There's no stopping the 1st XI as they comfortably beat Twyford by 6 wickets at Chandlers Lane to retain second spot. Batting first Twyford were all out for 123. As usual Rob Barrett set the tone with a remarkable 3 for 4 off 8 overs. Rob was well supported by spin twins Simon Massey (3-51) and Simon Mant (1-33). When Yateley batted Simon Massey showed his recent return to form was here to stay with another polished display in getting 61. Des Hutton chipped in with 27 to see Yateley home by 4 wickets. Twyford denied Yateley the extra batting point by bowling a wide with the scores level, but not before Yateley batted out 2 maidens trying to hit a 4. Click here for photographs.

At last the 2nd XI notched up a much needed win in beating Warfield by 85 runs. Yatetey were all out in just 40 overs for 195. Three quick wickets fell to the new ball before Paul Shillingford (34) and Bob Parker (19)  restored order. Then Kevin Glazier took the bowlers apart with a rapid 45 with Bernie Grossmith (19), Lee Latif (24) and Peter Wilson (16) making sure of maximum points. A good all round bowling performance saw off Warfield for 110. The wickets were shared between Stuart Fishleigh (2), Andy Davies (2), Peter Wilson (2) and Colin Justice (3-14). Young Nick Viner also showed promise with 1-15. A good team performance under the excellent guidance of stand-in skipper Selwyn Grimsley.

The 3rd XI did well to hold out for a draw against Waltham St Lawrence, who totalled 241. Yateley battled hard in their innings and, thanks to Saj (69) and Dave Goddard (25 no), earned a draw at 168 for 9. Partnered by Jamie Gale (15 no), Dave batted out 15 overs to save the game with a broken hand! Remember Colin Cowdrey?

The in-form  1st XI made short work of Berkshire County Sports winning by 9 wickets before tea. Rob Barrett took 4 wickets and Stuart Lipo 2 in demolishing the home side for just 88 runs. Simon Massey made even shorter work of getting the runs by knocking up 65 in just 12 overs to help Yateley reach the target for the loss of just 1 wicket.

The 2nd XI had a tough game meeting Checkenden 1st XI on a good day. Yateley did well restricting the visitors to 162-9 thanks to Martin Owton (3-49), Richard Heywood (2-44), and Colin Justice (2-21). Martin won the 'skippers pint' for his performance with the ball. Yateley were never in the hunt against a very fast opening attack. Only Selwyn Grimsley (18) and Pete Platt (43 no) offered any resistance. Pete hit 3 mighty sixes off the second string bowlers to emphasise what could have been if the new ball had been better negotiated.  Click here for photographs.

The 3rd XI got back to winning ways in defeating Woodley at the Green. Batting first Yateley reached 177 with Paul Shillingford (27) and Serj (30) making the biggest contributions. With young Gethyn Howells taking 3 wickets in as many overs the visitors were never in with a chance. When Gethyn took a well earned rest Woodley had no answer to the leg spin of Sat who took 5 wickets as Woodley were finally bowled out for 110. Click here for photographs.

Yateley 1st XI beat Hurst in a close encounter in the Sunday League. Batting first Yateley were in trouble losing their first 4 wickets for just 20 runs. Enter Sej (50) Pat Gillam (34) and Lipo (46) to restore order and help Yateley to a total of 181. Hurst were dismissed for 175 (Mant 2-29) by a good all round bowling and fielding performance.

An exciting last-ball win for the 1st XI but losses for both 2nd and 3rd XI's.

Batting first on a rain-affected wicket Yateley 1st XI fought hard to reach a total of 178. It was a team effort with contributions from Simon Fishleigh (40), Simon Massey (34), Ramon San Emeterio (26 no), Tom Lawrence (18), Matt Drewell (17) and Des Hutton (17). Simon Massey bowled all through Hawley's innings to finish with 8 for 76. Hawley needed 4 runs off the last ball with 1 wicket remaining. A brilliant stumping by Des Hutton sealed the win and a valuable 30 points. Click here for photographs in the bar.

The 2nd XI had to bat on an even greater rain-affected wicket at Crown Wood. Apart from Kevin Glazier (39) Yateley's early batsmen failed to cope with the conditions and a score below 75 looked to be on the cards until veterans Chris Jacobs and George Wakely came together. The "Webmaster" batted for 20 overs for his patient 19 and George chipped in with 14 not out to strengthen his average yet again. Crown Wood threw the bat to secure the (7 wicket) win before the threatening clouds had a chance to intervene. Click here for photographs.

The 3rd XI lost to Thatcham by 3 wickets. In Yateley's 74 all out only Stuart Lawrence and Sat reached double figures. At least Sat had a good day - he also did well with the ball taking 3 for 13 off 4.2 overs.

Both the 1st and 2nd XI games were washed out at tea. The 1st XI were in a strong position with 200-5 dec and Farley Hill at 10-1. Yateley's early bastmen struggled against accurate bowling and lost their first 4 wickets for 30 runs off 20 overs. Michael Leary steadied the ship with a patient 47. It was Simon (Fiery) Fishleigh, however, who set the game alight with a magnificant 120 not out. I am sure Farley Hill haven't seen so many big sixes for a long, long time! The 2nd XI were in the opposite position when their game ended due to the thunderstorms. Binfield were 220-5 at the end of their 45 overs, with 3 wickets for Colin Justice. Nevertheless, the seconds believed they would have been in with a reasonable chance given the flatness of the pitch and the speed of the outfield. We'll never know, now.

By beating Dogmersfield in the Aylward Plate semi-final Yateley are now just one step away from completing a cup double for the season.

Batting first this time Yateley were given yet another solid start from openers Kevin Denston and Michael Leary. Kevin completed his second 50 in 3 days with an aggressive 58, ably supported by Michael's 28. James Mace (12) and Simon Fishleigh (13) kept the pace going knowing there were plenty of wickets in hand. In the last few overs Kevin Glazier (11 no) and Peter Denston (11 no) pushed the score to 160, a daunting target for Dogmersfield to chase in fading light.

Dogmersfield started well but found the required run rate of 10.7 difficult to achieve against the pace of Lipo (1-24 off 4 overs). Despite suffering from a shoulder strain, David Jones also kept the batsmen below the run rate (0-26 off 3 overs). However, Simon Mant (1-37 off 4) couldn't perform his magic on Yateley's flat batting track allowing Dogmersfield to get back in the game. After 11 overs an unlikely victory looked possible until the partnership was finally broken by Rob Barrett (2-39 off 4). Two new batsman in ever fading light, and by now light rain, couldn't sustain the momentum, as the opposition fell 24 runs short of the target on 136-4. A comfortable victory in the end with Kevin Denston's fine run of form proving to be the deciding factor. Click for photographs.

Yateley became the first club to win the title for the second time, having previously won it in 1998. Yateley beat Theale & Tilehurst (1995 winners) at Waltham St Lawrence's ground by 6 wickets with just 2 balls to spare.

The usually accurate Stuart Lipo and Peter Denston were unable to contain the T&T openers as they raced to 57 in just 4.5 overs. Lipo made the first breakthrough but at the halfway stage at 96-3 T&T looked set for a substantial total. The introduction of Simon Mant (bowling off-breaks!!!) and Rob Barrett put the brakes on. With Simon bowling tight and grabbing 2 run outs, Rob did the most damage with 5 wickets for just 12 runs. T&T were all out for 136. A good score given that winning totals in previous years had been below 120.

Yateley openers Mike Leary and Kevin Denston pushed hard for every run early on to put pressure on the opening bowlers. At the half way stage, though, Yateley were behind the clock with 65 without loss. However, with the introduction of a slow bowler Yateley's total crept towrds its target. Just when victory looked in sight with 2 overs to go, wickets began to tumble. Leary went for 56 followed by James Mace first ball. Kevin Denston (56) fell on the first ball of the last over with 3 runs still needed. With Simon Fishleigh facing his first ball and 2 runs needed of 3 balls he went for the big one. A difficult catch was dropped and the ball went for 4 to give Yateley the victory in a tense finish.

Click here for Bob Drewell's Photographs of the 1st XI game against Normandy.