Berkshire made it two huge wins in succession in the NCCA Championship Western Division One by crushing Cornwall by an innings and 111 runs at Wargrave last week.
Dan Lincoln’s men, who had thrashed Devon by 10 wickets two weeks earlier, controlled the game right from the start, piling up 439 for seven in their first innings on Sunday.
Opener Johnny Connell led the run-fest with a brilliant innings of 130 from 184 balls, with Lincoln, who made 88 not out from 76 balls, and Charlie Dunnett (77) also scoring freely.
Berks strengthened their stranglehold on the game by dismissing Cornwall for 124, with Andy Rishton taking seven wickets for 55 in 17.3 overs, a career-best performance.
With a mountainous lead of 315, Lincoln had no hesitation in enforcing the follow-on.
Three early wickets for Charlie Dunnett soon had Cornwall in trouble again and half their side were back in the pavilion with only 65 runs on the board.
But Berks then encountered stiff resistance with Will MacVicar making 68 off 194 balls before being dismissed by Rishton.
The batter received good support from Jake Rowe (34) and Alex Bone (21) and it took Berks until the 99th over before dismissing Cornwall for 204.
Wokingham allrounder Rishton claimed another five wickets (for 37) to finish with a match return of 12 for 92.
Unbeaten Berks’ next championship game on July 28-30 is away to Cheshire, who this week lost to Oxfordshire by an innings and 197 runs at Thame after being dismissed for 119 and 108. It was Oxon’s biggest innings win in their history. They meet Berks at Falkland CC in what could be a Western Division title decider, starting on August 11.
Berks take on Sussex at Slough in a friendly next Tuesday (23rd). The game starts at 11am and admission is free to the Upton Court Park ground.
