100% record goes as 1s soundly beaten!

The only remaining EAPL 100% record went on Saturday when SBCC lost to local rivals Cambridge on Saturday.

Things were initially looking good for the Rams as Mark Smith continued his excellent form and picked up his almost compulsory early two wickets. Cambridge were 4 or 2, and things got worse as this season’s top batter Daminda Ranaweera and the reliable former skipper Johnny Atkinson were both back in the Pavilion with the score on 26 for 4. Smith adding a third wicket and his opening partner James Vandepeer picking up his first victim. Ex-Sawston player Peter Richer (25) helped steady the ship with Robert Newby before Richer and skipper Lewys Hill both fell with the score on 62 as Waqas Hussain (3-32) picked up two in two balls. Zaman Akhter helped Newby negotiate the rest of the session talking Cambridge to 85 for 6 at lunch.

After the break Newby and Akhter had taken their valuable partnership to fifty before the latter was snared by Callum Guest. At 112 for 7 the home side were still in deep trouble however Newby with excellent work from the tail added 33, 13 and 28 with James Cutter, Evan Hill and another Sawston old boy Henry Campbell respectively. Campbell being his ex-opening bowling partner Smith’s fourth victim (4-51) as the Cambridge innings closed on 186 with Newby stranded on 99 not out (from 151 balls, 12 x 4, 2 x 6).

Cambridge had predicted, early on in the week, that 180 would be a defendable total and so it proved as the Rams again showed batting frailty. Things were going well as Matthew Hague (22) and Waqas Hussain (23) blazed their way to 49 without loss, with each hitting five boundaries. The introduction of batting hero Newby then helped to spark a batting collapse as he snared both openers and Callum Guest. With Hill (3-25) chipping in with the wickets of Guest’s brother Ethan and Charlie Lewis (21) Sawston had slipped to 78 for 5. Newby then removed last week’s rear-guard batting hero AP Stafford and the league leaders were 87 for 6. The tail again showed a bit of fight and resilience as Ben Clilverd (20), Dan Heath (15) and Vandepeer (20) all helping to move the score onto 137 for 8. However, Henry Campbell’s three late wickets (3-45), including returning the compliment to Smith meant that Cambridge picked up a deserved 48 run victory and end the 100% run. Newby with picking up (4-24) to go with his 99 not out he was clearly the star of the show.

This win propelled Cambridge up the table, there were wins for Swardeston who closed the gap to 17 points behind the Rams when moving into second spot. There were also wins for other local sides Saffron Walden and Burwell and Exning as well as Bury. The lower end of the table unusually featuring Sudbury, Horsford and 2019 Champions Frinton.

Sawston and Babraham II’s bounced back emphatically following the loss of their own 100% record last week. They were scheduled to be away at Bharat Sports, in Castor, however with the ‘home’ side unable to find a suitable pitch the tie was switched to Sawston.

The Bharat skipper perhaps nervous due to a slightly weaker squad decided to ask the home side to bat on winning the toss. A decision the Rams skipper Nick Griggs was delighted about. Sawston’s openers started diligently and carefully but we soon putting the Bharat bowlers under pressure as Ben Benson enjoyed his third fifty plus opening stand and then his second hundred plus opening partnership, this time accompanied by Josh Jordan. The hundred partnership came and went, as did the hundred and fifty partnership, with Benson going on to make 103 (from 96 balls 17 x 4) in an opening stand of 174.

Bharat briefly gained a foothold as Marc Pearson and Griggs perished as the Rams hit the accelerator, and slipped to 203 for 3. Jordan who had endured a pretty torrid start to the season, was finally out for 88 (from 121 balls 9x4), walked off with enormous pride as his normal careful approach was embellished with some gay strokeplay. When he was dismissed with the score on 243 for 4 it was left to Ant Phillips (58 off 32 balls, 7 x4, 1x6) and Will Bailey (18 off 12) to punish a tiring fielding side as Sawston ended on 306 for 4 in their 45 over allocation. Hamza Qureshi was the most successful bowler with 2-61.

The Bharat reply was soon in trouble as they slipped to 38 for 4, Matt Lee picking up 2-44 with Jake Raven (1-29) and the skipper picking up wickets. Had Sawston held their chances the situation could have been a lot worse. However, Ayub Khattak and Gulab Sher (31 from 65) repaired some of the damage as they shared an 89-run partnership before Sher became one of Phillips two victims (2-8). The aggressive Khattak then went into survival mode, as Bharat attempted to shut up shop and deny the Rams full points. He received excellent support from keeper Mitesh Sisodiya. The introduction of Sean Jenkins (2 for 1) and the reintroduction of Griggs (3-22) sparked a collapse as the last four wickets went for just two runs. Khattak finally falling to Griggs for 67 (10 x 4), as Sawston recorded a hefty 150 run victory.

With nearest rivals Southill Park not in action the Rams 30-point haul put them 56 points clear at the top and sixty-four clear of third place Orton Park, both have two games in hand.

A very young and inexperienced 4th team got to play on the historic Parker’s Piece on Saturday. They didn’t totally enjoy the experience as they went down by 66 runs to their NCI counterparts. The home side batted first and scored 144 all out. SBCC only managing 78 in reply. A week off for the third team meant the Rams had still one perfect record to defend.

On Sunday the 1st XI, with a liberal mix of seconds and thirds, travelled to South Hampstead as the Club made its bow in the Conference Cup (for the Bertie Joel Trophy). The home side won the toss and decided to bat. Mark Smith again struck early before Saqib Ahmed (43 from 78) and Stefon King (77 from 101) added 109 to set up the innings and take the home side to 130 for 1 with one third of the forty-five overs to go. Ethan Guest (2-39) one of seven bowlers used by the Rams in very hot conditions removed both, and Matthew Hague added another to restrict the damage. However, Leroy Shepherd (25) and skipper Nish Patel (30 from 21 balls) added an unbeaten fifty and the innings closed on 221 for 4.

The Rams would need to score at five runs an over to chase the total down, which would be a considerable effort given the make up of the side and the form of the Rams top and middle orders. They, however, got off to a flyer with Waqas Hussain and Matthew Hague adding 86 inside 7 overs. The unfortunate Alber Choudhry going for 58 in three overs! Hussain was out for 41(off 26 balls 7 x 4, 1x6) and was quickly followed by Noah Thain as Sawston brought up the 100 inside nine overs. Matthew Hague and Ben Clilverd then sat in and they reached drinks at 15 overs at 130 for 2. The home side then made a breakthrough to dismiss Hague with the score on 154, the opener’s 73 coming off 60 balls (11 x 4, 2 x6). The Rams required 68 at under 2.5 an over, but when Clilverd was dismissed on 161 the home side were back in the contest. Skipper Dan Heath(15) followed with the score on 173 for 5 which left only Ethan Guest and James Vandepeer as the only recognised batsmen at this level.

The only downside for the home side was that the dangerous Saqib Pervez (1-28) and Tauqeer Ahmed (2-34) had almost bowled their respective allocations. The Rams reaching 189 for 5 at the second drinks break, needing another 33. Guest (25 from 28) and Vandepeer (29 from 26) took this as the moment to close out the game as they score the remaining 33 in less than for overs. Skipper Dan Heath was pleased that some of his charges got a quick chance at redemption after a very frank de-brief following Saturday’s defeat, Ealing await on the 4th July in round 2 with the game to be played at Spicers!