STUART Hayter believes the Thames Valley League Division One title race will only become “more exciting” after his Wokingham side returned to the top of the table on Saturday.

STUART Hayter believes the Thames Valley League Division One title race will only become “more exciting” after his Wokingham side returned to the top of the table on Saturday.

The Oaks held their nerve with the ball to draw an epic encounter at Beaconsfield, and with previous leaders Falkland only taking nine points from their draw with Cookham Dean, Wokingham are back at the summit.

However, in a league which Hayter believes “has never been so close,” the Sadler’s End side are only five points clear of fourth-placed Marlow, while Kew down in eighth are only 25 behind.

And Hayter told the News: “I’ve never played in a league this tight. There are six or seven sides who can go top within one or two games. You can’t afford to lose any games and you’ve always got to pick up points.

“We’re still at a stage where the league hasn’t really moved on from the opening day because it is so close.

“We don’t want to look too far ahead, we’ll be taking it a game at a time and see where we are with four games to go. Every one is going to be difficult.

“It’s been very exciting because there is something resting on every game, and it’s only going to get more exciting.” Wokingham scored 245-7 in their game against Beaconsfield, but they restricted their opponents to 241-7 to claim 12 points from the draw.

Reflecting on the contest, Hayter commented: “I thought we batted well, with three 50-run partnerships taking us to 245 which we would’ve taken before the game.

“Beaconsfield also had two guys (Chris Thomas and Nilesh Odedra) who batted well, but we went through our plans and Cameron Spence came back and bowled well.

“He went for a few runs in his first spell but came back and got the crucial breakthrough. “It was close and we would’ve liked to get the 25 points (for a win), but 12 is a good return.” With eight games remaining, Wokingham’s next challenge is a home game against Yateley this coming Saturday, and Hayter is wary of their improving opponents.

He confessed: “Yateley are dangerous and had been on a good run until last week. We’re not going to go into it thinking it will be an easy game and we will stick to our plans.” And with any of six teams mathematically capable of taking over at the top this weekend, Hayter thinks everything is still to play for.

He concluded: “Falkland look strong and Cookham Dean – especially at home – are tough. Stoke Green use their two bowlers (Sajid Aziz) and Zulfi Butt) which might not be the way the game should be played, but it is effective.

“Chesham came down last season and on their day are strong. “We have a young squad with some experience and it could be the right balance (to win the league). I’m not going to say where we will finish and a lot will come down to availability – if we have everyone available I think we should be up there.”