WOKINGHAM Cricket Club are now without a win in four games after falling just 10 runs shy of victory when hosting Falkland at Sadler’s End.
The Oaks could only reach 227-9 in response to the 236-9 set earlier in the day by the opposition, with the hosts shaking hands on a draw for the second successive weekend.
Player-coach Dan Housego had spoken prior to the game about Wokingham’s bowlers needing to find some consistency, yet would have few complaints with the returns produced by Paul Dewick and Cameron Spence.
Dewick would lead the attack with 4-65 as Spence finished with 3-63 and provided ample support.
There was also a couple of wickets for Jack Fisher, but their work with the ball was tarnished somewhat by the 74 struck by Falkland’s Hamza Riazuddin.
The former Hampshire professional would frustrate the hosts with a watchful innings which helped lift the side to a competitive score, with the No.4 totting up eight boundaries before playing a catch to Oaks captain Stuart Hayter.
Wokingham had fallen short in their chase of 212 last time out, so an improvement on that session would be needed if they were to end the wait for a win.
But they would get off to a stuttering start and were soon four down with just 115 runs on the board, of which 44 were contributed by Michael Bates, who would finish as the home side’s top scorer on the day.
He would share a third-wicket stand of 75 with Hayter (27), but it was another vital partnership which pushed Wokingham back into contention.
Dan Reddyhough is back in the first XI having scored well for the second string this term, and the club stalwart would again bat well, producing 43 runs of the 56 he and Fisher put on for the fifth wicket before being dismissed.
He would leave with the scoreboard reading 171-6, yet any grip the side now had on the fixture was soon to be unraveled by Falkland.
Three wickets for Daminda Kolugula amid figures of 4-42 and a run out saw Wokingham fall to 212-9 and the brink of a third loss in four games.
It was now down to Spence and man-of-the-match Dewick to prevent this, but instead of blocking out for the draw would bravely try and knock off the remaining runs – only to run out of deliveries.
They would finish unbeaten on six and four respectively.
Falkland received the greater share of the points with 15, while Wokingham picked up nine.
They remain sixth in Division 1 of the Thames Valley League.
Finchampstead Cricket Club
THERE is just no stopping Finchampstead at the moment.
A fourth win on the spin in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League was secured with the 122-run thrashing of near neighbours Reading.
The coin toss at The Memorial Ground was won by the visitors, who elected to field, but it was a call which was to ultimately backfire.
Opening pair Dan Lincoln and Matt Jones would set the tone for what was a prolific innings, putting on 67 for the first wicket before the latter was run out for exactly 30.
He was replaced at the crease by captain Dan Marles, who was in an unforgiving mood and racking up a brilliant century.
With Lincoln celebrating a half-century 54, Marles’ 103 and further contributions down the order from Greg Smith (20), Suki Kang, who made 13 against his former club and the 16 stuck by Matt Carter, Finch looked well set when closing on a daunting 262-8.
While Reading had a difficult run chase on their hands, they would also have to try and stand up to the imposing threat of Jandree Coetzee.
Finchampstead’s impressive form to date has been indebted in some sorts to the blistering work of the South African bowler, who went into the fixture with collective figures thus far of 16-66.
And the overseas star would have another telling impact on proceedings once again, removing half the visiting line-up and conceding just 49 runs in the process.
Coetzee would remove three opponents for ducks, while Ryan James (6) and captain Khalid Malik (2) fared little better against the seamer.
With Carter removing three more, Reading were eventually shot out in the 48th over for 140 – a total which would have been far worse had it not been for Martin Andersson.
He would more than hold up the reply, notching up an unbeaten century (101), but because of a lack of support from elsewhere it would count for very little.
The next best stand came from opener Qasim Ali, who made 22 before Max Stevenson removed his bails.
