High Wycombe captain Nathan Hawkes believes Saturday’s game against Slough – in which over 700 runs were scored – is likely to be one of the “best matches anyone will see this season”.

Batting first at London Road, Wycombe fell just four runs short of equalling their highest score in the Home Counties league – 362-6 against Banbury last season – as they compiled 358-6 from their 50 overs.

The hosts had won their opening four matches of the Division One season but saw their 100 per cent record fall as Slough won a pulsating contest thanks to a six off the penultimate ball of the game.

“You don’t want to lose any game but when you’ve got 358 on the board you’d like to defend it,” said Hawkes.

“But if there’s any team in the league with a stronger batting line-up than us then it’s Slough. At Wycombe, if you’re not getting 300, 320-plus then you’re not really in the game.

“Obviously to get 358 and be playing the way we were playing then, yeah, we were pretty confident going into the field. But with their long batting line-up and the strength they’ve got then anything’s chasable.”

Former Surrey and Leicestershire batsman James Benning continued his scintillating form for Wycombe, dispatching the Slough bowlers to all corners of the ground en route to scoring 132 off just 82 balls.

It was the 32-year-old’s first century in the league since 2012 and puts him third on the list of the division’s leading run scorers, having amassed 251 from his five innings at a strike rate of 141 thus far. Benning has also contributed with the ball and figures of 3-59 on Saturday mean he has ten victims from 50 overs this campaign – a league high for overs bowled.

Hawkes said: “He (Benning) played really well, and I think it was his first league hundred in two years. He’s playing really well with the bat and hopefully he can carry that on for the rest of the season.

“All round he’s been brilliant – I just hope his body holds up. He’s been opening the bowling for us and batting at three, and he’s contributed with both.

“He’s taken ten or 11 wickets in the league and he’s in the top five run scorers in the league as well.” This is the club’s first season under the guidance of new captain Hawkes, who joined the club from fellow Home Counties side Oxford in the off-season.

The 26-year-old has previous experience of captaincy at junior and age group levels but this is his first time leading a senior side – something which he is relishing.

A knock of 100 not out against his old side earlier in the season helped him settle in and a quickfire 60 off 29 balls against Slough underlined his preference for an attacking approach, which is evidently rubbing off on his new team.

“I felt pretty good with the bat,” he said. “Obviously it’s nice to go to Wycombe and have a good batting track to play on. I felt alright, I got a pretty quick 60 on Saturday, I didn’t bat the week before and I got a hundred against Oxford the week before that, so I’m feeling alright.

“When you go there you’ve got your nerves and the expectations of the people who bought you in, so it’s quite nice to get some runs early in the season and show people that it was the right decision to do that.”

Next on the agenda for Hawkes and Co is a trip to mid-table Horspath on Saturday.

“I’m loving life down at Wycombe at the moment,” said the Wycombe skipper.

“I’ve been welcomed in, started pretty well and hopefully we can bounce back from the weekend’s result.”