Hat-tricks Galore!

In the match preview I suggested that there was a number of teams chasing trebles. All four Rams sides were involved in achieving or avoiding hat-tricks and in the EAPL Copdock and Swardeston were like Sawston chasing their third red ball victory on the bounce.

Copdock with a sensational win away at unpredictable Horsford, and Swardeston with a fairly routine victory at Wisbech achieved their personal goals. The Rams, as is often the case, ‘chose’ a more difficult route but none the less made it three from three. With Mildenhall’s impressive chase of a challenging total against the early pace setters Bury. The top of the EAPL 2023 table has a familiar look with the Suffolk side top and the Rams second. Copdock and Swardeston are hard on the heals of the leading two. In other results the resurgent Great Witchingham defeated the currently struggling Sudbury and Witham scored a morale boosting victory against previously high-flying Saffron Walden.

Sawston won the toss and after the recent return to form with the bat decided to bat on probably the best day of the season so far. They were soon ‘regretting’ the decision as both openers were back in the pavilion with just nineteen on the board. Luke Spears who had been restored to the side after a holiday, and Louis Kimber’s late withdrawal. (Kimber successfully called-up to the Leicestershire Blast side), then attempted to rebuild with Ben Claydon. The pair had moved the score onto fifty-two before Renaldo Meyer picked up his second victim with Claydon becoming one of Ollie Lovejoy’s hat-trick of catches off the South African express.

Callum Guest succumbed in identical fashion as the Rams struggled to sixty-six for four. Ben Clilverd then dug in with Spears before he was bowled by Meyer, and when Kieren Mackenzie followed eight runs later the Rams were ninety-nine for six with Spears unbowed on twenty-seven. Meyer had bagged his second five-fer of the season and the Rams were struggling to make it to lunch! Alex Evans (23 from 34 balls) then assisted Spears to add an invaluable forty-nine runs before both he and Spears fell with the score on 148. Spears (51from 77) timely return to form saw him reach his fifty off seventy four balls.

Skipper Dan Heath (13 from 23) and James Vandepeer (33 from 45 balls) whilst not totally enjoying the experience of facing the rockets from Meyer certainly rose to the challenge. They added sixty three, as it would transpire, match winning runs before they both fell on 211 as the innings closed in the fortieth over! Heath becoming the quickie from Cape Town’s seventh victim. Would the home side rue the sixty-one extras that had given the Rams?

The home side would have eighty overs to knock off a reasonably modest total. The Rams bowlers rose to the challenge and with only Ashane Wijesuriya (40 from 74) being able to match Spears or Vandepeer the hosts lost regular wickets. Vandepeer (1-5) making his almost customary early breakthrough before Ben Claydon (2-37) and Mark Smith (2-23) ripped through the middle order. Lovejoy attempted counter attack with twenty-four (from 22 deliveries). However, Wayne White (2-24) then accounted for him and picked up another before Clilverd (1-31) then dismissed Wijesuriya to leave the hosts on a sorry 114 for 8. This left nine, ten and jack with the daunting task of holding out for almost forty overs. They managed to hold our for about ten of them before Alex Evans removed Ryan Harrington (32 from 37) and Meyer in successive deliveries. Frinton were dismissed for 156, with better bowling disciplines from the Rams only contributing towards sixteen extras!

The Rams second team faced Ufford Park at Spicers looking for their own hat-trick of wins. With three of the top five batters away on wedding duty, and the late call depriving them of one of the first team batsmen, and with the visitors sitting in the bottom two this looked like the kind of game that the two’s could lose and have lost in the past. Things were looking serious following Ufford Park’s decision to bat as they moved to seventy-four for no wicket. The introduction of spin and pace off then derailed the innings as openers Ross Keymer (41from 60) and skipper Joe Harrington (35 from 60) followed each other back from the middle. Griggs (3-35) and Raven (2-39) sharing five wickets as only thirty-three runs were added. Skipper Ant Phillips (3-18) then shared the next five with Will Bailey (2-25) with only Tanvier Hussain (13) and Ibrahim Javed (12 no) making it to double figures. The innings closed on 155 in the forty-second over.

Occasional opener, and sometimes number eleven, Raven then opened up with Will Bailey and they added fifty-three at a lively pace before Shoaib Choudary (1-36) removed Raven (22 from 21). Matt Worsdale (48 from 38) usually a late middle order bat was promoted, on the strength of some good midweek innings, and he added ninety runs with Bailey before he was caught off Linnie (1-23) with the winning post in sight. Fittingly Bailey hit the winning boundary to finish on 67 not out from just 66 balls as the Rams moved to the top of Whitings Two with an emphatic eight wicket win in just twenty-one overs.

The fourth team avoided their unwanted hat-trick when they ‘won’ their first game of the season when their opponents defaulted. Still an unsatisfactory result following a monumental effort for us to field a side.

The third team, with reinforcements due to ‘land’ next week did suffer a third successive defeat but did put in an encouraging display. James Petzer getting his first opportunity in the thirds, after helping out the second team a couple of times, showed that he is a handy acquisition. He scored 49 runs and picked up 2-39. Opponents Little Shelford won the toss and batted. Opener Seb Harrison made sixty-five (from 74balls), and there were useful middle order contributions from Sen (26), Kawsar (35), Nicholson (23) and Mubassir (29 no) as our local rivals posted 227 for six. The undoubted stars of the show for the Rams were twelve year old Vivaan Kilaru (1-25) and fourteen year old Sam Ronco (2-50) from their full allocation. In reply apart from Petzer’s efforts, Gareth Everson (28) and James Watson (24) both got starts before skipper Jake Ellis (19) and Kilaru (10 no) got the Rams to a respectable 183 for 9. There were three wickets each for Beale (3-23) and Kalusekara (3-31) with the vastly experienced Ellum (2-39) picking up a brace.

Better news, on Sunday, as the thirds progressed in the Walker Cup when opponents Barrington defaulted. Skipper Jake Ellis hoping that this and the return of some key players in the next week or so will turn round the side’s fortunes as they ply their trade in the highest league that the third string has ever played in