Slough 5th XI 132 (Lewis 5-43)
Windsor 3rd XI 133-5 (Khan 46*)
After losing the toss and being asked to field on a bright hot & sunny day at Boyne Hill CC, the onus was on Windsor to put the hosts under pressure early on and the aim was to get a couple of wickets inside the first 10 overs.
They duly arrived courtesy of Ben Lewis having both opening batsmen caught behind by Martin Care, but only after some blistering hitting by the Slough number 2 including two big sixes which had carried Slough to 43-2 after 10 overs.
Windsor maintained this pressure all the way through the innings. Lewis and Hodgson bowled good tight first spells of 12 overs each, then George Gould and Sam Jordan carried this on through the middle overs, taking one wicket each. Jordan bowled particularly tightly to finish with 1-9 off his 7 overs. Windsor kept plugging away and took wickets at regular intervals, including a couple of run outs after sharp fielding by Andy Wigley and Ben Lewis. Lewis himself then came back at the end to claim the final 3 wickets and finish with well deserved figures of 5-43 off his 16 overs.
It was mutually agreed to play 15 overs before the tea break, and this proved to be a particularly difficult spell for the Windsor openers as the Slough opening bowlers gave little to hit and maintained a probing line and length. Kev Condon nicked one behind after a couple of good shots and makeshift opener Andy Wigley fell to the last ball before the tea interval. This left Windsor two down at tea and needing a good partnership after tea to avoid any unnecessary scares.
This came with some fine hitting and positive stroke-play from Mo Raiz Khan and Mohammed Alam as they took the attack to the Slough bowlers. Alam fell for a lively 28, and despite a wobble by the middle order, Khan (46no.) and Wayne Lloyd saw Windsor home with 5 wickets and lots of overs to spare. This earned Windsor a well deserved 20 points to cement our 2nd place position placing in the league.