, Brundish 11, Ryan 0, Vogel 2, Pun 0, Emes 12, Crinnion 23no, Chandran 0.
Shinfield bowling: Garg 5-12, Shukla 0-8, Hafeez 3-15, P Gandhi 0-12, Safdar 1-12, Joseph 0-11.
