Rams come out on top in clash of EAPL titans

The two sides that have shared the EAPL title for the last four seasons met at Spicers on Saturday. Both sides came into the game knowing that a win could kickstart stuttering campaign’s as both sides had shared identical records of one win, one defeat and disappointingly one cancellation that had them both sitting in unfamiliar mid-table positions. Last year the honours were even as Sawston thanks to some late order fireworks from Alex Evans had somehow won the limited over game. Swardeston eight times EAPL champions had gained revenge with a title clinching win at the Common late in last year’s competition. The Rams were therefore keen to keep that impressive record of never losing to the same opposition twice in a row going!

Home skipper Dan Heath won the toss, and perhaps bravely opted to bat.  His decision was rewarded as new opening pair Callum Guest and seasonal debutant Noah Thain (back from Essex duty and replacing Yousuf Choudhary who was revising for his exams) started watchfully. After a cautious start the pair completed a fifty-run partnership off eighty balls. The pair then picked up the pace to share a second half-century stand (off just another 54 balls). Guest (off 70 balls) was first to his personal milestone in the twenty-third over with the younger teammate Thain getting there in the next over having faced seventy-three balls. Alex Levinson (1-45) struck to have Thain (59 from 77 balls) caught by his skipper Lewis Denmark with the score on one-hundred and twenty-nine in the over that followed the drinks break. If I were a batter I’d ban drinks breaks!

The Rams with Jack Beaumont joining Guest pushed onto one hundred and fifty (off 191 balls). It was now time to press the accelerator. Guest (73 from 106 balls), to his own great disappointment, then top edged to the keeper with the score on one hundred and sixty-three off the bowling of Tom Bailey (1-34). The former Copdock pairing of Beaumont and Claydon who clearly love batting together carried on where they had left off against Bury. They added fifty-four runs from just forty-two balls to take the score to two hundred and seventeen before Claydon (22 from 26) just failed to hit Alfie Cooper (1-56) for a maximum, Jordan Taylor making the catch look like shelling peas! Beaumont then became the third Rams half-centurion of the day when he reached his landmark off just fifty-two balls. He then succumbed to give Swardeston overseas Saranga Rajaguru (1-78) his only wicket with the score on two hundred and twenty-five for four, with just thirty-one balls of the innings left. Given his performance against Swardeston last year (50 no from 26) skipper Heath promoted Alex Evans up the order in the hope of getting his team to around two hundred and seventy.

With the Swardeston attack perhaps handicapped by Callum Taylor not bowling Evans again treated the crowd to a masterclass in clean hitting. Evans reaching his half-century (55 no from 21 balls, 7 x 4 and three maximums) off the last ball of the innings. Evans added seventy-seven with Lee Thomason in those thirty-one balls. Thomason’s (19 from 13) knock although less spectacular none-the-less highlighted his experience and ‘ring-craft’ as the innings closed on an impressive three hundred and two for four.

Surely game over? The message to his troops from the skipper was a need to stay focussed as the track was excellent, a big well done to Groundsman Will Cook and his volunteers, and if there was any side in the league that could chase such a total it was surely Swardeston.

The visitors opened up with skipper Denmark and Jordan Taylor, both of whom had notched over five hundred league runs last year. They had progressed nicely to forty-one without loss when James Vandepeer bowled Taylor (15) with a beauty. He repeated the trick in his next over to remove Denmark (22). Callum Taylor then joined Alfie Cooper as they brough up the Norfolk sides’ fifty (it taking just one more ball than the Rams). The pair had moved the score along to seventy-six when Vandepeer (3-26) trapped Cooper (13) in front. Rajaguru then joined Taylor in the middle and they started to rebuild the innings. They got the total to three figures (off 134 balls – which was identical to the Rams). The pair next reached their fifty partnership in just fifty-six balls. The pair survived the curse of drinks and were on one hundred and forty-three, needing one hundred and sixty more off the last twenty overs but in the background the run-rate was climbing. The pair got Swardeston to the next milestone of one hundred and fifty in an identical number of balls as the Rams (191). The old firm of George Darlow and Guest then got to work squeezing the run rate and Darlow (1-42) was rewarded by removing the dangerous Rajaguru (40 from 57) to end the eighty-three run partnership with Taylor.  In overs sixteen to twenty the Rams had picked up Rajaguru and the required rate had jumped from eights to tens.

This wicket brought the experienced Peter Lambert to the crease, a man with a number of successful run chases under his belt. The pair added thirty-three before Guest bowled Lambert (14). Swardeston had just moved past two hundred when Evans caught Taylor (73 from 84 balls) to become Guest’s second victim with the score on two hundred and five with the run rate heading northwards of fourteen. Guest then bowled Matthew Taylor four balls later.  Beaumont (1-42) then yorked Harry Barker and Guest took a smart caught and bowled to finish on 4-45. The innings petered out on two hundred and thirty-three when Levinson (16) was run out, by Darlow, as the Norfolk side lost their last five wickets for twenty-eight.

The win and the twenty-five points moved the Rams up two places to sixth. Copdock are now the only unbeaten side in EAPL 2024 after another impressive win at Witham. Sudbury’s unbeaten run was ended by Horsford. Mildenhall’s Darren Ironside’s superb all-round performance rescued the Suffolk side as the Frinton flyer Renaldo blew into league action. Bury won at new boys AB wanders by four wickets. The top four of Copdock, Horsford, Mildenhall and Bury are separated by just six points, Sudbury slip to fifth one point ahead of the Rams. There was finally some cheer for EAPL pre-season favourites Great Witchingham as they won the basement battle against Saffron Walden for their first win.

Sawston II’s put in a more encouraging display with the bat but still went down to a heavy defeat away at St. Giles. The home side, at their new ground at Caldecote, were given a great start by their openers James Gillespie (40) and Kunal Dabas (79) as they added seventy-four for the first wicket.  Rams skipper Ant Phillips made the breakthrough to dismiss Gillespie and followed it up with a second wicket to reduce the hosts to 103 for 2. Vansh Bajaj then joined Dabas as they added another sixty-five before Miguel Machado had the latter caught behind by Christy O’Brien.  The Rams were denied another wicket shortly afterwards when Sam Thain, the elder brother of our Noah, inexplicably wondered out of his ground, in the middle of an over, and while the ball was still live. The ball was returned to O’Brien who removed the bails. The umpires ‘deemed’ it was a dead ball but video evidence seems to show that the ball was ‘less’ dead than in the Carey-Bairstow incident in the last Ashes contest! To rub salt into the wound Thain then added eighty-five runs with Bajaj, before Machado trapped him LBW (56 off 54 balls) with the score on two hundred and fifty-three. Machado picked up a third (3-51) when he Aatish Kean Maharaj (12) caught by Will Bailey. The innings closed with the fortunate Thain on fifty-six not out (37 balls) as the innings closed on an daunting 284 for 5.

The Sawston reply started badly when youngster Henry Cotton was run out without facing and Julius Jackson was leg before to Maharaj. The experienced pair of Phillips and O’Brien, who was still fuming, then added forty-six before Phillips (21) was undone by ex-ram Chris Germon (1-38). Will Bailey (18) helped our Kiwi keeper to move the score to one hundred and two before Bajaj (1-33) entered the fray. O’Brien (55 from 65) moved to his half century. Ben Clilverd, trying to help out the team despite a debilitating injury, was undone by another ex-Ram Martin Heginbotham (2-30) who then added the prize scalp of O’Brien. The innings lurched to one hundred and four for six. Machado (27) and Nick Griggs (16), who had earlier bowled ten tight but wicketless overs, then added forty-six priceless and bonus point earning runs. Griggs became a first victim of Thain whilst Maharaj (2-16) picked up Machado just as the pair had brought up the one-fifty.  The tail wagged with Sean Ward (10), Jake Raven and Oliver Humphreys adding another forty runs for the final two wickets. Thain finished with three (3-38) despite another impressive undefeated knock from Humphreys (18 no).

The Rams third eleven faced Rickling Ramblers, who were relegated from the Senior league, in a stern test for their first home game of the season. Despite losing an absolute cracking match with just two balls to go skipper Jake Ellis would have been delighted with the availability and performance of his side. The Rams were dealt a late blow when Dom Cameron, an all-rounder returning to cricket after a year away was ruled out through illness.

Skipper Jake Ellis won the toss and despite the relatively early loss of Oli Borley and Wes Potschul both victims of George Templeton (3-56) Niall Barber and Luke Herholdt (16) were building nicely before the latter succumb to the other Templeton, Joe (1-46) with the score on sixty-five. When Jake Paris was dismissed by Matt Cullingworth (1-24) just sixteen runs later the innings was at a bit of a crossroads. However, Barber found an excellent ally in ‘birthday boy’ Liam Flynn and they added sixty-one valuable runs before Barber’s (69 from 75 balls) resistance was finally broken with John Lodge (2-23) picking up his valuable wicket. Last week’s half-centurion Ellis came and went fairly quickly as Lodge added a second victim. This left Flynn to marshal the lower order and take the total to challenging heights. He did this superbly adding sixty-four vital runs with the help of Arya Saeb-Parsy (14), Dushyant Patel and Jon Windsor (14). Flynn went through the gears hitting two sixes and a lovely cover drive for four in successive deliveries on the way to an unbeaten fifty-five (58 balls). George Templeton picked up his third, Matthew Howard (1-34) and a run out accounted for the last three wickets as the inning closed on 219 for 9.

The Rambler’s innings had a stuttering start as Patel (1-15), teenager Saeb-Parsy (1-26) and Jake Paris (1-24) all struck to leave the visitors at forty-six for three, and the winning line looked a very long way away. However, in Josh Monk the visitors have a match winner who averaged over a hundred last year. He started this season as he’d left off as he added seventy-one with Rohan Sivapalan (19) and then a further twenty-eight with Jack Culpin (10) as Ellis (1-42) and Flynn picked up wickets. When Flynn (2-38) and the impressive fifteen year-old Alex Myles (1-38) picked up wickets the visitors still needed thirty-two to win. Monk then reached his century before opening his shoulders to see Rickling home by three wickets well supported by Mike Murton. The visitors winning an excellent contest by three wickets with just two balls to spare, in a game played in good spirit and on another excellent surface.

Friday night had seen, what we believe, are Club record numbers for our first night of All-Stars and Dynamos this season. The BBQ matched the weather, scorchio!