Saj Shafi reports:
Playing away at Marlow Park, Yateley fielded first after losing the toss (first time this season). They were rewarded for yet another good start by dismissing the opening pair within 7 overs. Marlow kept on trying to build partnerships but just couldn't sustain them. A Ward 9-5-22-0 bowled a great spell of unplayable spin but was unfortunate not to pick up a wicket, as did J Jones who was also unlucky. S Lipo finished on 6-2-14-2 and had good support from D Bone 5-0-26-2 and W Moore 4-0-19-2. Marlow eventually declared on 183-8 after 46 overs.
After tea Yateley found themselves 1 wicket down after the first ball of the innings and all of a sudden the target seemed daunting. However S Lipo relieved the tension with a blistering 58 to leave Yateley on 88-2 in only the 13th over. After his exit, S Shafi 51 got them closer to the total and it was left to J Jones 24 N/O to see them home in the 37th over.
Yateley finished on 184-6 and won by 4 wickets.
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Dave Goddard reports:
The Sunday 2nd XI cruised to their second victory in a row with a win against Camberley.
Camberley made 169 for 9 after their 45 overs with Alex West the pick of the bowling with figures of 9 overs 3 for 37. Yateley cruised to 7 wicket victory in just 28 overs with John Muir playing the supporting role carrying his bat to end with an unbeaten 47 and Mannu Rawat with 83 off just 59 balls. To be fair the Camberley bowling flattered the figures but the runs still had to be achieved and John and Mannu made it look easy.

The 1st XI surprisingly were emphatically beaten by West Ilsley. Batting first, Yateley were all out for 143, which was a respectable total on a lively track. Saj was the pick of our batsmen scoring 47, supported by Bates (24) and Lipo (26). When West Ilsley batted they went after the bowling from the off and with many very fortunate blows reached the total for loss of just one wicket (taken by Stuart Lipo).
Come on, boys, you need to do better than this!

Saturday 2nds were at home to what will be one of if not the strongest sides in this division with a couple of excellent overseas players. Skipper Dave Goddard wanting that elusive first victory, won the toss and put them into bat so we could hopefully control the game. With not so tight bowling this week from Andy Davies (8 overs for 47 but 3 wickets) and 11 overs 1 for 63 for Mannu Rawat the oppo got off to a high scoring start. Dave Goddard and John Muir slowed them down a bit Dave (13 overs 2 for 58) and John (4 overs 2 for 17) but Ruislip made 250 before being dismissed after 41 overs.
Yet again the batting lacked the consistency of last year and at 93 for 5 after 25 overs we had lost too many wickets and scored too slowly to be realistically in with a chance of victory. John Muir did well with 24, Stuart lawrence with 19 and Barry Ward (15). We didn't give up the chase and with a quick fire 40 from Will Moore and a steady unbeaten 61 from Arthur Truslove there was a glimmer of hope until another three quick wickets were lost and we had no option other than to survive for the draw. A very tense last over saw Arthur Truslove dropped by the keeper and we just held out for the draw but managed a respectable 213 for 9.

Saj Shafi reports:Yateley got off to an excellent start in their first Sunday League game off the season. Having won the toss for the 6th consecutive week, Yateley’s captain Stuart Lipo opted to bat first. And it proved to be great decision as Yateley posted one of their highest totals in the Sunday League. After losing 2 wickets in the first 10 overs, Saj Shafi 52 and Tom Lawrence 132* n/o put on 147 for the third wicket partnership off just as many balls. S. Shafi was eventually bowled but Tom kept on blitzing the Woking attack. His total came off 113 balls with an astonishing 25 boundaries. There was also good support from S. Gore who hit a rapid 21 in the middle order. Yateley finished on 272 for 6 after their 45 overs, a score they felt confident of defending.
Yateley’s two opening bowlers started off well but could just not produce an early break through. Their pace however kept the batsmen on their toes as the pace was sharp, Stuart Lipo produced a superb display off bowling with figures 7 overs for just 13 runs. S. Gore came on first change and got the break through with his first ball, and then managed to take 3 more wickets in successive overs which dented the home side chances off winning. Yateley again kept the intensity up in the field which reflected on their fielding performance as Woking were never really allowed easy runs. Colts D.Bone and H. Wildey were great in the field and both bowled very well in supporting roles and even picked up a wicket each. Yateley “OLD BOY” Simon Mant who is currently in his comeback year, showed the youngsters he’s still got it by taking 2 catches, (one of which was a spectacular effort and definitely a contender for catch of the season) and was also involved in the run out. Will Moore bowled superbly and deservedly picked up 2 wickets, it was then left to S.Gore to pick up the last wicket and his 5th as he finished with excellent figures of 8-2-27-5. Old Woking were bowled out for 203, Yateley won by 69 runs with a terrific all round display of cricket.
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Dave Goddard reports:Yateley 2nd XI were at home to Aldershot in the first Sunday League game of the season and when winning the toss skipper Dave Goddard put Aldershot in to bat. Openers Danny Long and Simon Froud unfortunately let Aldershot get away a bit and they were scoring at rate of over 7 per over after the first 12 overs. Then Dave Goddard came on and returned to the effective and economical bowling he has produced so far this season (apart from yesterday) and bowled a straight 9 over spell achieving 2 wickets for just 23 runs. Stuart Lawrence bowling at the other end kept it tight with figures of 6 overs 1 for 23 and a fine performance by Ben Swingler-Brown in only his second senior game with figures of 8 overs 2 for 43. Aldershot were bowled out for 187 which was a great performance by Yateley as at one stage it looked like they were heading for 300. With a fine batting display from Mannu Rawat (64) and Stuart Lawrence (55) Yateley cruised to a three wicket victory with 8 overs to spare.

With the 1st XI game called off due to rain it was left to the 2nd XI to provide some cricket on Saturday. Farley Hill batted first and could only manage 60 off the first 20 overs thanks to some tight bowling from Andy Davies (4-19 off 14 overs). Unfortunately, they were let off the hook scoring 110 off the last 12 overs. Dave Goddard was the main casualty giving away 43 runs in only 5 overs, albeit chipping in with two wickets. Farley Hill finished on 174 for 6.
Dave made some amends with a quick 22 as a pinch hitting opener. Hinstock supported him well with a solid 18. It was Stuart Lawrence (22) and Danny Mortimer (16) who put Yateley in a position to win the game with a fine 50+ partnership. On a damp slow wicket runs on the ground were hard to come by, which Stuart overcame with some fine 6's.
When Stuart got out to a poor shot wickets fell regularly and the momentum was lost. Dinesh (18 not) and John Muir (18 not) held firm and ensured the draw. Yateley finished on 138 for 7.

Steve Davies reports:
Yateley 1st Innings 107 all out. Yateleys poor start to the season continues with a loss to newly promoted Purley. Yateley were put into bat first with the focus to set a sensible target, however this was soon in question following an excellent spell by the Purley openers resulting in Yateley being 17 for 5. Stuart Lipo (53 not out) came to the rescue of what could have been an extremely embarrassing and early finish to the game. Supported by the lower order Yateley finished 107 all out with only 2 other batsmen going into double figures (B Ward 12 and S Davies 11). Morale was still high in the Yateley dressing room before taking the field with one objective in mind, to win.
Early wickets fell for Purley from excellent bowling and fielding by the Yateley team. Stuart Lipo (3-33) took an early scalp in the first over, which was matched by Peter Wilson(2-11). Peter and Stuart continued to bowl under pressure following up with further early wickets reducing Purley to 32 for 5. Unfortunately Yateley were unable to capitalise on the early wickets but kept focus throughout the game showing true grit until the end. Purley were truly worried throughout their batting as it was clear Yateleys key strength was their bowling and motivated & competitive fielding. Unable to break a crucial partnership of 21 between Maycock (50) and Allen, Purley moved towards the 107 target slowly having suffered severe casualties along the way. Purley finished 108 for 7. Yateley look forward to hosting other newly promoted Peppards next Saturday at Chandlers Lane.

Dave Goddard reports:
The 2nd XI were at home in the league to their old friends and rivals Stoke Row. Losing the toss Yateley were put into bat and at last the some of last years batting skills returned, despite two quick wickets falling for 0 runs (Dinesh and Jim Henstock). John Muir (56) and Stuart Lawrence (44) pulled things back and Yateley managed to reach a respectable total of 199. Dave Goddard decided to play the tactic of not taking the new ball initially and hoped that he and Martin Owton could keep the run rate down initially so we could apply pressure later and make them make mistakes chasing the victory they have NEVER achieved over Yateley 2nds. The plan started well as Martin and Dave restricted Stoke Row to 19 for 1 after the first 13 overs. Martin Owton then pulled up with an injury and with only quick bowlers left Dave Goddard was forced to take the new ball. But with an excellent spell of 15 overs 3 for 31 Patha kept the momentum going and Dave Goddard 16 overs 4 for 51 put Yateley within two wickets of victory. Unfortunately, for the first time in four years, Stoke Row decided to bat out for the draw and despite our efforts we were unable to snatch the victory we deserved. However we did end up with 18 point and a winning draw.

Dave Goddard reports:
Yateley 2nd XI were at home to Chiswick and Latimer and despite a good start Chiswick were bowled out for 141 with impressive performances from young Henry Wildey 5 overs 3 for 25 and Simon Froud 7.2 overs 3 for 44 and Mannu Rawat 2 overs 2 for 6. Yateley cruised to victory with 34 from John Muir, 16 from Danny Long, 19 from Andy Davies and an unbeaten 35 from Skipper Dave Goddard.

Saj Shafi reports:
Winning his 4th toss in a row Yateley didn’t hesitate to bat first at Chandlers Lane, which is quickly looking like becoming a batsmen’s paradise. S Lipo 60 and B Viner 71 put on 123 for the first wicket stand. The captain was caught at mid-on after he tried to increase the run-rate. In came M Bates who is quickly becoming one of the first names on the skipper’s selection team list, and he added to the second wicket partnership of 55 before B Viner unselfishly ran himself out so Michael could stay out there. He scored a superb and stylish 50* n/o within 13 overs and with a quick flurry at the end by S Shafi 17* Yateley finished on 229-2 after their allotted overs.
During the tea break the skies went dark and the rain came down, which could have breathed a bit of life into the pitch, and therefore helped Yateley’s bowlers. However Kidmoore came out blazing from the word go and with in 10 overs had already scored 85-0. Yateley kept persevering but the batsmen kept finding the gaps and boundaries. Yateley tried to restrict the runs but then with a poor umpiring decision tempers flared and threatened to boil over, add to that a few drop catches and the fielding side knew things weren’t going their way. C Jeffs did manage to run out the most annoying batsmen Kidmore had with some fantastic work behind the stumps which brought some satisfaction to the home side. Kidmore reached the target with 6 overs to spare on 234-3. Yateley lost by 7 wickets.

Steve Davies reports:
First league game Yateley looked for early points, the side slightly weakened from players still to return from Uni. Yateley won the toss and selected to put the visitors into bat. Morale was high in the field with great performances by the bowlers. Lipo (3-24) bowled tightly with Dave Regan bowling through his 15 overs showing the opposition the true meaning of the slower ball resulting in 4-54. Chris Tull also provided excellent bowling with 3-14 deserved wickets. Pinkneys were reduced to 151 all out giving Yateley plenty of time at the crease with 49 overs. arly wickets fell with the early lose of opener Ben Viner closely followed by Saj Shai, Chris Tull and George Lunt. Tom Lawrence steadied the batting with a quality knock for 51. Stuart Lipo supporting Tom with a well earned 36 runs. The lower order collapsed apart from Steve Davies contributing a quick 14 but fell short by 17 runs finishing on 136 all out.

Dave Goddard reports:
A weakened 2nd 11 due to lack of availability of the 1st 11 squad, and early season preocupation, visited Woodcote for the their first game of the Bershote League season.
Woodcote finished 2nd in Division two last season and the only reason they are not in Division 1 this year is down to the quality of their facilitiies so they were always going to give an idea of the level of oppo this year. They elected to bat first and with some superb bowling, fielding and spirit we bowled them out for just 121. Andy Davies 15 overs 2 for 32, Mannu Rawat 11 overs 1 for 18 and Dave Goddard 9 overs 6 for 20.
With our normal batting side 121 even on this wicket would not have caused us a problem but unfortunately, unlike last season, it was the batting that let us down this time and with the first 7 wickets falling for just 61 runs it was never going to happen this week. Eventually Yateley were all out for an embarrassing 73 and didn't even manage a single bonus batting point.
It is so important that we get commitment from players to turn out regularly this season if we are to continue to enjoy success at all levels.

It WILL get better and Dave Goddard predicts that not only will will achieve a record of being the first 2nd 11 to stay up in Division 2 BUT WE WILL GET PROMOTED to Division 1. Watch this space.

Saj Shafi reports:
Having won the toss, Yateley opted to field on the greenest wicket they have ever seen, away to Ottershaw. That decision proved an excellent choice, as with some great bowling and tight fielding displays the home side found themselves at 34-3 after 18 overs. Yateley kept the pressure up in the field with a noisy atmosphere which made it difficult and uncomfortable for the opposition to bat in. All of bowlers deserve a mention with excellent performances from S Lipo 8-2-17-1; C Tull 5-0-5-1, J Gale 7-1-14-1 and pick of the bunch were S Gore 6-0-16-3 and J Jones 8-0-4-23. Ottershaw were bowled out for 83 in the 35th over.
After tea Yateley’s two young prospects got off to a good enough start considering the opposition score. C Tull 14 was then caught behind and Yateley were 26-1. M Bates 29 continued to play some great shots and with some big blows from S Shafi 31* n/o Yateley closed in on the low target within 24 overs. Yateley won by 7 wickets and finished on 86-3

Steve Davies reports:
Yateley 1st XI arrived at Theale to blow away the winter cobwebs, electing to bat first Yateley provided a steady start with runs from Trustlove (16), Lawrence (22) and back from his whirl wind pro season in Australia!! Saj Shafi (35). On a difficult track Yateley set a low total of 125 all out. Stuart Lipo opened the bowling and proved a potent attack with 4-26 from 10 overs, Dave Regan took a well deserved wicket to put the pressure on Theale who looked to struggle at 55 for 5. Stand-in skipper Steve Davies soon reduced Theale to 70 for 7 with a superb caught and bowled with 2-13 from 4. Chris Tull provided the sting in the tail with a mature bowling display, although Theale only needed 8 to win the youngster showed determination and took the last 2 wickets to secure a tight finish. Off to a winning start ready for coming league fixtures.