With three front line bowlers out of action (Nick Eva and Stuart Lipo injured and Rob Barrett on maternity leave) the 1stXI needed to bat first to stand any chance against West Ilsley. Yateley produced a reasonably total of 191 for 9 with Kevin Denston back in the runs with 22. With a depleted bowling attack, however, we were unable to hold West Ilsley who reached this total with the loss of just 4 wickets.

In contrast the 2ndXI had an easy win over West Ilsley's 2ndXI, winning by 7 wickets and gaining 27 points. Yateley bowled tightly and frustrated the opposition, who were bowled out for 100 runs. Andy Davies ripped into the early bastmen to take 3-28 and Martin Owton bowled well in his 11 overs taking 2-29. Colin Justice (below) came on to mop up the lower order with 4 for 12. Tony King (22) and Wes Day (17) put on a solid opening partnership. Saj, with an entertaining 23 put the result beyond doubt but lost his wickewt to a rash shot. Peter Wilson saw us home with 16 not out to underline his potential.

Who can stop the 3rd XI now? With no fixture, Theale & Tilehurst played 6 of their first team players against our 3rdXI. Batting first Theale rattled up 60-0 in just 16 overs despite Srni's tight bowling (1-31 off 12). Rajesh (3-61) took wickets but was expensive. It was left to skipper Dave Goddard to bring proceedings under control with a devastating spell of 6 for 27 to dismiss Theale for 149. Yateley started badly, losing Taylor for 1 and Grossmith run out for 4, with the total at 8 for 2 off 11 overs. A superb partnership of 84 for the next wicket between Stuart Lawrence (55) and Rawat (32) put us back on track. When thse two went we had a mini-collapse losing both Steve Ashfield and Brian Denston for 0. Andy Briggs (8) put up some resistence before sensible batting from Danny Mortimer (17 no) and Dave Goddard (12 no) saw us home with just one wicket to spare.

Having thrashed their opponents in previous weeks the 4th XI came up against a very strong Acton side and were well beaten by 150 runs at the Green. Acton scored 240 for 5. Yateley were skittled out for 90 with only Jay offering any resistence with a cultured 21.

The annual cricket match against the Hockey Club resulted in a predictable win for the Cricket Club, but not without a few scares along the way. The Hockey Club rattled up 121 for 6 off their 16 (8-ball) overs. Most of their runs came from Steve Coxhead, an ex-YCC 1st XI skipper, who scored an impressive 70 not out. The Cricket Club reached the total with 2 wickets to spare thanks to a good performance from James Mace, who scored 44. Chairman John Parker graced the occasion with his first ever game at Chandlers Lane. Remarkable when you think that John first started negotiations for this ground at least 20 years ago and has had to wait until now to get to play on it! Unfortunately, he wasn't needed to bat. Maybe next year, John?

All three XI's won in the Berkshire League with some fine performances. The 1stXI beat Sandhurst by 5 wickets. Sandhurst reached 145 for 9 in their 45 overs with Simon Massey taking an excellent 5-42. Danny Thatcher (1-43) and Nick Eva (2-19) also bowled well. Yateley suffered early blows with Kevin Denston and James Mace both going for nothing. Tom Lawrence (14) battled it out against some fiery Sandhurst bowling whilst Stuart Lipo restored order with an aggressive 30. When Stuart got out, it was left to Tom and Michael Leary to establish a partnership. In his first innings back from Uni, Michael batted with authority for a fine 25. When he was out to a superb catch at silly mid-on the game was still in the balance. Simon Massey (below) was in fine form, though, and he mastered the bowling with a superb 51 not out. Selwyn supported him towards the close.

Click here for the photographs.

An 8 wicket win for the 2nd XI against Emmbrook and a very useful 27 points. Simon Mant and Andy Davies made early breakthroughs to reduce Emmbrook to 26 for 3. Then Andy's battle-torn body failed him once again as he limped off injured. Yateley's bowlers did well to keep the total down to 164 for 6. The new opening combination of Colin Justice and Pete Platt put on 62 for the first wicket. Colin went for 26 and Pete went on to make 37. This could have been a crucial stage but a great knock by Thrilog (53 no) took us home for the loss of just those 2 wickets.

There's no holding the  3rd XI at the moment as they trounced Stoke Row at The Green by 138 runs. Batting first Yateley were in trouble at 40 for 5 off just 11 overs. Zahed Latif (38) and Danny Mortimer (43) batted more responsibly and put together an 80 run partnership to steady the innings. The later batting of Andy Briggs (14), Srni (13) and Dave Goddard (23 no)plundered the demoralised bowling attack to bring Yateley's total to 195 for 9. Stoke Row had no answer to Yateley's bowling attack and were shot out for a mere 57. The wickets were shared between John Branson (1-16), Dave Goddard (1-8), Srni (2-20), Rawat (2-2) and Andy Briggs (1-5). Danny Mortimer put in another good performance behind the stumps.

In a friendly the 4th XI were gallantly defeated away to Fleet. A majestic 51 not out from James Chandler contributed to 121 that included a vignette of an innings of 0 from captain marvel, Colin Ive. Following his customary 'one knee forward-defensive', he was bowled by a tricky one (straight) that only bounced twice before hitting the stumps! Despite a fine catch from David Ashfield, and excellent bowling from fit-again Gary Guild, and Rajesh, Fleet scored the required runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

Simon Massey passed 6,000 runs in the Berkshire League when he scored 44 to secure the 1st XI's fourth successive win in this season's campaign. Batting first IBIS & Mapledurham were dismissed for 131 thanks to Lipo 4-46, Massey 2-15, Thatcher 2-14 and Robbie Barrett 1-39. Yateley reached the total with the loss of just 5 wickets. Simon was well supported by Kevin Denston (19), James Mace (12) and Stuart Lipo (14 not).

The 2nd XI threw the game away against Swindon NALGO. Swindon scored a very credible 206 for 4 on a typical 'flat track' at Chandlers Lane. Yateley's bowlers worked hard with Andy Davies (2-34), Simon Mant (1-32) and Pat Gillham (1-28). This was a tough target but not beyond a strong Yateley batting line-up on a good track. Tom Ouldridge (35) and Tony King (26) gave Yateley a good start with 69 off 16 overs. Selwyn Grimsley (19), Pat Gillham (23) and Colin Justice (26) built on this foundation then .... "with singles everywhere we proceeded to try and slog our way to victory and lost too many silly wickets against very average spinners" .. and were all out for 181.
Click here for photographs of 2nd XI.

The 3rd XI secured their 5th win in a row in the League with an easy win over Hawley. Yateley batted first and put on 199 for 7 with Stuart Lawrence 68, Ian Taylor 35 and Rawat 31. Hawley had no answer to Martin Owton, who ripped through their batting with 5-25 to dismiss the hosts for just 50. John Branson (2-11) and Srini (1-8) provided the supporting roles.

The 4th XI entertained LNER at Yateley Green. Batting first the 4th XI managed 110 with Jay (14 not), Jono (20) and Richard (22) the pick of the batsmen. LNER knocked these off of the loss of just one wicket, taken by Jay. Our opening bowlers (Jay and George Wakely) are shown in action below.

The "grounds staff" worked hard in the morning to get a rain soaked ground in a fit state to play cricket. It paid off later that evening when the 1st XI finally secured a hard-fought win against second placed Swindon NALGO. All looked comfortable when Swindon were bowled out for 112 by Lipo (2-30), Barrett (3-34) and Massey (4-16). Despite being given a good start from Kevin Denston (5) and Tom Lawrence (19), Yateley also found runs difficult to come by, and wickets fell at regular intervals. After a slow period settling in, Saj (photo below) burst into action to set the game alight. He proceeded to plunder 27 to put Yateley within sight of victory. He was out attempting one audacious shot too many and it was left to Pat Gillam (16 no) to steady the ship and secure the deserved victory for Yateley.

Click here for more photographs of the 1st XI.

The 2nd XI game was rained-off. The 3rd XI maintained their position at the top of the table with a comfortable win against Crowthorne at Yateley Green. Yateley batted first and declared on 187 for 7 thanks to the performances of 4 batsmen. Opener Ian Taylor ground out a dogged 61 on a less than perfect wicket. Bernie Grossmith (44) and Rawat (14) consolidated the innings before Danny Mortimer set the proceedings alight  at the end with a sparkling 36 in just 14 balls. Crowthorne were bowled out for 132 thanks to Rawat (4), Srini (2) and John Branson (3).

The 4th XI were away to Hook (near Chessington). Yateley bowled out the opposition for just 68. Wes Day took 5-9 despite a broken thumb, supported by Jay (2-8), Sol (2-9) and James Shillingford (1-20). Yateley knocked off the runs for just 4 wickets with David Ashfield and Gethyn Howells both undefeated on 20 not out.

Away to Purley, the 1st XI`s tight and varied bowling attack restricted the home side to 106 all out, with the wickets shared by Stuart Lipo, Rob Barrett, Simon Massey, James Mace, Danny Thatcher and the highly promising Pat Gillham. With Kevin Denston (25) striking form, Yateley`s reply started well and Simon Massey (32 n.o.) and James Mace (18 n.o.) saw the visitors home with 7 wickets to spare.

In the reverse fixture, Purley 2nd XI also found runs hard to get at Yateley . Mainly thanks to excellent spin bowling by Nick Viner (3-18) and Rajesh (2-28),Yateley restricted Purley to 115-9. After a shock early dismissal of skipper Selwyn Grimsley, Tom Ouldridge (41) and Thirulog (58 n.o.) continued in their rich vein of batting form and steered Yateley to a comfortable 6 wickets victory.

Skipper Dave Goddard`s motivational skills again paid dividends for Yateley 3rd XI at Thatcham where the home team reached 195 all out. Srini was the pick of the Yateley bowlers, taking 3-43. Undaunted by the target, Yateley`s Stuart Lawrence (35), Rawat (54 n.o.) and, making a welcome return, Stephen Ashfield (58) saw Yateley home by 5 wickets to gain the maximum 30 points.

In a friendly game at Yateley Green, the 4th XI restricted Royal Ascot 3rd XI to 128, with the up and coming Colts Tom White (5-25) , Will Moore (1-20) and James Shillingford (2-18) performing really well, ably supported by Jay (2-7). White (18) and Jay (16) capped good all round performances but Yateley were all out for 94. Nevertheless, an encouraging day for many young players.