The Rams stay in contention …
The Rams largely survived Super Saturday to stay in contention for a couple of titles with a pair of victories for its top two sides, and a season ending victory for its fourth team.
The first team completed an excellent nine wicket victory away at Sudbury to keep hanging on to the coat tails of EAPL leaders Swardeston. At Friars Street the home side won the toss and decided to bat. They had progressed nicely, at around four runs an over, to forty-eight with only the loss of opener Keelan Waldock; James Vandepeer (1-35) picked up the early scalp. Alex Evans (1-31) then dismissed the Suffolk outfit’s leading run scorer Darren Batch (28). The home side however recovered to take the score to eighty-one for two as Adam Mansfield (20) and Ben Parker (18) were setting up the innings with twenty overs of the allotted fifty gone. Sawston rang the changes as Noah Thain and Ben Clilverd entered the fray. Thain (1-14) had immediate success when he dismissed Mansfield with his fifth ball. This was the first wicket in a spell where the Rams picked up four wickets in just twenty-five balls. Clilverd picking up the wickets of Ben Reece, Ben Parker and Jordan Morris to leave the home side on ninety-two for six. Clilverd then picked up Isaac Toombs and Hamad Arshad was run out by Ben Claydon with the home side still two runs short of three figures. James Poulson and Jonathan Amos finally got the home side past the one hundred mark before Callum Guest (1-2) dismissed the latter. Clilverd picked up his fifth (5-21) to dismiss Poulson as ‘Nelson’ struck to leave the Rams chasing just one hundred and twelve for a victory.
Ben Reece (1-21) picked up the wicket of Noah Thain with the score on twenty-nine. The Rams then got home comfortably in the twenty-sixth over. Wayne White with his second fifty in his last three knocks finished unbeaten on fifty-four. He shared an unbeaten stand of eighty-six with Luke Spears. Spears finishing unbeaten on forty-six following his return to action after injury.
There was some brief hope in the Rams quest to catch EAPL leaders Swardeston as the Norfolk side dug themselves out of a hole to record a two wicket win at Frinton. The Rams remain crucially twenty-six points adrift of the leaders, which means the Norfollk outfit has more than a one game cushion with just five games to go. Third placed Bury kept their even slimmer title hopes alive with a three wicket win at Saffron Walden but are forty-five points shy of the summit. Mildenhall saw their faint hopes dashed as Horsford scored a stunning victory which saw them move off the foot of the table. Copdock beat Wisbech and Great Witchingham defeated Witham in two close encounters.
The Rams second team met closest challengers Burwell as first met second in Whitings Two. They served up an absolute classic. The home side won the toss and with an uncertain weather forecast in mind decided to bowl. The visitors had seen off the new ball attack and had moved to forty without loss in nine overs. Nick Griggs introduction brought about an instant success when he had Chris Summerskill caught off his very first delivery. Summerskill’s brother, Paul, the Burwell captain them joined Simon Donald and they had steadily moved the score onto sixty-five when Callum Maclean struck to remove opener Donald (27) in the nineteenth over. The home side then went for even more pace off as spin twins Jake Raven (1-30) and Matthew Hague (2-17) bowled in tandem. With Summerskill looking secure and content to slowly build the Rams slowed the scoring rate by picking up regular wickets at the other end. The pair bowled the next twenty overs for just forty-seven runs picking up the wickets of Jones, Huckle and Kelly. The visitors lurching to one hundred and twelve for five.
The Burwell skipper then formed a useful partnership with Manish Burman (30) as the pair added fifty-four (from seventy-five balls) before Griggs (2-49) removed the latter. Summerskill then up the ante in the search of late runs as he finished unbeaten on ninety-three (from 116 balls) and was aided by Tim Davies to add thirty-four valuable runs (off just twelve balls) as the visitors finished on two hundred and three.
The home side’s reply was hampered by a knee injury to Hague and the cumulative impact of the rain on the speed of the outfield. Hague (23) was dismissed by Daniel Baigent with the score on thirty-one at the end of the ninth. Sawston’s other opener Ben Benson (33) was joined by Marc Pearson (33) as they added forty-two in the next ten before Benson became a second scalp for Baigent (2-37). The visitors aware that pace-off was the way go then strangled the scoring rate with first the introduction of spinner Nic Huckle and then of leggie Ben Kelly. Although Huckle (0-22) and Kelly (1-34) only picked up one wicket, that of Pearson, their excellent control in difficult conditions also led to a run out as the home side started to get well behind the required rate. Josh Jordan was the run-out victim having shared a thirty-seven-run partnership with Pearson (from 73 balls) and added a further eighteen runs with Rams Skipper Ant Phillips (from 33 balls). Jordan departed with the Rams on one hundred and twenty-eight for four still requiring seventy-six off eighty-one balls. The Rams must have been happy that Huckle had bowled out and that Kelly was running out of overs.
Phillips was joined by Will Bailey and they added thirty-four valuable runs (42 balls) but the rate continued to climb from the original required rate of fours to sixes. Bailey was undone by the additional spinner Burman (1-19). Phillips then, almost literally, swung the momentum the home sides way when he hit Burwell’s eighth bowler Tim Davies (2-21) for six off his first delivery. The young bowler held his nerve to remove Phillips (27) and then Griggs (12 from 9). With the score on one hundred and eight-seven for seven the game had swung again. The home side still crucially, with more rain threatened, were still behind the required rate and needed seventeen from just eighteen balls, Sean Ward joined McLean at the crease. McLean continued to rotate the strike before Ward, an extremely handy player at number nine, hit two decisive boundaries to take the Rams to a victory with just two balls to spare.
The Rams remain top and increased their lead over Burwell, who they defeated in both matches this season, to twenty-eight points. Burwell however have a game in hand, thanks to having one less game cancelled and so they can still catch Sawston. The Rams have two games left and Burwell three.
There was a disappointing defeat for the third eleven as they lost to relegation rivals Coton in another nailbiter that went the full distance as the visitors won with three balls to spare. Sawston batted first and solid runs at the top of the order from Wes Potschul (34 from 45 balls) and Sean Jenkins (30 from 46) and some late order runs from Ollie Humphreys (29 not out from 25 balls) propelled the home side to a decent 191 for 9. Long picked up three wickets and Sills a couple as the visitors shared the wickets.
In reply Coton got home by four wickets and three balls to spare despite the best efforts of James Petzer (2-28), and Ollie Humphreys (2-31). Adam Bradbury (65 from 81 balls) and a skipper’s knock from Tom Sandercock (40 from 44) saw the visitor’s home. The win lifted Coton to fourth in a very congested mid table. The defeat left the Rams twenty-three points from safety with just three games to go.
There was a sting in the tail for Coton however when it was discovered that they had played an ineligible player (Long) and the Rams were awarded the game!
The fourth team finally got to finish their league program after being without a game for the last three weeks. They even assisted local rivals Whittlesford, who in fairness would have played with less than eleven players, by loaning them two players in addition to an AP player they managed to get. Whittlesford, the home side, won the toss and decided to bat. The AP opened up and scored a half century. The next highest scorer with fourteen was Ram Jon Windsor. The visitors bowling attack shared the wickets as Ben Latham picked up three and Sam Browne and Adrian Platt braces. Browne with two for eight off his full eight overs also gained the bragging rights as one of his victims, to an amazing (in every sense of the word) caught and bowled was fellow Ram Ted Liles.
The Rams only took twenty-seven overs to knock of the required one hundred and thirty-six runs as the Leonard brothers took a liking to the bowling. Andy scoring sixty-seven from about thirty balls and Richard a decent twenty-odd. James Watson then saw the Rams home for a seven wicket win with a composed 40 not out. This win meant the Rams enjoyed the local bragging rights having, unusually of late, defeated Whittlesford in both games. This left the fourth team with a nose bleed as they are guaranteed a high altitude fourth place finish.
We measure the success of our fourth team in other ways rather than wins. Firstly, by seeing how many youngsters start their transition from Junior cricket into adult cricket, and secondly by fulfilling all of our fixtures (weather permitting!). So, I think we can pat ourselves on the back. With availability still strong the fourth’s are keen to get some additional friendlies in before the end of the season.