Hat-tricks all round!

Wayne White’s glorious summer continued as he hit the Rams first EAPL century of the season. The former Derbyshire and Leicestershire paceman followed up last week’s fifty and hat-trick. He had scored another ton in the T2O cup and he has amassed an incredible five hundred and sixty-one runs in just ten league and cup innings.

The Rams at home to their neighbours Saffron Walden won the toss and decided to bat. Walden’s woes continued as opening bowler Ben Harris pulled up after just one ball with a side strain. White with his regular opening partner raced to another half century opening stand as the first fifty came up in just seventy-one balls, with Guest slightly out-pacing his partner. Despite the barrage the Walden fielders earned early plaudits as excellent fielding helped to slow the scoring rate where a lightening fast outfield offered full value for any shots that beat the field. Just when a century stand was looking probable, Guest (forty-three from seventy-one balls) was adjudged leg before to Cambridgeshire left-armer spinner Sam Robinson with the score on ninety-three at the end of the twenty third over. White then reached his personal half-century (from seventy-five balls) just before the Rams made it to three figures off one hundred and fifty-three balls). SBCC pushed on with teenager Yousuf Choudhary back in the side after injury, helping White to take the Rams to one hundred and forty-three (after thirty-four overs) at lunch.

The pair moved on to record a fifty partnership from seventy-three balls almost immediately after lunch with the youngster out-pacing his Cambridgeshire teammate. The total was taken past one hundred and fifty in the thirty-seventh over. There was a hiccup to the Sawston progress when Choudhary (thirty-eight from fifty-two balls) holed out to Harry Gallian off the bowling of Ali Hancock. Jack Beaumont then joined White and they had taken the score past two hundred (from two hundred and seventy-nine balls) when Beaumont’s bright and breezy innings of twenty-six (from twenty-four balls) was ended by Alex Pierson (1-15) with the score on two hundred and seven for three. Pierson’s delight was short-lived as he appeared to dislocate his shoulder following a dive in the field. White then reached his ton from one hundred and fifty-balls before he was dismissed, caught and bowled from a leading edge, by Hancock (2-79) after adding just three more runs. Lee Thomason and Ben Clilverd then stepped on the accelerator as the two-fifty was brought up in the fifty-fifth over, the latest fifty coming off just forty-six balls. The pair went on to record their own fifty stand from just thirty-three balls. Clilverd perished by the sword, in a similar fashion to last week, when he attempted to reverse Robinson (2-76) and was trapped in front just before the three hundred mark. The Rams three hundred came up at the start of the sixtieth over as Jack Sneath (1-77) was dispatched to all parts. Alex Evans had just hit the Walden bowler for a massive six when the bowler exacted his revenge clean bowling Evans at the end of the over. That brought a declaration with the score on three hundred and sixteen with Thomason undefeated on forty-seven (from thirty-two) as the Cambridgeshire batsman backed up last week’s excellent contribution.

The old ‘firm’ of Smith and Vandepeer once again delivered early wickets when Vandepeer (1-28) trapped Bonham and Smith bowled Nick Taylor with a beauty and then had the Walden skipper Josh Down caught at slip by Alex Evans with just forty-eight runs on the board. The first Walden fifty coming off just sixty balls moments later. With Harry Gallian and Sneath looking comfortable the pair took the Crocus to tea with the score on sixty-eight (from sixteen overs). The visitors lost Gallian (twenty-six from forty-six) and then their overseas Brynn Mendel as the left arm spin combination of George Darlow (1-23) and Beaumont picked up wickets to leave Walden struggling on ninety-two for five at the end of the twenty-fifth. Sneath was joined by Harris who initially shrugged off his side strain to play a number of big shots before requiring a runner. The visitors hundred came up off one hundred and sixty-five balls, with the latest fifty arriving in just fifty-two balls as the pair also shared a fifty stand (in just sixty-three balls). A change of ends for Smith brought another full-length diving catch from Evans, almost as good as the one at Swardeston, to remove Sneath (forty-eight from eighty-four balls). The Rams are waiting nervously until the end of the football transfer window just in case someone is in the market for a goalkeeper! Smith (4-80) followed that up two balls later to remove Robinson with another beauty that offered a routine catch to Heath. This left the Crocus on one hundred and fifty-three for seven with, in Pierson’s absence, just two wickets left and twenty-three overs to survive. The Rams went short and Harris responded with pulls, cuts, ramps, inside edges, and a couple of forehands smashes. The former Walden skipper adding forty runs of thirty-one balls with Oliver Rae. The madness finally ended when Harris managed to steer a full ball from White (1-47) from his stance that was outside of the legside crease to Alex Evans at first slip.  Harris’s boundary laden (7 x4 and 5x 6) sixty-five off fifty-nine balls coming to an end with the score on one hundred and ninety-three. Walden’s number ten, Hancock, joined Rae and they were able to increase the Crocus’s points tally by getting the visitors to two hundred and twenty-nine before Beaumont (2-47) picked up Walden’s last man when Vandepeer took a catch in the deep. Rae finished unbeaten on thirty-one (from twenty-six) and Hancock holed out on eleven.

It wasn’t a pretty or classic win but it was a thirty-point win and I think a Rams’ record, as I believe it’s the first time we have ever won three red ball games in a row in the EAPL.

Elsewhere the top three all won making the SBCC win even more critical. Leaders Mildenhall at Witchingham and second placed Copdock at AB Wanderers both secured twenty-five-point victories. Joint third placed Horsford gained a twenty-nine-point victory at Frinton. This meant both the Rams and Horsford gained ground on the top two and the Rams moved into third, by a single point, on their own. The Rams trail Copdock by seven and Mildenhall by sixteen. Bury beat Sudbury in the Suffolk derby and Witham held on for a draw against Swardeston. At the bottom Frinton are seventeen points adrift of Witham, with Walden a further eleven ahead, which crucially gives them more than a game cushion.

The second team also created history as they achieved three wins in a row for the first time ever in the Cambs and Hunts Premier One. They travelled to Walden in the reverse fixture to the firsts. Once again, the bowlers shone as Walden were dismissed for one hundred and thirty-one. The Rams were quick out of the blocks as Nick Griggs and Will Bailey both picked up early wickets (both taking 1-23) as the home side, who were put into bat by SBCC skipper Ant Phillips, lurched to seventeen for two. The home side recovered steadily and patiently as Osbourne (37 from 83 balls) and overseas Keelan Mendel (29 from 66) added fifty for the third wicket (in 102 balls). Skipper Phillips dismissed Osbourne with the score on seventy-seven, and then doubled up to dismiss Mendel eleven runs later. This sparked a collapse as four wickets fell for just one run with Phillips picking up another two and Miguel Machado (1-21 from thirteen overs) the other. Xander Silverwood followed eleven runs later as Phillips completed his second five-fa (5-33 from thirteen overs) of the season. Luke Swanston surveyed most of this carnage from the other end and he and Ben Spargo gave the home side some hope as they added twenty-nine for the ninth. Julius Jackson (1-8) ended the counter attack when he dismissed Spargo (18 from 23) before Jake Raven (1-21) ended Swanston’s stubborn resistance (21 from 79) with the score on one hundred and thirty-one. The Rams recognising the nature of the pitch didn’t need to utilise their seam bowling heroes of recent week’s as neither Sean Jenkins or Ollie Humphreys were required. The Rams would have over fifty-overs to knock off the runs.

The Crocus had a very experienced seam attack with Callum Taylor, Farmer and Spargo, and Taylor struck early to dismiss Kiwi Christy O’Brien (12 from 11) to leave the Rams on sixteen for one. However, Jackson and Oli Borley again batted time as they added thirty-six for the second wicket before Borley was bowled by Taylor (2-17). Jackson (24 from 78) again anchoring the innings then added another thirty-eight with Ethan Rice before he was dismissed by Osborne (1-15). However, Rice, who was unlucky to be dropped from the firsts following his excellent knock last week, again showed his promise as he saw the game out. He (25 from 50 balls) then put on another forty-eight with the explosive Machado (39 from 15) as the Rams dashed home for a seven wicket win in just over thirty-one overs. The twenty-five point win and a twenty-four-point swing lifted the Rams out of the bottom two for the first time this year and at the same time pushing Walden into the bottom two. The Rams moved up to ninth and within two points of eighth!

The Rams looked ‘on’ for another hat-trick, three wins for three matches when the third team put on a stellar batting performance against their Foxton counterparts. Joe Latham hit a chanceless first century for the Club, at long last fulfilling some of that potential we all know he possesses. His account of a chanceless knock, after a few celebratory beverages, was verified independently! Latham’s unbeaten one hundred and five (from 96 balls) was the backbone of the Rams innings as he shared useful partnerships of sixty, thirty-six and sixty-two with Jake Ellis (22 from 31), Torin Phelps (18 from 15) and Dom Cameron (22 from 24) respectively. The innings closed on an impressive two hundred and fifty-six for six off the forty-over allocation. Shaw (2-45) and the wily Nigel Gadsby (2-45) were the most successful bowlers.

In a testimony to the quality of the Babraham pitch and the speed of the outfield this total proved to be insufficient. Teenager Vivaan Kilaru entrusted with the new ball didn’t disappoint his skipper as he picked up an early wicket to dismiss Oliver Gadsby.  But this brought together Shaw and former Cambridgeshire player Nick Adams (64 from 48) who added one hundred and thirty-nine for the second wicket before he was undone by former wicket-keeper Phelps (1-20). Shaw (78 from 68) then added another twenty-one with Swinton before Latham (1-27) dismissed him. The Rams had brief hope as the Rams skipper added the scalp of his opposite number and perhaps Cambridgeshire’s most prolific run scorer when he caught and bowled Nigel Gadsby just three runs later to leave the visitors on one hundred and ninety for four. Swinton (33 from 50) and Vats (24 no for 27) almost got Foxton to the winning post however Kilaru (2-32) returned to dismiss the former with just eight runs required. The Rams losing by five wickets as their young bowlers wilted.

Sunday saw the Rams National T20 title hopes disappear when a depleted squad was outclassed by an Oundle team in the regional finals at Bury. The side from the Northants Premier posted an impressive one hundred and eighty-seven. Craig with sixty-one and Logan with thirty-eight top scored. Jack Beaumont (2-27) emerged with most credit as Smith, Darlow and Bailey picked up wickets. James Vandepeer (46 from 26) playing just as a batter and Alex Evans (28 from 14) gave the Rams brief hope but David Foster (5-18) and Will Park (3-18) tore through the order to record a seventy-one-run victory. It was also a miserable time for ex-Ram Nathan Buck as his Rothley Park side were beaten by a similar margin, by Harpenden, in the second semi. In the final Oundle got home, with two fours off the last two balls of the twenty overs, as they chased down Harpenden’s one hundred and sixty-three!

The fourths got some action in as they played a Friendly, cricket on a Sunday, whatever next! Cam Kerala clearly enjoyed the surface at Babraham as they posted 223 for eight in their forty-overs. Our youngsters Arnav Wadekar (3-43), Alex Myles (1-28), Joel Dennington (2-20), Sam Ronco (1-7) and Zane Dennington (1-28) again all impressed with the ball. However, Sijo Varghese (65 from 79) and Fabio (79 from 88) made sure the visitors posted too many for the young Rams. The Rams were bundled out for just 83.

Our Cambridgeshire quintet of Guest, White, Thomason, Choudhary and Clilverd also missed out, despite some good individual performances, on a place in the NCCA Trophy final. They lost to Norfolk by fifty-nine runs. Sam Arthurton’s big hundred (139 from 133 balls), with useful runs from Wilcox (46 from 65), Ethan Metcalfe (38 from 57) and Callum Metcalfe (31 from 19) propelled the Norfolk side to three hundred and seventeen for five in their fifty overs in the match played at Witchingham. White (1-48)  and Guest (1-48) were the most economical bowlers. In reply White (26 from 24), Guest (36 from 50), Choudhary (40 from 48) and Clilverd (42 from 61) all got starts but no-one could push on and they finished fifty-nine short with five overs to go.