In search of..........

Image from 2020 COVID Cup season

With a full program of fixtures this weekend we are certainly hoping that the promise of sun and zero rain holds firm.

On Saturday Sawston and Babraham hope to get their EAPL defence back on track when they meet local rivals Saffron Walden. SBCC skipper, Dan Heath, makes only one change from the side that showed some positive signs with the bat in last week’s aborted game. In comes all-rounder Alex Stafford for Matthew Hague.

The opposition from just over the border in Essex have made a number of changes since last year with new skipper Josh Down taking over from Ben Harris. They have also promoted a couple of players from their second team and have pushed the boat out this term by recruiting Big Bash player Jake Fraser-McGurk. The Aussie is a twenty-one year old from Victoria who as well as playing for his state featured in the Melbourne Renegades side in the T20 competition. His stats suggest although he is primarily a batter he does bowl a bit of leg-spin. Does everyone from Australia, apart from Matthew Hague, bowl leggies!

The Crocus have had a decent start to the 2023 campaign as they pushed Mildenhall, one of the title favourites, all the way before losing narrowly and then had an excellent win at Copdock. With Ali Hancock looking back to his best leading the attack, after suffering with a few niggles last term, they are sure to pose a threat to the Rams. They may also include a World Cup winner as the evergreen Giles Eccleston ‘fresh’ from England’s Over-50’s triumph may be in the squad.

Elsewhere the early season unbeaten sides are looking to make it three from three with Mildenhall, on paper, having perhaps the easier of the two ties being at home to Frinton. Bury have a trickier tie but would hope to make home advantage count against Great Witchingham. The three successful T20 sides will be looking to build on the confidence gained last Sunday as Swardeston meet fellow group winners Witham and Wisbech travel to Hosford after their boost. The remining game is a Suffolk derby between Copdock and Sudbury.

On Sunday, after last Sunday again proving that they are not a great T20 side, the Rams go in search of the ‘Holy Grail’ when they begin their National Cup campaign with a home tie against Waltham CC. Unusually, the side from Walthamstow, only play on Sundays and last year were unbeaten in the Essex Sunday League East Division. They have already featured in this year’s National Cup having won on a concession against Bedford Park and had a comfortable win over West Herts in the last round. The Rams make only one change from Saturday when Irish-Croatian Kiwi Christy O’Brien makes his first team debut in place of Alex Evans. The forty over a-side contest gets away at 1pm.

The Rams and the Crocus meet again on Saturday when the Saffron Walden second string entertain their Sawston counterparts in Whitings’ Two. Both sides are likely to feature a slow left arm spinner and an in form overseas keeper-batsman. The battle of the left arm spinners sees current Crocus (Ex-Ram) the mercurial spin master Steven Atherton face up against SBCC’s ‘apprentice’ Jake Raven in what is sure to be an important battle on what is usually a ‘road’ at the Anglo-American Sports Ground. The Rams Kiwi Christy O’Brien will be looking to follow up his match winning knock against Biggleswade and his cameo against Foxton Granta in the T20. His Australian foe Brynn Mendel hit an explosive match winning 88 not out for the first team in their win over Copdock.

The Rams are again stretched as Oli North’s wedding means that they are missing a number of key players. They do however welcome back Matthew Hague after his brief first team comeback, and should have Yousuf Choudhary in the squad! The sides are joint top (along with Castor) having each gained a similar looking victory of one of the newly promoted sides Biggleswade and Godmanchester.

The Rams third team are forced to blood four youngsters, including two very young Cambridgeshire County Junior’s in Henry Cotton (Under 13’s) and Vivanne Kilaru (U12’s) when they visit Foxton Granta III’s. The Rams will rely on the experience of Wes Potschul, Gareth Everson and skipper Jake Ellis to balance the side as they also give a debut to youngster Sriram Pillai. As you can imagine the player shortage in the second and thirds cascades down into the Rams fourth eleven who host Barley II’s at Babraham. Both the thirds and fourths will be looking for their first action of the season following their cancelled matches last week.