THAMES VALLEY LEAGUE DIVISION 3A

Hayes 239-7

Chalfont St Peter 88-8 (all out – nine men)

HAYES won the Thames Valley League Division 3A title with an emphatic 150 run win over nine-man Chalfont on Saturday.

The nervous Hayes boys knew nine points would be enough and they got the job done with a convincing win here to beat Slough seconds to the trophy.

A win was far from their minds though as the excellent left arm bowling of Freddie Ahmed saw Hayes lose three wickets with just two runs scored before they were 25-5 from seven overs.

An upset looked on the cards but despite Prakesh Sidhu offering good resistance with 39 runs, it was the arrival of captain Michael Green that proved the turning point of the game.

With the score on 73–6 Mohammed Arshad joined his skipper and slowly but surely the nerves were reduced as the wickets ceased to tumble. What followed was a Hayes record sixth-wicket stand of 166 runs.

Green was finally dismissed for a match-winning 133 while the equally excellent Mohamed Arshad contributed an undefeated 50.

Hayes immediately declared on 239-7 having secured the 10 points to guarantee the title.

In reply, Chalfont offered little resistance and trundled along to 83 for the loss of four wickets.

John Parker (2-2) and Claudius Wayland (2-13) used the new ball well to remove the last five wickets for just six runs to complete the win and get the party started.

In Division 3B, Harefield seconds picked up 10 points from their loss to Old Merchant Taylors’ and it was enough to see them finish top of the pile, ahead of runners-up Maidenhead & Bray.

Elsewhere, Hayes seconds took maximum points with their 57-run victory over Chalfont seconds thanks to the bowling of Chris Snelling (5-36).

A fantastic promotion winning season saw Hayes seconds finish in second place, just three points behind league winners Datchet and Cranbourne.

Hayes thirds were frustrated in their efforts to secure victory over by a single wicket at home to Wargrave seconds.

A fine finish to the season saw Hayes thirds finish in third position in their league.