Is it all over??

The Rams travelled to Wisbech for the Cambridgeshire derby knowing that realistically they needed to win all of their remaining four fixtures to challenge leaders Swardeston for the title.

They won the toss and batted but lost the in-form Wayne White, in bizarre fashion, given out caught behind by the square-leg umpire after the umpire at the bowler’s end had signaled a wide!  Yousuf Choudhary was joined by Luke Spears as they added fifty-one runs off sixty-six balls. Choudhary (23 from 35) was then stumped by the impressive Josh Bowers off a leg-side wide off the bowling of Jonny Garner. Ben Claydon followed just four runs later as Cambridgeshire spinner Josh Porter picked up a first wicket leaving the Rams on sixty-four for three. Things got worse as Garner (2-38) and Bowers performed their party piece to remove Spears (32 from 49), also stumped from a leg side wide, as the Rams slumped to seventy-one for four. Callum Guest and Ben Clilverd engineered a recovery and had set up the innings for a late flourish. They added fifty-eight to take the score to one hundred and twenty-nine for four in the thirty fourth over. Guest (33 off 67) then scratched one behind off Wisbech overseas Ryan Clark in the process giving Bowers his fifth victim. Alex Stafford followed just six runs later adjudged leg before to Clark. Clilverd (36 from 54) and Alex Evans then took the score to one hundred and fifty-two before Clilverd was undone by Wisbech veteran Gary Frear (1-27). With seven down the Rams needed their lower order to perform.  Evans with a bright twenty-eight (from 26 balls) added thirty-five valuable runs with skipper Dan Heath before the miserly Porter (2-29) had Evans caught. Heath (27 not out from 35) then managed to get the Rams to two hundred and eight before Clark (3-41) picked up James Vandepeer and George Bruce (1-35) accounted for Callum McLean in the last of the fifty overs.

A long rain interruption after nine balls of the reply meant that overs were lost and the home side were set a revised one hundred and seventy-nine from thirty-six overs. A total the Rams would be ‘happy’ to defend on a pitch where no one really got in on and a wetter outfield.

A further interruption meant that a new target of ninety-seven off fifteen overs was set. The further reduction in overs certainly gave the batting side the advantage as they could go harder for a shorter period whilst having all ten wickets intact!

With the odds stack against the Rams Wisbech got off to a flier despite two excellent opening overs for James Vandepeer. The home side raced to thirty-five from the first twenty-six balls. Guest then bowled Clark (10 from 12) but Danny Haynes and Bowers continued to score quickly with Wisbech in full control at fifty-seven for one off fifty-four balls. Clilverd then gave the Rams some hope when he had Haynes (25 off 20) caught by Choudhary and Bowers (15 from 12) by Evans to leave the home side of fifty-eight for three. A couple of tight overs followed with Clilverd (3-17) picking up Gardner (5 off 9) again with assistance of Evans. At sixty-six for four, in the tenth, the Rams needed a couple of nervous rookies at the crease they however found themselves bowling at perhaps two of the most experienced cricketers in Cambridgeshire, the former Minor counties pair of Frear and James Williams. Clilverd and White continued but the Wisbech pairing added twenty-five runs from twenty-three balls. The home side needing just eight more from ten balls. It wouldn’t be Sawston without some late drama, with again the Rams demonstrating that incredible never say die attitude as Evans had the Wisbech skipper Williams (10 from 14) caught behind before bowling Jamie Seabrook with a bail trimming ‘Jaffa’. The home side however only needed two to win with six balls to go. They won by four wickets to end the Rams hopes of a title treble but give themselves renewed hope of avoiding the relegation play-off spot.

Elsewhere Mildenhall beat Copdock in a hurry to avoid any issues with the weather. Witham handed a title hopes ending defeat to Bury after an excellent chase. Sudbury were impressive winners against Walden, and Great Witchingham enjoyed a successful trip to Frinton. The leaders and champions elect, Swardeston, after a few hiccups with the weather held off Horsford by ten runs. This gives them a forty-five-point cushion over the Rams with Bury a further nineteen adrift. Thirty-one points from the last three games guarantees them the title. It looks like the Rams are battling Bury to be the bridesmaid!

The Rams 2nd XI travelled north into Lincolnshire to play Stamford in their final league game of the season. They started the day twenty-eight points ahead of second placed Burwell and Exning. Crucially however despite suffering one more defeat than the Rams Burwell have had one less game cancelled. All this meant that Burwell still could over-take the Rams even if the Rams won their last game.

All the Rams could do was win their game and hope for a break.  Things started well as an excellent opening spell from Sean Ward backed up by Will Bailey brough about early breakthroughs. Ward picking up Ben Peck (6) and Lewis Spice (10) before Bailey (1-26) picked up Joe Morley leaving the hosts on thirty-four for three. Ward picked up a third (3-23) as he broke the resistance of opener Alex Birch (26) with the score on fifty-four for four. Tom Williams (18) and Ben Doyle (11) tried patiently to rebuild, but with Nick Griggs and Kieren Mackenzie squeezing the run rate. They had moved the score along to eighty-two for four when the wheels came off. They lost four wickets for just five runs in twenty balls. Mackenzie picking up both Williams and Doyle before adding Chamberlain. Griggs (1-19) snaffled the home skipper Andrew Hulme. The home side were bowled out just before they reached three figures as Mackenzie picked up another couple of wickets to finish with the astonishing figures of five for seven off almost eight overs.

There was a rain interruption and with further rain threatened Matthew Hague got the visitors off to a flier in pursuit of the required ninety-nine runs. He was out for thirty-two in the eighth over having added forty-five runs with Matthew Worsdale in just forty-four balls. Worsdale was joined by Christy O’Brien who was showing the same intent as Hague. Worsdale became Anoop Poulose’s second victim with the score on sixty-one with just ten overs gone. The Rams however got home with O’Brien and Josh Jordan at the crease to win by eight wickets and pick up the maximum thirty-points. After a highly successful season, with just two defeats they could do no more!

Second placed Burwell also scored a thirty-point win and need to beat and bowl out third place Saffron Walden II’s in next week’s final game to overhaul the Rams.

The Third team’s remake of the Great Escape continues as they recorded their third win on the bounce. August certainly has been the turning point for the side who have been rock bottom for most of their first season in Junior 1. Their unbeaten run in August also saw them make history by becoming the first Third team to win the Walker Cup.

On Saturday they won the toss at home to Great Chishill and skipper Jake Ellis opted to bat. Sawston’s Mr Reliable Wes Potschul (52) notched his twenty-seventh career fifty, and there were solid contributions from Niall Barber (20), Joe Latham (12), Scott Barker (11) and the skipper Jake Ellis (19) but no one was able to go on and make a telling contribution. Two of the away side’s bowlers had stellar days as Alastair Cockerton picked up 5-25 and Jeremy Woodcock 4-18 but no-one else could match their efforts as Sawston posted, perhaps, a below par 159.

Great Chishill struggled with the bat as only Bill Hodges (26), Richard Brunt (23) and Adam Wright (13) made it to double figures as sixteen-year-old Arya Saeb-Parsy had his career best (to date) day taking six wickets for just nineteen runs. All the other bowlers picked up a solitary wicket. Mervyn Shaji (1-24), Ellis (1-21), James Petzer (1-27) and Sean Jenkins (1-9) backing up Arya to ensure that the visitors were bowled out for 108.

The table shows that the Rams have achieved their objective of surviving in their first year of Junior 1 cricket. A win next week against NCI would probably give them a fourth-place finish which would be an incredible performance from Jake and his squad.