2021 seasons ends with victory!

Sawston and Babraham finished the season with another win as all of the top four secured last day wins.

The Rams won the toss and decided to bat first, skipper Dan Heath, was not sure what to do and must have been questioning his decision to bat when Sawston slipped to nine for two. Aaron Thomason (26) steadied the ship with Waqas Hussain as they added sixty runs in just forty-five balls before the former was bowled. Hussain (46 from 48 balls), last week’s ton-up hero, was again batting impressively as he added a further thirty-three with Cambridgeshire colleague Callum Guest. When Hussain edged behind Guest was joined by younger brother Ethan (20) and they added forty-five before Ethan was dismissed, with the score on 145 for 4. The Rams again losing a wicket, almost immediately after drinks and when they were looking to push on. Alex Stafford strode to the crease and was immediately into the action looking busy as he scored a fluent 52 (from just 50 balls). He added 85 vital runs with Guest, who had sensibly decided to sit in and anchor the innings. Ben Clilverd (11), Tim Moses (5) and Heath (6) all game and went in search of quick runs. However, it was left to Guest to take the Rams to a challenging 296 for 9. Guest ended up on 96 not out (from 122 balls) and he narrowly failed to deliver the home side’s first ever EAPL hundred at Spicers.

Jack Beaumont with 3-58 and Jason Pembroke 2-38 were the most successful of the bowlers. With two of Copdock’s big two guns Beaumont (26 from 28) and Alex Oxley (44 from 56) joining Boje and Atkins back in the pavilion (well back from the middle) with 110 for 4 on the board from 27 overs another 300 runs chase (they had successfully chased 324 last week) look a remote possibility. Donald Mlambo with 102 from 127 balls had other ideas but unfortunately kept losing partners at the wrong time. Jacob Marston (13), Thomas Harper (17) and Chris Swallow (27) helped Mlambo add 142 runs. Although the visitors were getting closer the run rate was climbing but Mlambo went to his century in the final over as Copdock finished just 21 shy of the Rams total.

This narrow failure to ruin the Rams party, the Club was celebrating three title successes, was then celebrated as the team were presented with the EAPL trophy to cap a memorable day. Stafford’s ten tight overs (1-29) pushing his MoM claims and he was assisted by James Vandepeer (2-18) and Thomason (2-47) as the Rams secured a 55 point lead at the summit of the table. The celebrations went long into the night!