With three bowlers missing the 1st XI still managed a winning draw against Berkshire County Sports and, if a couple of difficult catches had been held, could have won the game. Batting first Yateley notched up 231 for 7. After losing a wicket in the first over Jon Ablett (65) and Tom Lawrence (17) established the foundation for David Regan (45 not) and Stuart Lipo (37) to push for a big score. Neil Shirley (23 not) and Pat Gilham (14) forced the pace in the closing overs to give Yateley a good total to bowl at. Berkshire County Sports started their innings cautiously against the lively pace of opening bowler Pat Gilham. Neil Shirley, promoted from the 2nd XI, also bowled well but without luck. Simon Massey took 3-48 but it wasn't enough to bowl out the opposition who finished on 186-6 with one over remaining before the rain came.
The 2nd XI game was called off very early at 11.00 by Bradfield. Maybe they were a little pessimistic in facing the table topping team?
The 3rd XI continued their good batting form and produced a reasonable total (180-8) against Waltham St Lawrence. Ben Viner was again the batting star with another 50, supported well by John Howells who got into the 30's. With their number three hitting the ball very hard (and far) Waltham St Lawrence got the runs for the loss of 3 wickets with 15 overs to spare. Martin Owton took 3 wickets but he had little support from the other bowlers.

Skipper Saj reports:
Yateley lost the toss and were put in the field on a rainy, unsettled day. Yateley bowled well and were able to take wickets at regular intervals however, the run rate set by Basingstoke was consistent throughout their innings at around 4 an over and they were able to excel in the last 8 overs as they reached a total of 249-6. T Lawrence was the pick of the bowlers again with figures of 8 overs 2-40.
After tea the weather suddenly changed and Yateley had the luxury of batting in glorious sunshine, which probably had an impact on Yateley's two openers as they set about their ways with a blistering start. In form S Lipo hit a superb 67 of 60 balls but unfortunately was caught out as he tried to play a ball over mid off. At 102-2 Yateley still felt on top in this match, however, they then lost 5 wickets for 75 runs and the balance of power shifted swiftly Basingstoke's way. With T Lawrence 31 still in, Yateley always thought they had a chance and with J Gayle's big hitting at the end (18 off 12 balls) the match was poised to go right down to the wire. Unfortunately, Basingstoke held their nerve and Yateley were dismissed for 208.

Despite a bold move, the 1st XI went down at Pinkneys Green in a rain effected match. At 202 for 1, Yateley declared early after just 35 overs to ensure a finish after two interruptions for rain. Tom Lawrence returned to form with 70 not out to complement consistent performers Massey (60) and Ablett (30 not out). Pinkneys Green responded to the challenge and attacked the bowling from the start. Nick Patterson bowled well for his 2 wickets but Simon Massey went for 5 sixes as Pinkneys Green raced to 203-4 to take the deserved win in 30 overs as the threat of further rain failed to materialise and the sun emerged.

A report from Saj follows:
The Sunday 1st XI got their first win off the season against Farnham this sunday. Yateley lost the toss and fielded first in what was a very humid day.Playing with only 10 men in the field gaps were bound to cause concern and the objective was not to chase a score in excess of 250...with some marvellous tight bowling displays T Lawrence 3-18, J Howells 2-38 and S Davies who bowled 9 overs for just 10 runs 1 wkt Yateley restricted the home side to 199-7 of their alloted 45 overs.
With the strong batting lineup available to Yateley the total seemed very achievable, but there was a bad start to the innings as they lost two early wickets and were in trouble at 34-2 on a wicket that wasn't helping the batters much with the varied bounce. A third wicket partnership of 98 between B Viner 58 and J Muir 30 however steadied the innings and built a good foundation for yateley to go on to win the game. T Lawrance 32 and P Gillham 30no provided some fireworks at the end to see the visitors home with 8 overs to spare. Yateley 200-5

The 1st XI failed to hold top of the table Sonning in a one-sided match at Chandlers Lane. Batting first Yateley were frustrated by the tight Sonning bowling as a succession of batsmen failed to capitalise on good starts: Tom Lawrence (38), Saj (26), Fishleigh (28), Patterson (10) and Barrett (11). Yateley still managed to gain maximum batting points with 182-9 off 45 overs, but it never looked enough. Sonning set about their task by attacking from the start. Five dropped catches did not help to stem the flow of runs and Sonning reached their target for the loss of 3 wickets.

The 2nd XI are unstoppable at the moment and quickly brushed aside a weak effort from Stoke Row. John Muir was in tremendous form with the ball taking 6 wickets for 12 runs as he bowled out Stoke Row for 92. Yateley got the runs for the loss of 4 wickets with Stuart Lawrence (20), Stuart Lipo (23), Paul Sandford (20) and George Lunt (17) enjoying an easy stroll in the sun.

The 3rd XI's tale of woe continued with their spirited effort failing this time at Knowl Hill. Waqas (3 wkts), James Sillingford (3) and Wes Day (2) did well to restrict Knowl Hill to 186-10. It proved too much for Yateley, however, who were bowled out for 116. Apart from Suhail (22), Chris Tull (20) and Will Moore (17) Yateley's batting was left wanting.

The 1st XI made light work of Cavaliers with a resounding 9 wicket win. Put into bat Cavaliers scored a credible 191-5 against the bowling of Steve Davies (2 wkts) and Pat Gilham (2). Bowling in his first game of the season, Pete Denston took just one wicket but worked up a pace that has been missing from Yateley's bowlers recently. Yateley comfortably knocked off the runs for the loss of just one wicket. Michael Leary opened the innings with a solid looking 33 and Jonathan Ablett continued his excellent run with an unbeaten 47. However, it was Simon Massey's turn this week to score a ton, with a commanding 107 no.

Lack of bowling penetration is also the 3rd XI's biggest challenge as they lost at home (Watchetts)  to local rivals Crowthorne. Batting first Yateley gained maximum batting points with 180-9. Gentle giant Ben Viner was again the chief run getter with another fine knock (51). Kevin Wood also made a very useful contribution with 42. Crowthorne were never in trouble overhauling the target and lost just 3 wickets.

An (abridged) report from Dave Goddard follows:
The 2nd XI won their first Sunday League game of the season, away to Camberley. Camberley opened with a first teamer, who scored 95 in quick time. Despite tight bowling from Goddard and Day, Camberley reached 211-4 in their alloted overs. Yateley openers Stuart Lawrence and Barry Ward fell quickly to put the side in trouble on a goodish wicket. Andy Ward (61) and Paul Sandford (30) re-gained the control and a quick 50 from Neil Shirley put Yateley back in the driving seat. With 15 overs to go Yateley still needed 8 runs an over. Big hitting Andy Carter supported by Wes Day's intelligent play scrambled the victory with the help of 4 over throws in the last over. An exciting and good spirited game!

It was anybody's game until the last ball of the match for the 1st XI against IBIS Mapledurham at Chandlers Lane. IBIS scored 170 for 10 against the bowling of Pat Gilham (2-34), Simon Massey (2-35) and Nick Patterson (3-30). Yateley were in trouble at 50 for 5 with Simon Massey retired with cramp. Jon Ablett (32) and Nick Patterson (34) shared a partnership of 60 to get the home side back in contention. When Ablett was out wickets fell regularly until Massey returned to steady the ship with Patterson. Simon (52) lost his wicket at a crucial stage to leave Yateley needing 7 off the last over. Yateley were just 2 runs short with one wicket remaining at the close to earn a losing draw.


The 2nd XI continued their successful start to the season with another convincing victory away to IBIS Mapledurham. Batting first IBIS resisted the early pressure applied by a strong Yateley attack and ended their innings on 196 for 6. Apart from losing a couple of early wickets Yateley soon took control and never looked back. M Rawat hit 23 but it was Stuart Lipo's magnificent 94 not out supported by a positive 27 not out from Daniel Mortimer that helped Yateley to cruise to a 7 wicket victory with six overs to spare.
The 3rd XI were caught on a less than perfect wicket at The Green and were shot out for just 86. Only Ben Viner offered any resistence with a watchful 22. The bowlers had very little to play with, and Mortimer West End reached the total for the loss of just 4 wickets.

The unabridged report from Dave Goddard follows:
Despite Kidmore End bringing a few quality batsmen with them (including their Aussie overseas player) The Yateley "Spirit" came through yet again! With Kidmore End batting first It wasn't long before the opening pair set a pace of about 6-7 per over and when they were 120+ for 1 off not many overs 300 looked likely. However Dave Goddard came on and "bought" the wicket of the Aussie and then quickly took another and at the end of a spell of 9 overs 2 mdns 2 for 48 Neil Shirley came on and the wickets tumbled!. Neil Shirley took a magnificent 5 for 14 off just 3.1 overs and young Alex West came into his own with 2 for 24 off 8 overs. Kidmore End were reduced to 182 all out!
The game turned yet again as Stuart Lawrence was bowled second ball, Barry Ward was run out and Simon Froud bowled in fairly quick time. At 22 for three off about 12 overs it wasn't looking very good - BUT then came the fighting spirit and Neil Shirley (yet again) and Nick Paterson steadied the ship and moved things along to bring Yateley back into the game. Neil scored a rapid 29 before falling to the " slower ball" and Nick Paterson, joined by the ever improving Will Moore, went on to score a super 70 with Will a quick fire 42 and we were close to victory. Paterson , Moore, Davies and Chandler wickets fell quickly but we were almost there and Danny Long and Alex West scored the last few runs to get us home with an over and two wickets to spare

Both the 1st and 2nd XIs easily won in their first Berkshire League games of the season. The 1st XI dismissed West Ilsley for 153 with Rob Barrett taking 4 wickets, Jaemie Gale 2 and Simon Massey 2. Yateley got the runs for the loss of just one wicket, Michael Leary and Simon Massey were the chief run getters.

Playing at home against West Ilsley the 2nd XI dismissed the visitors for 129. Neil Shirley took 4 wickets and skipper Dave Goddard took 3 (or was that 2?). Yateley were never in trouble with Rawat continuing his excellent form of last season with another typically agressive 60. He was well supported by Stuart Lawrence who holed out when he was just 4 runs short of his 50 (jug avoidance?). Yateley won by 7 wickets.

The 3rd XI did well to dismiss Swindon NALGO for 133 (Mark Adams 5-30, Martin Owton 4-33 and Wes Day 1 wicket). When Yateley batted only John Howells (19) offered any resistance, however, as Yateley could only muster 84 in reply.