Rams survive dreadful start

The Rams who faced a tricky looking trip to Barton Turf to face an AB Wanderers side who had recruited heavily, after a fine debut season last year, were dealt a major blow when skipper Callum Guest suffered a back spasm which would curtail his involvement. The Rams had already had to make four changes from last week’s victorious side, and the loss of Guest meant they had also lost the services of one of the finest all-rounders in the EAPL. On top of this Ethan Rice who had opened the bowling last week was ruled out of bowling by a recurrence of last year’s injury that hampered his debut season. SBCC also gave first team and EAPL debuts to Tarun Mouli and Alex James, both of whom had made their second team debuts last week.

To make things potentially worse, the home side won the toss and opted to field. However, as very often the Rams take the opportunity to bat first this development was thought not to be too serious. Guest opted to promote handy tail ender James Vandepeer to open with Yousuf Choudhary, following his ton last week for the seconds. Although this was a brand-new partnership both had enough experience in the role. The visitors got off to a solid start progressing to twenty-nine without loss, before Joe Everett dismissed Vandepeer at the start of the fifth. Everett doubled up, accounting for the other opener, Choudhary, as the Rams slipped to thirty-nine for two in the seventh. Rice promoted up the order to number three (from number eight) was joined by last week’s centurion Ben Claydon. The Rams had recovered slightly as Rice (33) and Claydon added thirty-six runs from sixty balls. Rice then fell to one of the home side’s new recruits Jacob Lintott (1-29) with the score on seventy-five. This brought Lee Thomason to the crease as the Rams hoped the he and Claydon could build a similar partnership to last week’s (197 runs). It wasn’t to be as Thomason fell to an absolute screamer of a full length catch from Tristan Elam off the bowling of Joshua Larner (1-48). At eighty-six for four in the nineteenth the game was very much in the balance. Thomason’s dismissal brought another new Ram Henry Wilson to the crease. Wilson’s debut last week consisted of around thirty overs with his pads on before facing a handful of deliveries. The Cambridgeshire teenager has shown considerable talent in the County-age group set up and has shown early promise with the County 1st XI. The pair progressed the score into three figures at the start of the twenty-third over before taking the Rams to drinks at one hundred and eight for four. The visitors reached the one-fifty mark in the thirty-fifth. The pair hit the accelerator to bring up the one hundred partnership in the fortieth (the partnership coming off 133 balls). This milestone was reached as Wilson completed his first half century for the Rams (off 76 balls). Claydon then reached fifty for the second successive week. Wilson was then caught in the deep off Joe Flatt, at the end of the forty-first, with the score on one hundred and ninety for five. Disaster struck just six balls later when a mix up led to Claydon being run out having matched Wilson’s fifty-two runs.  With eight overs of the innings left and Guest not batting the experienced Ben Clilverd, on his first team recall, would have to eek out as many runs as possible with the two debutants James and Mouli. Clilverd and James added a precious twenty-two before Everett (3-32) dismissed Clilverd. James then got the score to two hundred and thirty-two before the home sides overseas Mitchell Van Buuren (2-26) dismissed James (15) and Mark Smith with the last two balls of the fifty overs as the innings closed on two hundred and thirty-two for nine. This total was just five runs more than the Rams successfully defended at Barton Turf last year.

The home side got their reply off to a similar start as they progressed to thirty-two without loss as Thomas Harris and Jordan Everett made steady progress. The Rams had opened up with Vandepeer, as usual, but with Claydon sharing the new ball as the absence of Rice and Guest from the attack stretched resources. Ankle injuries and a serious shoulder injury had limited Claydon’s bowling to just seven overs of off-spin during EAPL 2024. To the Rams delight Vandepeer (1-28) and Claydon (1-25) dismissed Harris and Elam respectively  in successive overs to leave the home side on thirty-seven for two. AB Wanderers added just nineteen more runs before Smith struck in his first over to leave the home side on fifty-six for three. Van Buuren and Zak Tribe were repairing the damage moving the score onto ninety-seven when Smith struck again to remove Van Buuren (29) in the twenty-fourth over. This spark ignited the attack and caused a mini collapse as this was the first of four wickets to fall for just seven runs as Tribe, Shaw and Joe Everett joined their overseas back in the Pavilion in the space of twenty-four balls. Smith (4-29) also accounting for Tribe and Shaw with Mouli claiming Everett’s wicket for his first in the EAPL. Lintott and Larner moved the score into more respectable territory, taking the score to one hundred and thirty-four. Before Lintott (18) provided Clilverd (1-45) with his first EAPL scalp of the season as the eighth wicket fell.  Larner (19) and Flatt (30) ensured that the tail wagged before Mouli (3-50) snared both as the innings closed on one hundred and eighty-two. This gave the Rams a fifty-run victory and took their incredible run to eleven consecutive wins and seventeen games unbeaten.

Elsewhere it was a good day for the Rams as the majority of their closest rivals in recent years all tasted defeat as Copdock were beaten at home by Bury, Horsford were beaten at Witham and both Mildenhall (at Downham Stow) and Swardeston (at Sudbury) suffered their second defeats of the campaign. In the other match Frinton overcame Gt. Witchingham. There are only three other unbeaten sides (Bury, Downham and Sudbury) at the end of week two of EAPL 25, which highlights the competitive nature of this year’s competition. Downham Stow with perhaps the best start to a season for a promoted side since the Rams in 2020 are now two from two; and more encouragingly for them they have had significant individual  performances from a number of players in the squad.

The second team’s hopes were dented long before the start of play as they lost four of the side that sensationally won last week to the first eleven and had another away on family duties. This combined with the never-ending football season meant that ready made replacements were in short supply. So we had two very promising teenagers, both fifteen or under, and four players making a debut or seasonal debut. It would be fair to say that some of these would perhaps have been looking for a first outing in the thirds before making the step up. Sawston lost the toss and were asked to bat on a wicket that offered plenty of early assistance. The Rams were unfortunately bundled out for eighty-six, including thirty-one extras. Although the bowling was excellent at times with Henry Rodda (4-20), Noah Vintiner (2-12), and veteran Alex Sears (2-17) leading the way it was non-the-less a poor batting performance. The only batsmen to gain any credit were the two youngsters Henry Cotton, Ethan Hayes-Fernandez, the returning Matt Ellis and Sean Ward who did at least try to stick around.

Overseas Darcy Murphy (2-27) again impressed with the ball although even his effectiveness seemed to have been diminished by the heavy roller in the innings break. Our Australian import did however manage to remove both openers but Saffron Walden legend, and England over-50’s opener Giles Eccleston with forty-eight not out at almost a run a ball and Michael Turner saw the Crocus home by eight wickets. The opposition were pleased to get their season up and running having suffered a chastening defeat themselves last week. The other drawback of a low total meant some of the debutants and seasonal debutants didn’t get the chance to impress with the ball.

The third team brought back some smiles when they travelled to Horseheath for a pre-season friendly. They came away with an impressive five wicket win. The home side won the toss and decided to bat. The Rams made early breakthroughs with teenager Vivaan Kilaru (1-38) and Oliver Humphreys (4-24) sharing three early wickets including the dangerous Dan Goldsmith. Dylan Ellis (31), Andy Edwards (21) and Robbie Ketteridge (22) threatened to set a challenging total. The Rams skipper Jake Ellis (2-17) dismissed his brother  and Ketteridge with Humphreys picking up Edwards and then Ollie Ellis as the innings lurched to one hundred and nineteen for seven. M Bailey (16) tried to get the score to a respectable total before a run out and two wickets in four balls for Joe Latham (1-2) closed the innings at one hundred and forty-three. There were also some useful spells by Nuwan Athukorala (0-24) and Arnav Wadekar (0-24) which gave them and the others a chance to blow away the cobwebs before next week’s league opener.

The Rams cantered home to win by five wickets inside twenty-five overs as opener Robbie Matthews in his first game since 2022 scored a rapid twenty-nine. Latham (56 retired not out) and Oliver Borley (24 from 25) took the score into three figures before Borley, Alex Day and Charlie Borley were all dismissed within three runs as a mini collapse took the Rams to one hundred and five for five. Ollie Ellis (3-39) and a run out doing most of the damage. Any nerves in the visitor’s camp were soon settled as Latham, Wadekar (13 not out) and Kilaru (10 not out) saw the Rams home.