Disappointing week for The RAMS

Sawston and Babraham suffered a rare week of ‘disappointment’ on the field which in the last few seasons has become a complete rarity.

Starting with the positive the Rams second XI strengthened their promotion prospects further when they comfortably defeated their Eaton Socon counterparts by eight wickets. The home side’s Ben Benson won the toss and invited Eaton Socon to have a bat. The visitors, sitting fourth in the table at the start of play, needed a win to close the 67-point gap between the two sides, with Socon having two games in hand. They got of to a steady if unspectacular start adding 28 for the first wicket. Will Bailey (3-25) on his return to the second team then snaffled two quick wickets. This brought Matthew Taylor to the crease and his patient 63 (from 94 balls) provided the innings with some backbone. However, the home side continued to pick up regular wickets and to stifle the scoring rate as slower bowlers Jake Raven (3-27) and Scott Stanford (1-29) helped to reduce the visitors to 84 for 5. When they lost two further wickets on 117 the game looked over. Taylor then found an ally in Tom Haggar (15) as they added 41 for the eighth wicket before Taylor finally succumbed, becoming Bailey’s third victim. Ant Phillips (2-23) then closed out the innings on 175, with the home side contributing 53 extras!

Skipper Ben Benson had featured in three 100+ partnerships already this season, and he added a fourth and a third one with Josh Jordan as the Ram’s openers this time added 125. Benson being out first with his bright 71 coming off just 73 balls with twelve boundaries and one maximum. Opening partner Jordan shrugged off the further loss of Stanford to carry his bat to 66 not out (from 102) as he and Sawston’s ‘Mr Reliable’ Phillips (16 not out) saw the Rams home inside 34 overs. A victory for Biggleswade over second placed Bharat Sports allowed the Bedfordshire side to leap-frog their Hunts rival. They are now just fifty-two points behind Sawston but crucially have two games in hand, their title to lose.

In a game heavily disrupted by the weather Sawston 1st XI were again left frustrated, initially by letting Frinton off the hook and then by Dulunjala Mendis’s impressive bowling. Dan Heath won the toss and decided to bowl, with the first innings eventually reduced to 42 overs. Frinton opened up with in-form pair Jack Newby (37 from 24) and Michael Comber (23 from 30) as they added sixty for the first wicket in less than nine overs. The visitors then took three wickets in eight balls as Tim Moses (3-42) removed Newby and Chris Harris, with Mark Smith (1-33) adding Comber for good measure. When Moses and Ben Clilverd removed Josh Rymell and skipper Tom Sinclair the home side were struggling 104-5. Callum Guest (2-22) and the returning George Darlow (3-35) (out for a couple of months through injury) then initially strangled the scoring rate before picking up four wickets for just 35. Game over at 139 for 9? Last pair Ian Morton 16 not out (from 44) and Jack Stockdale (27 from 34) then added a critical 42 runs to take the home side to 181, setting the visitors a challenging but gettable target of 182 from just 36 overs.

The Rams opened up with Matthew Hague (40 from 59) and Charlie Lewis (25 from 47) and added a steady 57 from the first 15 overs to set the platform. The visitors gambled and promoted the big hitting Tim Moses up the order. This move, for once, didn’t work and the visitors lost wickets and momentum losing a further three wickets for just seventeen runs in 29 balls. Mendis doing most of the damage on his way to 5-29 from 14 very accurate overs. Comber helped himself to a couple of wickets (2-66) as the home side pressed for a win at 118 for 7. The visitors, however, were pleased to see Waqas Hussain add 41 not out (from 53 balls) as he looks to find some form following a similar contribution for Cambridgeshire last Sunday. Darlow with an unusually restrained but responsible four not out (from 20) helped the visitors to close the shutters on 132 for 7. There was better news as Sudbury had held up leaders Gt. Witchingham who had dug themselves out of a hole to post 155 after being 31 for5 and 94 for 7. Cambridge and Copdock both registered wins against Saffron Walden and Burwell and Exning. Title favourites Swardeston are now two games behind following another covid postponement.

An under-strength third XI finally surrendered their 100% record when going down to a heavy defeat at Barrington. The home side looked stronger than normal with no first team game. Paul Andrews (52), Sam Carrington (33), Paul Davies (32) and Callum Lees (24) all contributing to the home side’s 187 all out. Sawston teenager Henry Butler (4-26) impressing with the ball as he, Sean Ward (3-39) and Torin Phelps (2-26) looked to minimise the total. The Sawston reply was in tatters at 26 for 6 before Phelps 38 not out shared useful partnerships with Ward (19), Dom Cameron (33) and Buter (10) to help them to a more respectable 147 all out and a forty-run defeat. Lees with three and two each for Andrews and Carrington led the wicket-taking for the home side.

With resources stretched to the limit SBCC 4th’s put in a very creditable display against a strong Elsworth side. John Farnell (91), Christopher Woodbury (43) and Joshua Hearne-Wilkins (32) scored the bulk of the visitors impressive 246 for 5. The Rams youngsters Fin Murray and Jude Bedford picked up a wicket each, adding to Bedford’s run out of Farnell. In reply the Rams hit a creditable 170 for 9 with skipper Naga Yanamendela top scoring with 33 with youngsters Rudra Bhimpuria (20), Bedford (17), Bill Rimmell (14) and Sam Russell (7 not out) all helping to make it a respectable reply.

Disappointing in some ways but so encouraging in others, there are Clubs around and about who can only dream of getting four sides out, with a fifth side enjoying a weekend down in the Frinton area and it is so pleasing to see so many youngsters playing and contributing. Despite the results we still have three sides chasing titles or promotion, so not all bad!