With Rob Barret injured the return of Nick Eva was very welcome. He made his mark with a fine bowling performance taking 4 for 40 to bowl out Nettlebed 1st XI for 228. On Yateley's normally perfect batting track this would have been an easy total to chase. However the recent dry weather was blamed for the change in conditions after tea when Yateley didn't find runs so easy. Simon Massey carried his bat for 87 not out. Simon Fishleigh (27 not) came in too late to make up for the slow run rate in the middle order. Yateley finished on 150 for 4 for a losing draw. Highlight of the day was the tea expertly prepared by Ben Eva, now back in the area. He is shown below with brother Nick and nephew Miles. Parker was there, drinking with a couple of ladies as usual!

The seconds are still finding life in division 2 pretty tough as they again found it hard to take wickets at lowly Welford Park. The home side piled on the runs and is spite of a fine spell from Martin Owton, Welford declared early at 234 for 3.The declaration was looking highly debatable as Yateley raced to 70 without loss in just 12 overs but the loss of James Mace for 34 heralded a regular loss of wickets as batsman got themselves in only to get out as they tried to accelerate. Sadly Yateley failed to even summon the effort to deny their fellow strugglers a much needed win as a skier gave a grateful Welford Park maximum points as Yateley stay firmly bottom.
Yateley thirds ran up an impressive 265 for 7 with Manu Rawat making 141 no, Thrulog 78  and young Will Moore an excellent 21. Rawat then turned demon with the ball as his 6 for 50 dismissed Stoke Row for 253 and a fine 12 run win.

Old timer George Wakely (below) was the star of the 4th XI taking 5 wickets for 62 against Sulhampstead at the Green. It didn't stop the opposition from scoring 226 for 8, which proved too much for the 4ths who were shot out for 85. Gent (32) and Wright (26) put up the only resistence for Yateley.

Yateley rattled up 313 for 3 against Hartley Wintney thanks, once again, to the dynamic father and son duo of Tom Lawrence (154) and Stuart (54). Thirulog was not far behind with a good supporting knock of 49. Hartley Wintney were bowled out for 226 by Andy Davies with 5 for 33.

A star bowling performance of 6-50 from veteran Rob Barett helped the 1st XI gain a dramatic victory over top of the table Sonning. Yateley scored 226 for 7 with the major contributions from Colin Jennings (62) and Simon Massey (67). In a nail biting finish Sonning were dismissed for 220 with just 3 balls to spare.

In contrast the 2nd XI never really tested Sonning at Chandlers Lane. Batting first Yateley scored 156, which is about 100 runs short on one of JP's standard tracks. The runs were spread between Lunn (40), John Howells (28), Stuart Lawrence (15), 14-year old Chris Tull (17), Owton (10) and Andy Davies (14). Sonning made very light work of this getting away to a flier with 80 runs of the first 12 overs. Andy Davies managed to slow them a little in the middle of the innings with 3-47 but couldn't prevent Sonning reaching the total for the loss of just 5 wickets.

The 3rd XI gained a winning draw aginst Knowl Hill at the Green. Batting first Yateley scored 236 thanks mainly to Rawat who scored another century (115). Knowl Hill werre not interested in going for a win and crawled to 170 for 6 at the close.

Dave Goddard reports:
Unbeaten Camberley visited Chandlers on this very warm day with the wicket looking full of runs as usual. Dave Goddard won the toss and decided to bat first. A wise decision as the spirited 2nds got off to a flying start mainly due to Stuart Lawrence and a supportive role from George Lunt at the other end. Rarely dropping below 5-6 an over at any stage of the game Yateley went on to punish Camberley in the heat and score a massive 322 -9 off their 45 overs. Main providers of the runs were Stuart Lawrence with a fantastic  111 ( and a first century for Yateley), George Lunt 19, Kevin Glazier a super 78, Paul Shillingford 44 and Dave Goddard with a quick 22 at the end. Camberley never really looked liked getting them and although the wicket allowed them to reach 220 all out, a win by 102 runs was a fairly convincing and most satisfying victory. The bowling figures were Danny Long 9 overs 37 for 1, Andy Davies 9 overs 41 for 0, Simon Froud 7 overs 47 for 1, Stuart Lawrence 6 overs 38 for 2, and Dave Goddard 4.1 overs 19  for 4. The skipper wants to give a very special mention to James Shillingford who played a great game of cricket, not only did he bowl really well with figures of 6 overs 25 for 2 but he fielded really well also with numerous diving saves saving a number of other wise certain fours and one absolutely magnificent diving catch. Well done James - Well done Stuart -Well done Kevin -Well done Paul and - Well done team for the spirit that inspires these performances! 

Colin Jennings scored his maiden half century for the club with a very solid 94 not out for the 1st XI against Cavaliers. Simon Massey hit 48 before getting out at a crucial stage of the innings. Stuart Lipo recovered the lost momentum with a quick 21 but again got out when we needed him to provide the impetus with Colin tiring in the heat. Yateley reached 206 but it was never going to be enough runs on the usual batsman's paradise provided by JP. Yateley's bowlers gave Cavaliers a run for their money. taking 7 wickets before conceding defeat.

Colin Justice (28) and John Howells (27) put the 2nd XI in a good position at 60 for 1 away to Compton. After this stand the batting collapsed and Yateley were all out for 125. This never proved difficult for Compton who knocked off the runs for the loss of just 1 wicket in 15 overs.

The 3rd XI saved the day with a (nervous) victory over Stratfield Turgis 2nd XI at the Green. Stratfield were bowled out for 122 thanks to John Branson (5-21) and Rowat (3-27). This was looking an easy target with good contributions from Rowat (30), Mortimer (25), Sawford (23) and Thirlog (13). Dubious umpiring decisions, however, caused some panic towards the end of the innings before Yateley reached their target for the loss of 9 wickets.

Dave Goddard reports:
It was an excellent day for the Sunday 2nds which really should be described as " THE DAY OF THE LAWRENCE'S!!!!!.We went to Cove determined to beat them at last, and beat them we did. Cove  won the toss and decided to bat first and up came outstanding performance number one by Stuart Lawrence's Nephew Richard who was over on holiday from the States and was a guest player for Yateley. Richard bowled magnificently and achieved a superb set of figures of 9 overs 5 maidens 3 wickets for just 15 runs. This however did not stop Cove from scoring a decent 224 off their 45 overs. However after tea came outstanding performances numbers two and three when skipper Dave Goddard decided to let young Tom Lawrence (standing in for the late pull out of George Lunt) and Dad Stuart Lawrence open the batting. It was an absolute pleasure to watch as Father and Son cruised to a 50 partnership which rapidly extended to the 100 partnership in almost no time at all despite the bowling efforts of some of their 1st team bowlers. Eventually Stuart was out for a super 63 and Tom for a magnificent 126. By this time the game was almost won already and very early indeed. Admittedly with little to do, some of the following batsmen, in a very strange and unusual frame of mind, as you might imagine given these rather unusual events at Cove, made the end result sound a little closer than it really was and Yateley eventually won by two wickets with loads of overs to spare. It really could have been by six or even seven wickets really. A great result from a team full of spirit and Skipper Dave Goddard would like to dedicate this victory to the Mortimers !!!

Colin Justice reports:
The firsts had a dismal day at Sandhurst after running up an easy double over our local rivals last season. At 33 -0 all looked good but the run-out of Tom Lawrence for 6 brought total collapse as the next 5 batsman managed 3 between them!! (Or was it two?) Simon Massey looked on from the other end and Robbie Barratt's 8 (yes eight) was the second highest score as we were rolled over for just 93 with Simon scoring over half with 48.
We bowled well with Stuart Lipo taking 2-14 and Nick Eva 1-5 but the damage was done and Sandhurst cruised home for a 6 wicket win.

Arriving back early to chandler's Lane the firsts witnessed an exciting if somewhat bizarre finish of the seconds match. Waltham St Lawrence had finished third in division one last season but had been relegated for regular failure to field an umpire. A tough game was therefore in prospect as Waltham batted first. However a fine opening spell by Andy Davies (2-48) supported by Danny Thatcher (2-39)saw Waltham reduced to 40 for 3. Waltham then got going and a large total looked likely. However spin slowed things down as James Mace (2-30) and Colin Justice (1-27) bowled 20 overs between them and Waltham finally managed a gettable 218.

James Mace (35) and Tom Ouldridge (41) got us off to a fine start. Colin Justice needed a runner so the youngest and quickest player was the obvious option and Paul Shillingford duly walked out with him!! (Clearly a rather obvious early attempt to win the divisional fair play award). However the run chase was well timed and when Paul Sandford (27) joined Colin in another 50 partnership we needed just 23 off the last three overs with five wickets left. The loss of Paul to a run out was a crucial blow but then two more run outs quickly followed including a fresh looking Colin for 50 accompanied by an utterly exhausted Paul Shillingford. A final thrash for victory sadly pettered out and we finished at a very creditable but ultimately disappointing 214 for 8.

The fourths also came very close to a first win running up an excellent 204 for 7 at the Green. Thrilog (33), Asim Kayani (35), Jay (28), Peter Hook (47no) and Wes Day (23) were the chief scorers. Caversham and Redingensians proceeded to knock off the runs for the loss of 6 wickets but top marks to James Shillingford who took 2 for 32.

Dave Goddard reports:
It was always going to be a difficult first league game of the season against a very strong Reading side, bearing in mind the Reading Skipper said that he brought with him a very similar side, with just one or two exceptions. that beat our 1st team last year. As usual when Dave Goddard wins the toss without fear he put them in to bat and, as expected , they were very strong. With our bowling figures: Danny Long 9 overs 39 for 0, Andy Davies 7 overs 48 for 1, Wes Day 6 overs 41 for 0, Dave Goddard 8 overs 37 for 1, Simon Froud 9 overs 33 for 2 and Thirulog 6 overs 19 for 1 Reading had scored 227 for 6 after their 45 overs. Yateley battled as they always do but with a strong attack from Reading we were only able to make a fairly respectable reply of 166. That man Lawrence was again top scorer with a defiant 56 ( no longer Mr Jug Avoidance) but with -13 runs from the remainder of the batting ( apart from Danny Long with an easy to watch Tally-Ho 24 at the end of the innings) Reading bowled us out for 166 and therefore won by 61 runs. The great thing about this result as with last seasons results is that the Sunday 2nds have now most certainly put the days of severe thrashings way behind them and this season you will see us most certainly winning games and holding our heads up high in the Sunday League.

Dave Goddard reports:
Newly promoted 3rds were away at Woodley on Saturday and I was particularly proud of how we demonstrated our strength in depth and breadth and showed not just how much the 3rd team has improved over the last couple of years but also how the whole club has moved forward.No longer do teams have to rely on just one or two key players they now play as a complete team with commitment and passion. Yateley won the toss and, as normal, with a play to win attitude put Woodley into bat first. It would be fair to say that we have bowled better but with figures of 2 for 41 for Martin Owton 1 for 20 from Thirulog and 1 for 24 from an impressive newcomer Peter Hook Yateley did manage to restrict Woodley to 214 for 4 off their allotted 45 overs. The 3rds, having lost Bernie Grossmith and Paul Sandford to the 2nds and without Rawat and John Branson this week still managed to cruise to second place in the 4th Division with another brilliant team display achieving the required 215 for the loss of only 4 wickets in LESS than 40 overs. Stuart Lawrence led the way with a superb 76, Thirulog scored only a modest 14 and Z Latif a modest 15 but with a highly impressive 55 not out from Danny Mortimer and an equally impressive 31 not out from Peter Hook Yateley were home and dry and won 27 points to take them second in the Division 4

The matches of all three Berkshire League sides were abandoned with no play.

The 3rds perfomed magnificently on Saturday against Waltham St Lawrence. When losing the toss and put into bat skipper Dave's instructions were "lets go for the 4th division record highest score of 340".We didn't quite get the record but with 46 from Lawrence, 97 from Thirlog, 58 from Rawat, 45 not out from Grossmith and 57 not out from Mace we made 321 for 4. Yateley bowled Waltham out in 35 overs for 135. Day took 3 wickets, Davies two, two for Briggs and one from Goddard. Result Yateley thirds won by 186 runs.

Pinkneys Green reached 210 for 6 in 45 overs on a typically flat track at Chandlers Lane. Rob Barrett opened his League season with a good bowling performance of 3-55, supported by Nick Eva 1-23 and Simon Massey 1-34. This was a very getable total for Yateley who were in a strong position when new man Colin Jennings (shown below) was out for 23 with the reply standing at 103 for 2. Despite good contributions from Massey (23), Tom Lawrence (42), Stuart Lipo (22), David Shears (27) and Danny Thatcher (12) too many wickets were lost too early and Yateley just held on for a draw in the end. Last man Rob Barrett (below) was pleased to make his his contribution with the bat as well as the ball.

The opening Berkshire League games for the 1st and 2nd XI were abandoned. The 3rd XI lost a very close encounter by just 10 runs against Harlington at The Green. Yateley scored 190 in reply to Harlington's 200 for 7. Rawat scored a magnificent 95 not out to give the newly promoted 3rd XI an encouraging start to the season.

A full set of friendlies were played last weekend before the league starts this weekend coming.

The firsts won comfortably against Twickenham on Saturday. batting first simon Massey scored 101, Colin Jennings 89 no and Simon Fishleigh 26 as we ran up 240. Twickenham managed just over 100 with the wickets shared by Stuart Lipo (3), Tom Lawrence, Andy Briggs and Massey with two apiece.

The seconds lost by 6 wickets at Sunbury. Most batsman got started but didn't go on to make a big score. Tom Ouldridge (35), Asim Kayani (21), James Chandler (32) and Dave Roberts (24) were the pick of our bastmen. Sunbury had little trouble reaching 135 with skipper Danny Thatcher taking 2-30.

The thirds dismissed Falkland for 222 or so they thought, with 3 wickets for Jay Modwadia and two for Was Day and Dave Goddard. Our 223 in return was not enough when it turned out that Falkland had scored 227!! A rather late correcton took the gloss off good knocks from Thirulog (49), Danny Mortimer (45) and Zahed Latif (33).

The Firsts on Sunday lost by 70 runs to Alton with Stuart Lipo scoring 74 with 22 apiece for Tom Lawrence and Saj Shafi. Danny Thatcher returned 3 for 40. The seconds ran out winners by 7 wickets with James Chandler making 53 no and Jay 23 no after Asim Kayani has made 32. Alton had no answer to Wes Day (2 for 5), Danny Long (3 for 19) not to mention skipper Goddard with 2 for 1 off 3 balls!!