That's more like it!

The Rams were again forced into changes this week with some coming in the eleventh hour.  With White, Darlow, Spears and Heath (a collector’s item) all missing SBCC were delighted to welcome back Noah Thain and Charlie Lewis and added Julius Jackson and Oliver Humphreys to the line-up. This allied to the on-going injury woes within the squad meant that this could be a tricky trip. Callum Guest assumed control of the side and Lee Thomason took the gloves. In contrast they were greeted at Witham by the news that the Essex club had secured the services of Nick Browne and Jamal Richards from their County side for the match and so were at full strength.

The deck looked flat and soon after the start it was very clear that this was also going to be the quickest outfield we had experienced so far this year by a country mile. The home side won the toss and unsurprisingly decided to bat. There was a bit of cloud cover and a strong Ish breeze blowing in from the bottom end of the ground, cool in the cloud cover but pleasantly warm when the sun broke through. The visitors were given an early boost when Browne nicked Alex Evans (1-21) behind to give Lee Thomason his first catch at the end of the sixth over. Michael Godwin, a consistent performer for the Essex side, was joined by new recruit Luke Georgeson (A Kiwi with an Irish passport) and they were progressing nicely despite some good bowling from James Vandepeer and the surprise seam up of Guest. The bowlers were backed up superbly by some excellent ground fielding, and there was a couple of close calls with slip and gully catches. The home side had progressed to fifty-nine for one at the end of the sixteenth over and it was looking ominous for the visitors. Godwin (36 from 52 balls) then was bowled by Vandepeer and drinks were taken. I’m not sure what was in those drinks but they had a startling impact on the bowlers. Vandepeer trapped Georgeson (10 from 38) and then had Chris Huntington caught behind for a duck. The skipper then bowled Richards who was trying to break the shackles, the Rams had only conceded one single in thirty-three balls to leave the home side’s innings in tatters at sixty for five at the end of twenty-two overs. Vandepeer (3-55) took his marathon spell into its fourteenth over. A really fantastic effort.

Two of the Witham’s most experienced player’s skipper Jake Wakelin and Cody MacDonald both batted sensibly with the skipper looking very comfortable, the pair added forty runs to take the home side to three figures in thirty overs. The home side had just taken boundaries off consecutive balls (from Guest and the Thain) when Thain struck to have MacDonald caught behind with the score on one hundred and six. Wakelin was joined by keeper Kaan Hawes and the pair navigated the tricky spell up to lunch with the home side going to the break on one hundred and twenty-nine for six (35 overs).

Wakelin and Hawes will join all the batters who will wish to ban drinks and meal breaks as both batters dismissed on one hundred and thirty-one as Thain (2-56) repeated his partnership with Thomason to remove Wakelin and then Hawes was bowled by the miserly Beaumont (1-19 from eleven overs). Matthew Wareing joined Christopher Garrard and the late order pair led by Wareing but well supported by Garrard managed to add fifty-three valuable runs (from 51 balls) to perhaps show the benign nature of the pitch. Guest (3-36), this time bowling his ‘offies’, first had Wareing caught by Beaumont before Garrard was bowled by the Sawston skipper as the innings closed on one hundred and eighty-nine in the fifty-third over.

Sawston were set a revised target of one hundred and ninety- runs from sixty-seven overs.  Guest renewed his acquaintance with Thain at the top of the order. They were tested early by a decent spell from Georgeson but with Richard being a bit expensive from the other end the pressure was reduced. Guest survived a couple of vociferous appeals and Thain gave a couple of difficult chances however the pair brought up a fifty partnership in sixty balls. Thain was first to fifty off just fifty-three balls. The pair then progressed, even surviving the drinks break, to record a second successive century stand (from 121 balls), in the only two innings that they have played together. The prolific Greg Stephens (1-54) then struck to remove Thain (66 from 71 balls) with the score on Nelson’s (111). The SBCC skipper moved to his personal milestone in a more measured sixty-six balls. He then added forty-one runs with Beaumont to bring up the one hundred and fifty (174 balls) before the latter was caught by Stephens off Georgeson (1-51). Charlie Lewis with a patient eight not out helped the skipper to cross the winning line in the thirty-ninth over. Guest finishing agonising three runs short of a deserved unbeaten ton (114 balls) as the side bounced back from last week’s disappointment in typical Ram’s fashion. Apart from some stunning individual performances the thing that shone like a beacon was the togetherness in the squad. It was a great effort from those carrying knocks and from those who effectively sacrificed their normal Saturdays. I hope that the latter know that their efforts are appreciated and that they are able to take some knowledge away that they can use in the future to advance their own games.

Elsewhere Mildenhall’s absolute delight in beating the Rams was soured as two old foes had excellent days as Bury defeated the Suffolk outfit. Ali Allchin with six wickets and Mildenhall old boy Tom Rash (55 not out) helped Bury leapfrog Mildenhall into second place as last week’s leaders slipped down to third. Copdock are still unbeaten and back to the summit (by nine points from Bury and eleven from Mildenhall) as they thumped Horsford by nine wickets in a rain interrupted game. Horsford remain fourth (queue the Jaws theme tune) as the title winning sharks from Sawston and Swardeston close in. Swardeston’s powerful middle order getting them over the line at Frinton. AB Wanderers fell foul of a Monty-less Witchingham and remain bottom with the Norfolk rivals sneaking closer to Witham and Sudbury. There were almost six hundred and fifty runs scored at Sudbury as Walden continued their progress posting an imposing three hundred and fifty, the hosts replied with two hundred and eighty-eight for four wickets. Walden now sit eighth in the table.

There was a win for Sawston IV’s even before Saturday got underway as local rivals Whittlesford conceded.

The second team fell afoul of a couple of old foes as Jonathan Carpenter compiled another ton (127 not out from 172 balls), his twenty-eighth hundred on play cricket and his latest one took him past fifteen thousand runs on the ECB software. He received excellent support from his Eaton Socon teammate, the impressive Luke Ashwell (55 from 82) as they put on ninety-three. This longer format plays into Carpenter exceptional and patient batting skills.  Sean Jenkins made the breakthrough, with a stumping from Chrity O’Brien, and later picked up a second (2-48) as the Rams stuck to their task. A run out, by Miguel Machado (before he flew off to join the Portugal national side) got rid off the experienced Matthew Pateman. Skipper Ant Phillips (1-20 off thirteen tight overs) in tandem with keeper Christy O’Brien had Ollie Jeffries, the former Burwell and Mildenhall EAPL player, stumped. Jenkins then bowled Joe Dawborn. Nick Griggs (2-61) then took a couple of late wickets including another stumping from our Kiwi. O’Brien completed a fine day behind the sticks with a last ball run out as the innings closed on two hundred and thirty-four from seven.

In reply the Rams lost three quick wickets with only twenty-nine on the board as Jonathan Wilson (1-19) and Scott Stevenson (2-31) picked up wickets with Luke Herholdt, Henty Cotton and Machado being their early victims. Will Bailey and O’Brien gave the home fans some cheer when they added ninety-four for the fourth wicket. O’Brien supporting Bailey before he fell (21 from 48) to the vastly experienced Dawborn (on his first return to Spicers since 2019). Dawborn then added Phillips and Jake Paris in quick succession as the Rams ran out of steam. Bailey and Griggs then got the home side to one hundred and sixty before both fell at the same score. Bailey with another impressive knock making seventy-six (117 balls) before becoming Dawborn’s (4-33) fourth victim. Griggs (16) was caught off Daniel Darvell before the bowler added a second (2-23) to trap Arya Saeb-Parsy. That man Carpenter (1-11) bowled Dom Cameron as the innings closed on one hundred and sixty-nine. Play cricket lists the experienced pair from Socon as having almost twelve hundred wickets between them Carpenter (652 dismissals) and Dawborn (535)!

Jake Ellis, formerly known as ‘The Prince of Horseheath’, returned to his cricketing ‘alma-mater’ when he took his third team to face Foxton on is old stomping ground. The Rams were shorn of a few as calls from the teams above had depleted resources. Foxton III’s were similarly impacted and they needed three from the CCA additional players pool to get them to eleven. Foxton won the toss and decided to bat on what is usually an excellent surface. However, Buss (39 from 36) was the only player to make it into double figures as the batting collapsed to seventy-four all out. Jon Windsor set the tone with three wickets for five runs off six overs. The ‘home’ side were sixty-three for two before the Rams Skipper devasted the middle and late order. This was not before he had been given some sound advice by one of his under-13-year-old chargers! The skipper returned career best figures of six-for seven to eclipse his previous best (6-15 in 2023). Ellis was delighted with another impressive Alex Myles spell (1-28), and with another spell at this level for another youngster Zane Dennington and especially for the first spell of the season from last year’s ‘wonder-kid’ Vivaan Kilaru.

Veteran Wes Potschul (28) and another of the youngsters Joel Dennington (18) broke the back of the reply before the Rams got home by seven wickets in the seventeenth over. The AP player picked up all three wickets to fall. The victory lifted the Rams back up to fourth in the table, so the skipper will have been delighted with his side’s work and his personal best.