Berkshire Women Cruise to Seven-Wicket Victory Over Cheshire
Berkshire Women’s 1st XI produced another impressive performance at Binfield Cricket Club on Sunday, chasing down Cheshire’s 211-9 with ease to secure a seven-wicket victory in the Metro Bank One Day Cup Women’s League 3 – Division 1.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Cheshire made a positive start, with Amy Seddon striking an impressive 51 from just 32 balls, including 10 boundaries. However, Berkshire’s bowlers fought back strongly to restrict the visitors to 211-9 from their 50 overs.
Sarah Pearson led the way with the ball, taking 2-23 from her five overs, while Shayna Chikhlia also claimed 2-21 from nine economical overs. Immi Storrar picked up 2-52, with Tanvi Ravikumar taking 2-19 from seven overs. Naazneen Asif Iqbal was particularly impressive, conceding just 23 runs from her 10 overs, including five maidens, and taking one wicket.
Cheshire’s lower order battled hard to post a competitive total, with Shree Dayama unbeaten on 30 and Kasey Bentham finishing 22 not out. Daisy Cooke also contributed 31, but Berkshire’s disciplined bowling and fielding ensured Cheshire were held to 211-9.
In reply, Berkshire’s run chase was built around a series of excellent contributions. Izzy Storrar got the innings off to a strong start with 40 from 40 balls, hitting seven fours, before Naazneen Asif Iqbal added a fluent 34 from 37 deliveries.
Ashneet Chahal then took control of the chase with a superb unbeaten 83 from just 77 balls. Her innings included 14 boundaries and ensured Berkshire remained comfortably ahead of the required run rate throughout the second innings.
Sarah Pearson also made a valuable contribution with 35 from 44 balls, including seven fours, before Berkshire reached 212-3 in just 34.3 overs to complete a comprehensive seven-wicket victory.
Head Coach Tom Jackson praised the team’s performance, saying: “It was another really pleasing performance from the team. We bowled well to restrict Cheshire to 211, and then the batters showed great composure and intent to chase the total down with plenty of overs to spare. There were some excellent individual performances, but once again it was a strong all-round team effort. A big thank you to Binfield Cricket Club for hosting us and helping to provide such a great venue for the game.”
The result earns Berkshire four points and continues an excellent run of form for the Women’s 1st XI, with the team once again demonstrating the strength of their batting line-up and the depth of their bowling attack.
Berkshire Cricket Women 1st XI 212-3 (34.3 overs) beat Cheshire Cricket Board Women 211-9 (50 overs) by seven wickets.
Berkshire batting: Ashneet Chahal 83*, Izzy Storrar 40, Sarah Pearson 35, Naazneen Asif Iqbal 34.
Berkshire bowling: Sarah Pearson 2-23, Shayna Chikhlia 2-21, Immi Storrar 2-52, Tanvi Ravikumar 2-19, Naazneen Asif Iqbal 1-23.