Lets get the season started!
It was a terrible Saturday for the Club last week when for a variety of reasons, and hopefully not excuses, we found ourselves with a very unwanted, and highly unusual one hundred percent record! When the ECB’s weekly email arrived enquiring ‘Did your team win at the weekend? the cat was in serious trouble!
It is perhaps good news that we move from pink ball to red ball this week, given that we effectively have had back to back defeats. In pre-season we rightly identified that it was unlikely that we could match, or better, our stupendous pink ball record over the last three seasons and so a serious attempt at a hat-trick of EAPL titles would hinge on an improvement in our red ball form.
Witham’s red ball form surprised a few last year, given that they were new to the format, and they held out for a pretty comfortable draw at Spicers last year. Their 2022 season ended badly and in the end they were thankful to Burwell and Exning’s resignation otherwise they would have ended up in the play-off dogfight. This year they got of the mark with a win against Horsford first time out but then suffered a big defeat at Mildenhall. On the following Saturdays they have suffered much frustration with the weather. However, their confidence must be higher having won their T20 Group and tasted a couple of Sunday victories, albeit one on a concession but like the Rams have cleared the hurdle of Round One of the National Cup.
They are without Nick Browne, on Essex duty, so the established pair of Godwin and Huntington are likely to lead the batting with Cody MacDonald in support. They strengthened their seam bowling, perhaps their Achilles heal in the past, with the recruitment of Matthew Wareing. Their strength is likely to remain in the spin bowling department where skipper Jake Wakelin, will probably have Stephens and Bragg to make up a useful trio. They replaced their long term overseas (Onke Nyaku) but have since lost his replacement Jordan Hermann who has been called up for International duty with South Africa. Rumours abound on the circuit of a Big Bash emergency replacement! Although other rumours suggest they have a West Indian coming! Hopefully neither will be there on Saturday!
With doubts over Louis Kimber’s availability and fitness the Rams have acted decisively to recruit Cambridgeshire’s red ball player coach Wayne White. White had a decent first class career with Derbyshire and Leicestershire picking up over two hundred wickets and over two and a half thousand first class runs. He will play predominantly as a batsman but his experience and leadership will also help the side to rebuild its confidence. Whilst recent performances, especially with the bat, have been poor this side should remember that you don’t win back to back EAPL titles with luck alone! Wayne comes straight into the side replacing, expectant father, Alex Stafford.
Elsewhere Bury take the only remaining unbeaten record on the road to Hosford. Mildenhall after last week’s blip will hope to get back in the groove at Wisbech. Saffron Walden will want to build on last week’s result at home to struggling Great Witchingham, hoping the Witches don’t rediscover their real form. The other two games see Swardeston visiting Sudbury and Copdock visiting the resurgent Frinton in what look like a couple of intriguing fixtures.
The Rams second team hope to be back to nearer full strength following last week’s wedding. This week they are at home to bottom side Waresley. Given their performances against the bottom sides last year the Rams will need to be on their guard! Indeed, Waresley’s win at Sawston probably saved them from relegation last season! Back comes the skipper Ant Phillips and he is joined by Marc Pearson, and Nick Griggs. They also retain Kiwi keeper-batsman despite his half century in the National Cup last Sunday and the stand-in skipper Matthew Hague.
The cupboard is again bare for the third and fourth teams as the 3rd team visit Coton and the fourth eleven are at home to Linton III’s