A lot of effort but not much success!

With playing resources again very stretched, with three new players registered overnight Thursday into Friday, the thirds and fourths were still looking for a couple of bodies. Early Friday was largely panic free with skippers Jake Ellis and Dom Cameron hoping that the gaps could be plugged from the mass of Juniors that assemble at the Club each Friday night. Disaster then struck when the first and second team both had late drop outs; ultimately this places the burden on the fourths and it was looking like we may have to default their game. Dom, and Jake in particular, then worked an absolute miracle to make sure that we got all four sides out. Former team manager and Chief Selector Jeff Free was not only pressed into action himself but he also press-ganged a mate from his ‘darts’ team to play. A real throwback to the 1980’s where player registrations were not that heavily policed and you could pick up your eleventh, playing under a pseudonym, from one of the local pubs!

After all that effort it’s a great shame that these endeavours were not rewarded with favourable results. However, Jake was rewarded with two wins in the weekend as the third team ended a disappointing run following two successive losses. They travelled to Ashwell who are having a miserable run and avoided a potential banana-skin. Oli Humphreys, clearly miffed at being left out of the first teams’ trip to Witham after his ‘performance’ last year; made use of a helpful surface to return career best figures of six for six; with four of the runs coming from an edge through the slip cordon. With a side containing five teenagers, including U-13 debutant Etienne Lamb, the skipper was please to have the experienced pair of Wes Potschul and Liam Flynn around. The home side won the toss and opted to bat but found themselves at eleven for three with Humphreys snaring all three. Patrick Robinson (15) was one of only two batsmen to make it to double figures as twenty-seven for three quickly became forty-three for seven. Humphreys had accounted for the first six before the skipper had Robinson caught and bowled. Ben Coldstream then ‘guarded’ the tail as he moved to twenty-five not out (from 50 balls). Wickets continued to fall as Lamb (1-18) picked up his first wicket for the Rams, and the skipper (2-29) his second of the day. Flynn was unplayable with three overs for no runs before he bowled the last man to leave Coldstream high and dry and the home side with only eighty-eight to defend. Another teenager Vivaan Kilaru bowled seven tight overs to keep  Ashwell under pressure while Humphreys wreaked havoc.

Despite losing the experienced pair of Potschul and Flynn plus Adarshpal Brar with only thirty on the board two of our in-form under-15’s made sure there were no more dramas. Ethan Hayes Fernandez carried his bat for thirty-nine (from 46 balls) and he added a match clinching unbeaten stand of fifty-nine with his U-15 colleague Daniel Pretorious who made twenty-one not out. The Rams racing home in just sixteen overs. This win kept the Rams top of Junior One, but Buntingford remain unbeaten with games in hand.

After reaching the Walker Cup T20 finals day last week, Jake and his depleted troops reached the Finals Day for the Junior Cup. Unfortunately in helping out the first and second teams with players they are automatically excluded from the Junior Cup even though they may be third team players! So the effort of running around to get a side out was rewarded when their opponents defaulted; which was just as well given Sunday’s weather.

There were a couple of ‘firsts’ in the EAPL this week as AB Wanderers (v Bury) finally had their first victory of the season to close the gap down at the bottom. Sadly, the second one involved the Rams as Witham scored an impressive first ever victory against the Rams; to close the gap at the top of the table. The in-form Horsford made it an early finish for the second week running when they demolished Frinton. The other in-form side Copdock who defeated an under-strength Swardeston by two hundred and fourteen runs, most of which were scored by Sam Athurton! Downham won the Norfolk derby at home against Witchingham. Mildenhall’s improved form with the bat continued with their massive score at Sudbury where they failed, like a good many, to bowl out the side batting second.

At Witham, the Rams for whom Tarun Mouli was a late replacement for fellow left armer George Darlow, won the toss and skipper Callum Guest opted for plan A and to bat. It is generally a very good pitch at Witham and a high scoring ground; especially with this year’s bleached outfield. The Rams got off to a flier despite an excellent and at times unlucky spell from their overseas Sam Greer. Unfortunately for the home side both Matthew Wareing and Jamal Richards leaked runs from the Pavilion end. Fifty came up in fifty-two balls. The tempo for much of the Ram’s innings seemed more like a fifty-over contest. The other recurring theme was that they lost wickets just when they seemed to be in control of the match and their own destiny. Guest (25 from 27) fell first; a victim for Essex’s Richards with the score on fifty-two. His opening partner Wayne White (33 from 58) followed some thirty-two runs later when Wareing, who was enjoying the top end far more, trapped him leg before. Just before lunch Nikhil Gorantla (46 from 63) fell to spin when he was just moving through the gears and became a first wicket for Greg Stephens. Ben Claydon and Jack Beaumont saw the Rams through to lunch on one hundred and forty-four for three. With just under half the permitted overs to go they were surely looking for something north of three hundred? An out of sorts Beaumont was comprehensively bowled by Richards (2-56) soon after lunch. That reunited this season’s most successful partnership as Lee Thomason joined Claydon. Ben (53 from 73) had just reached his eighth score of fifty plus when he was yorked by Stephens. At one hundred and ninety-one for five with twenty overs to go the visitors’ ambitions were perhaps being downgraded to around three hundred. Thomason (31 from 51) and Yousuf Choudhary (20 from 26) then added forty (off 55 deliveries). However with the score on two hundred and thirty-one Stephens (3-66) had the latter stumped and Wareing had the former caught behind. When Wareing had James Vandepeer caught just ten runs later, a score of around two-sixty was looking on the cards. Ben Clillverd (17) , Mouli and a few extras got the final total to a more respectable two hundred and ninety with Clilverd falling to Wareing (4-71). I suspect at the end of the innings both sides were probably relieved with the final score.

The Witham reply got off to an uncertain start when Vandepeer (1-39) had Harrison MacDonald comfortably caught by Clilverd with the score on twenty-five. The home side with Essex’s Nick Browne and home skipper Michael Godwin then saw the side through a tricky period to tea; they went into the break at forty-one for one. The pair had survived the curse of the break and had moved the score along to seventy-one when Godwin was ‘done’ by an absolute peach from Mark Smith. When the usually reliable Chris Huntington had a slash at a wide one, from Smith (2-79) the home side had lost two wickets for two runs in eight balls. With their three leading run scorers’ back in the pavilion and still over two hundred runs required the Ram’s perhaps thought they had opened the door. Browne was joined by his Essex clubmate Richards. Browne, in particular, batted patiently taking advantage of a loose over here and there before settling back into crease occupation mode, His calmness appeared to rub off on his teammate as Richard’s batted with a greater maturity than I’d witnessed before. The second fifty came off sixty-nine balls as the hundred was reached in one hundred and sixty-one balls. Browne made it to his personal half century (off 75); the fifty-partnership followed off sixty-three deliveries. The home side reached their one-fifty in the thirty-sixth over; meaning they needed another one hundred and forty at an increased rate of seven an over. There were no signs of panic and only the occasional mistimed pull shot from Richards as he moved to his own fifty in sixty-eight deliveries. The visitors went through their full repertoire of bowling changes and changes of ends as they strove for a breakthrough. The hundred partnership came up (from 116) with Richards taking the more aggressive approach and Browne content to support and steady his young partner when required. The pair continued to tick off the milestones as Witham went passed two hundred and then the pair moved their stand passed the one hundred and fifty mark (off 154 balls). Browne was first to three figures from a perfectly paced one hundred and twenty balls. Next came the Witham two-fifty; and then Richards notched his ton (off 104) before the two hundred partnership was reached (from 193 balls). The home side were then able to celebrate a memorable win and back-to-back victories.

Sawston II’s entertained Wisbech at Spicers but their hopes of a win were devastated on Friday night when the two late pull outs robbed then of two of their better bowling options. The visitors won the toss and opted to bat. Despite the dearth of bowling options skipper Dan Heath must have been delighted with the initial showing from his front-line bowlers. As is often the case his overseas, Darcy Murphy, made the initial breakthroughs, the Aussie quick removed both openers Shalin Navishka De Mel (16 off ten) and Thomas Hoyle (11 from 30) with just thirty-two on the board. De Mel the visitors overseas has been in explosive form and so the Rams were pleased to see him go early. Miguel Machado (1-46) then sparked a mini collapse when he removed Josh Bowers. Jaykishan Plaha then picked up two in two balls as the visitors were reduced to fifty-six for five. The seamer released from first team duties the week before, picked up the wickets of James Williams and then Gary Freear which is quite an entry for your Cambridgeshire C.V. . The lack of back up bowlers was exposed as skipper Dan Heath and Julius Jacson were required to bowl eighteen overs between them; these cost one hundred runs. Jamie Seabrook and Sam Albutt with a one hundred and four run partnership shifted the momentum back to the side from the Fens.  Murphy picked up a third when he dismissed Seabrook (47 from 74). The Aussie showing his full repertoire with two spells of pace and one of spin! Albutt continued to frustrate the Rams as he added a further fifty-two runs in partnership with Rhys Howell (11 from 25) and Jonny Garner (14 from 11). All three were dismissed by Plaha as he recorded a first five-fa (5-36) for the Rams; denying Albutt a ton (92 from 121). Dan Heath with a run out, to go with two catches, saw the innings close on two hundred and thirty-three.

The Rams reply stuttered initially as the home side lost Jackson, teenager Henry Cotton and Machado with only thirty-five on the board. Given the Rams history of collapses in the last two years the home faithful must have been nervous. Garner the leading wicket-taker for the opposition picking up two and De Mel the other. However, Ethan Rice who is making his way back after injury and the skipper steadied the ship before Wisbech’s slow left armer Josh Porter dismissed Rice (49 from 77) with score on ninety-eight. Alex James then added twenty-eight with the skipper before De Mel (2-30) made a telling breakthrough. Bowers then showcased his immense talent with a ‘worldy’ of a catch, to dismiss Murphy,  and an almost signature leg side stumping to dismiss Heath (54 from 55). Both wickets falling to Garner (4-22) as the Rams lost three wickets for just eleven runs. Plaha and thirteen-year-old Dhrona then got the Rams past one hundred and fifty and to a bonus point. Henry Gowler (1-31) accounted for Plaha before Porter (3-38) cleaned up the tail. There was some defensive stubbornness from teenager Sam Ronco and fellow third teamer Torin Phelps before the innings closed on one hundred and fifty-five.

The  Rams six-point haul meant that they even gained a bit of ground on all the sides around them. At the top Burwell continue to impress, Walden got back to winning ways and Ramsey, the defending champions, are starting to immerge from the pack without quite hitting the heights of last season.

The fourth team did remarkably well just to get a side out and faced their nearest neighbours Whittlesford at the Churchman Ground. Perhaps worried by the lack of experience in his side skipper Dom Cameron won the toss and opted to field. What followed was quite amazing as the opener, Richard Dear, carried his bat for one hundred and thirty-one (from 122 balls). He has played just thirteen times in the last three years and before Saturday his top score was just thirty-five. More astonishingly the only other batsman to get into double figures was number ten Julian Thakary. His contribution enable Whittlesford to add eighty match winning runs.  However, there was some self- inflicted damage as the Rams conceded fifty-six extras. Jon Windsor was impressive with the ball (3-17). We had three youngsters making debuts Ethan Cashmore (1-16) , Harry (2-32) and Amy Keyes (0-24). All three will benefit from the experience, a slightly more experienced teenager Josh Coleman picked up two wickets and the skipper the other. The total of two hundred and thirteen (in just 34 overs) looked a big ask for this hastily assembled group.

One of the new and late recruits was Nick Wright who Sawston veteran Jeff Free had recruited on Friday night from within his darts team! I’m not sure whether to describe Nick as a dart-throwing cricketer or a cricketing dart thrower after his scored fifty-six (from 55) on his first visit to the ‘oche’. Not knowing his dart skills I’m not sure whether he would consider that a success or not! Jon Windsor promoted from the tail to open added a useful thirty-six (from 49 balls). Coleman (15) was the only other player in the top and middle order to register double figures. However Free (24 from 38) and Christian Keyes (17 off 22) a pair fathers with cricketing daughters then ensured that the tail wagged as they added fifty-two unbeaten runs  as the Rams finished just eleven short. Andrew Barker (5-45) with career best figures led the way as Thakary and veteran Chris Wilmott picked up wickets.

There was no midweek game and only one Junior fixture with the U-11 boys winning by the ;barest of margins’ as they beat Haverhill by one run with Caelan Cashmore’s impressive twenty-eight perhaps sealing the deal. Theodore Jackson with two wickets and Nathan Courtney with one adding fifteen runs to the total.

  A lot of effort but not much success………………