Bracknell were shot out for a mere 67 in 25 overs by the rampant visitors.

Cove wasted little time in cruising to victory in 11 overs without losing a wicket to end 68-0 and secure a 20-point haul.

Bracknell did not gain a single point for the efforts and Shaw, above, hopes his players can bounce back this Saturday when they travel to Sonning 2nds.

“We know the game was going to be a tough with Cove in second place in the league,” Shaw admitted. “But our batting performance was well below par.” He added: “This weekend we play Sonning who are near the bottom of the table. We need a much better performance to maintain our position in the league.” Bracknell 2nds remain top of Thames Valley league Division 9a thanks to a comfortable five-wicket win at Teddington Town 3rds.

Bracknell won the toss and routed the home side for just 90 runs in total, with Mo Khan returning best-ever figures of 6-35 from 18.2 overs.

Bracknell batted steadily in reply and, though they lost regular wickets, they eased home on 91-5 in the 30th over to secure the victory.

Royal Ascot CC kept up the heat on the Thames Valley League Division 3a leaders with a four-wicket victory at Henley 3rds.

With the top two facing each other, it gave Royal Ascot the chance to close the gap and they did so with ease.

Tom Chappell won the toss for the hosts and elected to bat, but Henley got off to a shaky start as Nathan Hopkins (5) and Will Ward (0) were both removed early on.

A couple more wickets followed with Kevin May (2-22) the pick of the bowlers as his efficient spell meant the batsman scored at a rate of just 1.57 runs per over during his 14 over spell.

Henley seemed to be struggling at 65-4 until a superb 103 partnership between Sam Ranger (66*) and Will Legg (51) moved the score to 168-4 before Legg was run out as Henley tried to up the ante towards the end of their overs.

The innings ended with Henley on 184-5 from 52 overs, giving Ascot an achievable target to pick up their third win of the season.

And they did so relatively comfortably, despite losing wickets at regular intervals throughout their innings.

James Wensley (36) stuck around for a patient innings and was ably assisted by captain Nick Sweetman (48) in a 70-run partnership.

Wensley was trapped leg before by Dan Hayden (2-47) before Sweetman was caught off the bowling of Edward Birkett (2-28) to leave Ascot 133-4, still 50 runs from their target.

But while two further wickets were lost, Jason Carr (11*) and Miles Anderson (15*) guided the visitors to a four-wicket victory on 186-6 in the 46th over.

Next up for Ascot is a mouthwatering home clash against second-placed Wokingham 2nds this Saturday (1.30pm).

Royal Ascot 2nds lost to Datchet Cranbourne by five wickets in a high-scoring Division 5b clash.

Ascot’s Arup Vidyerthy made a quickfire 91 from 119 balls including 14 fours and two sixes to help the home side reach 234-8 from 52 overs.

Murray Barter (26), Jon Prowse (21), Rob Major (21) and Andy Wiggett (23) also chipped in while Datchet conceded 28 extras on top.

However, Vidyerthy was outshone by Datchet’s Sunil Ramachandran who smashed an unbeaten 117 from only 115 balls including 18 fours and a six to see the visitors home on 237-5 in the 43rd over.

Saeed Ahmed (4-74) was the pick of the Ascot attack.

Eversley CC edged a nailbiting contest at Beaconsfield with a one-wicket victory in Division One.

Tight bowling from the Eversley attack restricted Beacs to 183-7 from 52 overs.

But that score looked like being enough as the visitors lost regular wickets along the way.

However, Eversley held their nerve at the death to hit the winning runs in the 48th and final over to secure a 20-point victory on 184-9.

It was Eversley’s second victory of the league season and skipper Scott Dyer will be looking for a third win this Saturday when they host mid-table rival Datchet at Eversley Cross.

Ben Saville struck 83 for Eversley 2nds in a high-scoring home victory over Purley-on-Thames in Division 3a.

Purley raced to 274-8 from 52 overs thanks to 115 from Rahu Thava and 60 from skipper Patrick Allen.

But Saville led the reply with a stylish knock supported by Shane Green (73) and Jack Turner (56) as Eversley romped to victory in the 47th over on 276-6.