Pangbourne College 1 July 2026

Manager Tom Scrase

Won by 13 Runs

SOA 198 for 4  (Junaid Aziz 71, Graeme Coates 36, Connor Lamsadle 34, Ahmand Afghan 29*)

Pangbourne 185 all out  (Mehadi Hasan 3 for 35, Connor Lamsdale 3 for 44, Hamidullah Afghan 2 for 20)

South Oxfordshire Amateurs produced a spirited all-round display against Pangbourne College on 1 July 2026, in a match that offered plenty of runs, useful partnerships and several eye-catching spells with the ball.

SOA’s innings was built around a fine knock from Junaid Aziz, who top-scored with 71 and gave the side the platform they needed. Graham Coates set the tone with a composed 36, while Connor Lansdale chipped in with a valuable 34. Ahmad Afghan then finished the innings strongly, remaining unbeaten on 29 to ensure the Amateurs had a competitive total to defend.

Pangbourne College made a determined reply, led by Gabriel Neeson’s well-made 55 and Harry Pearson’s useful 46. Their efforts kept the visitors firmly in the contest and ensured SOA had to work hard throughout the chase.

However, the visiting side’s bowling attack found timely breakthroughs. Mehadi Hasan was among the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 35 whilst his opening partner, Hamidullah Afghan also played an important role, returning economical figures of 2 for 20. The left arm spin of Connor Lansdale completed an impressive all-round performance by taking 3 for 44.. For Pangbourne College, Alex Buchanan had earlier impressed with the ball, claiming 3 for 44.

It was the sort of mid-summer contest that local cricket thrives on: competitive, good-natured and shaped by contributions from across both sides. The SOA benefited from some superb fielding by Connor Lamsdale and Ahmand Afghan, the latter making a difficult catch look easy and bagging a run out with a bullet throw. The match also saw a debut for 12 year old, Oxfordshire leg spinner Mukhtar Afghan, who showed promise in his bowling spell, It was a quiet afternoon (everything is relative) for El Pres who still took one wicket as well as taking a tidy catch. 

Pangbourne were as ever, superb hosts and we were indebted to Pres Elect, Peter Andrews for scoring and to Bob Belcher for umpiring. 

I have enjoyed managing this fixture over a very long time but have decided that now is the time to step back and wish my successor as much fun as I have had in running this fixture for the SOA.