A winless weekend for The Rams

AB Wanderers visited Spicers and decided to field after winning the toss. Joe Everett took advantage of some early nip to remove his Rams counterpart as he had Sawston skipper Callum Guest caught behind. With early movement on offer you had to be, perhaps, a little fuller in length to catch the edge but your margin for error was slight as the lightening fast outfield gave batsmen full value for anything that was slightly over pitched. Cambridgeshire’s Wayne White and Nikhil Gorantla settled in before building steadily as the innings developed from twenty-nine for one to one hundred and thirty-seven for one at lunch. The pair batted securely but Nikhil offered a very sharp chance to the umpire in the twentieth over, thankfully he managed to take avoiding action! The pair had both made it to personal half-centuries; White from eighty balls and Gorantla from one delivery less as they added a century stand (from 128 balls). After lunch they had moved the score onto one hundred and seventy when Gorantla (74 from 99) was bowled round his legs by Nuwan Jayasena (1-89).  White (65 from 109) followed  just six balls and no runs later when Tommy Chambers (1-40) got a delivery to rear from a length. The long-time teammates; for Copdock, Suffolk and the Rams; Ben Claydon and Jack Beaumont who were reunited at the crease added a run a ball thirty-eight. Claydon then called his partner through for a quick single  but began to regret it after about five strides down the wicket as Beaumont (24 from 20) was run out; not the first time this pair have got themselves in a tangle! Claydon was then joined by Lee Thomason who steadied the ship before adding another fifty-run partnership (off 61 balls) as the Rams moved past two fifty. Claydon (47 from 57 balls) was then, heavily, involved in another run out as he was dismissed with another half century there for the taking. At two hundred and eighty-four for five and just thirty-seven balls to go the bugle was sounded and Henry Wilson, Ben Clilverd and Thomason were all sacrificed on the altar of late runs; with Mitchell Van Buuren (2-48) and a second for Everett (2-81) picking up the wickets. Thomason (44 from 63) again made a useful contribution. Thomason has benefitted from a move up the order this year. His success has restricted the opportunity for both Clilverd and Wilson who have had to be patient, and play for the team, their chances being made more difficult as needing to go from ball one or arriving at the crease just as both the established batters have just been dismissed. The Rams innings finished on three hundred and twenty-five for eight.

The old firm of James Vandepeer (2-26) and Mark Smith (2-63) gave the Rams the perfect start when they both snaffled braces. Vandepeer’s two coming off two superb deliveries. At forty-four for four any faint hopes of an away day victory had disappeared. Tea came as a welcome respite four runs later.  The Rams briefly re-opened the door as a Kieran Spencer upper-cut was well caught on the run by Wilson off White (1-35) as the fifth wicket fell on eighty-seven. Wicket-keeper Nathan Shaw joined Tristan Elam and they added a match saving sixty-eight runs (off 142 deliveries). Shaw (42 from 67)was caught off skipper Guest’s first ball (in the 44th), the Rams needed four more wickets in the remaining twelve overs.  Visiting skipper Everett hung around consuming eight of the remaining overs in the company of Elam.  Josh Larner and Elam (77 not out from 152 deliveries) saw ABW to another cheap batting point (at 200)  as a collection of fielders got ever closer to the bat.

The Rams seconds faced an in-form St. Giles side, that had won their last five matches, without their skipper Dan Heath (who had clearly forgotten his age to go on a Boys joint to Benidorm!).  Darcy Murphy stood in but lost the toss and the Rams were asked to field in the vast open, and shadeless field at Caldecote. The Aussie Murphy must have had thoughts of home! The skipper was boosted by the return of Yousuf Choudhary and Tarun Mouli and the retention of Ethan Rice. In toiling conditions the skipper must have been delighted that his bowlers stuck to the task as a few batsmen got starts.  The precocious Rueben Thain, younger brother of ex-Ram Noah,  was the only batter to make a half century (54 from 72 balls); but Zaheer Hussain (36 from 63); Kunal Dabas (32 from 67) and Ashok Singh (24 from 39) all made useful contributions.  Mouli (1-68) and Miguel Machado (1-46) made early breakthroughs before Murphy (2-40) and Julius Jackson (4-47) at first put the brakes on before taking regular wickets. With the skipper nursing a side strain it was a spin dominated attack. Late runs from St. Giles skipper Sam Thain (37 no from 50 balls) and Charles Bell (28 no from 15) moved the total to a more challenging two hundred and thirty-six for eight.

Things were looking dire for the Rams as they lost Choudhary, Machado, Rice and James, where they would have expected the bulk of their runs to come from, with only forty-five on the board. With another thirty-two overs to bat and the Rams all-together familiar batting collapses it was looking like a sixth win on the bounce for the home side. However a succession of batsmen led by Jackson (46 from 74 balls) held up St. Giles. A combination of Henry Cotton (23 balls), Mouli (23 deliveries), Josh Jordan (15 off 34) and the skipper (23 no from 45) dug in to deny the home side their victory. Singh (3-33) and Rueben Thain (2-23) were the most successful with the ball.

Despite the two draws for our senior sides the weekend ended up being slightly positive as the first team extended their lead at the top of EAPL 25 to thirty-one points and the second team eked out slightly bigger advantages over their relegation rivals. In the EAPL Horsford’s hot streak ended spectacularly as the in-form Witham pulled off a fantastic victory in a game their Norfolk hosts seemed to be in control of for most of the contest. Witham have beaten the top two in the last fortnight and now sit fourth. Copdock had to settle for a draw at Bury. Down at the bottom victories for Mildenhall (v Downham) and Swardeston (v Sudbury) means things are beginning to look dire for AB Wanderers as they are now fifty points adrift! Frinton won a very strange game at Witchingham, the hosts recovered from twenty-one for five to post two hundred and forty but Frinton still managed a six-wicket win. In the Onyx Premier a win for Walden and a draw for Burwell saw the top two swap places but the shadow of reigning champions Ramsey continues to close in.

There were two shining consolations in a third defeat in four for the once again depleted third team. A career best, so far, eighty from U-15 Ethan Hayes Fernandez and a very promising thirty-three from U-13 Etienne Lamb ensured the Rams could post a decent, if under par, score of one hundred and seventy-one. Joe Templeman (3-28); and braces for George Templeman (2-26), Robert Green (2-13) and Alex Emsden (2-36) did the damage for Rickling Ramblers. In reply keeper Jack Culpin (40), Peter Emsden (29) and a vital forty-four not out from Alex Emsden saw the visitors home by five wickets and two overs to spare. Veteran Liam Flynn (3-20) and decent spells from skipper Jake Ellis (1-27) and Yashitha Fernando (1-31) could not stop the inevitable. The unbeaten Buntigford moved to the top of the table and the Ramblers with a game in hand are within striking distance of the Rams in third.

A depleted fourth team took a bit of a battering for the second week in succession when local rivals Stapleford posted an impressive two hundred and sixty-nine for five after winning the toss and deciding to bat. Val Biswas (90); James Beal (38); Jon West (35 no) and Dhruv Sajog (23 no) all made contributions as the Rams again conceded forty-three extras! Youngster Josh Coleman with a tidy five overs and a run out did well under fire, and another youngster Ethan Cashmore picked up his second senior wicket. Talking of seniors the wily Adrian Platt picked up a brace and there was also one for Amit Nair after being away from cricket for a good number of years.

Veteran Jeff Free (31) and father and son duo Trevor (27) and Richard (28 no) made the only significant contributions with the bat as the innings closed of one hundred and forty for nine. There were braces for siblings Dylan and Rohan Everson, and for Sajog in the comprehensive home victory

There was nothing to cheer us up from midweek where the Midweek XI tasted defeat for the first time, and there were defeats for both U-15 sides, as well as our Under-11’s.

Despite that there were some good performances

Vivaan Kilaru 50 retired not out

Henry Cotton 49 not out

Owain Bolton (u-11) a double wicket over

Caelan Cashmore (u-11) 19 runs and one wicket