The 3s march on!

In a season of ‘firsts’ for the Club the 1st XI gained an unwanted one in that they lost back-to-back league matches for the first time since around 2018. Already down to the bare bones of a squad missing Tim Moses, AP Stafford, George Darlow and Rishi Patel they were dealt a further blow when Noah Thain had to drop out with a serious back injury.

Saturday started well and despite the monsoon conditions of Friday, the considerable efforts of the ground staff ensured the match started on schedule with an encouraging forecast of little or no rain due despite the leaden skies. The day got better as skipper Dan Heath won the toss and predictably inserted Gt. Witchingham. The batsman opted for a cautious early approach, no doubt trying to keep early wickets intact to mount a later charge. The two openers however still took advantage of any loose, and they had moved reasonably comfortably to 31 without loss.

However, the introduction of Ben Clilverd (3-54 from 18 overs) brought almost instant success as he removed the prolific Sam Arthurton and then Hudson Du Lucchi. Mark Smith then weighed in with Yassen Valli’s wicket and the visitors had been reduced to 46 for 3. The two left handers opener James Spelman and the impressive James Hale then set about repairing the damage and the moved the score on 83 for 3. In the final over before lunch the golden arm of Waqas Hussain was introduced and in-explicably Spelman (33 from 104 balls) ended his occupation of the crease by handing James Vandepeer some catching practice at fine-leg.
This wicket came at a cost as it would signal the end of Hussain’s three ball spell, Waqas is renowned for his short spells but this must be a record even for him! Add one more to the injury list!

After lunch Hale continued to impress with stout defence and some eye-catching stroke play and found an ally in Alex Shanks (21). Shanks looked shaky early on but was soon supporting his partner with some decent shots of his own as they added 61 valuable runs to take the total to 134. If the game was finely balanced at this point the visitors then seized the initiative as Hale and new partner Charlie Rogers then added a run-a-ball 96 to take the score to 230. Hale was then robbed of a deserved ton by a smart run-out by stand-in keeper Charlie Lewis as he attempted to nick a leg bye. Rogers then ensured that the game was pushed further out of the home side’s reach by reaching 50 not out and getting the total to a challenging 250. Trewick becoming a second run-out victim in the search of valuable runs in the last over.

The Witchingham opening bowlers Andy Hanby and Peter Trewick made early inroads into the Rams re-vamped order as Matthew Hague, new opening partner Lewis and Hussain were all back in the Pavilion (metaphorically) with the score on 46. The Guests, Ethan (42 from 57 balls) and Callum (38 from 88 balls) dug-in to give the home side some brief hope of saving the game. However, Ethan departed with the score on 65 becoming Hanby’s fourth victim (4-33). Guest then added 33 with the skipper Heath (14) but the game was soon up as Trewick (3-39) struck twice in four balls to remove Heath and Clilverd. Rogers (3-13) then capped a fine day by helping himself to three wickets to bowl out Sawston for a disappointing 125.

Successive defeats and another win for title favourites Swardeston now means we have new leaders in the EAPL, with the Rams second and Gt. Witchingham third. All the other ties played ended in draws.

In the only other game, there was better news for the Rams as their third team maintained their 100% start to the season when they defeated a dangerous Ashdon side to move within a point of leader Fen Ditton in CCA Division 3s. Ashdon won the toss and elected to bat posting 188 for 3 from their forty overs. Two of Ashdon’s batsmen continued their excellent form as Jamie Millership 81 not out (from 115 balls) amd skipper Philip Salt 55 (from 58) scored the bulk of the visitors runs. There were wickets for Torin Phelps, Sean Jenkins and James Drummond on his return from heart surgery! The home side despite the loss of two early wickets once again had the ever-reliable Jenkins to steady the ship. He shared partnership of 95 with Scott Barker and an unbroken 62 with Chris Kerby as the Rams cantered to a seven-wicket win inside 34 overs. Barker scored exactly fifty in a boundary laden innings (8 x 4, 1 x 6), Kerby 41 not out (from 31 balls) and Jenkins batted through for 82 not out (from 101 balls).