The Rams lose one to the England test team!

After prematurely announcing the end of the red ball campaign last week I can confidently say that this is the last week. We were also expecting to have one last hurrah from Nikhil Gorantla before he joins his new Surrey teammates but unfortunately we don’t have him this week as he is on twelfth man duties at the Test Match! This is the second time Nikhil has performed this gig as he was also a twelfth man for England against New Zealand in 2022.

In what is undoubtedly the game of the day the Rams are at home to Horsford who sit second in the table just a slender fourteen points behind the Rams. Horsford were one of the three sides that could have lifted the 2024 title in that exciting last weekend in last September. They like the Rams have had largely the same squad over the last two years. They have a dangerous batting line up and have Neil Hornbuckle and Ethan Metcalfe sitting third and sixth in the race to be the leading run scorer in EAPL 2025. Hornbuckle’s total of seven hundred and twenty-seven, just three ahead of Ben Claydon, was boosted by a superb unbeaten double hundred.  They also have keeper batsman Charlie Hood and all-rounder Jordan Neil just outside the top ten with over five hundred runs. Hornbuckle and Ryan Findlay are neck and neck within the leagues top ten leading wicket takers but like the Rams they possess a number of threatening bowling options.

The Rams welcome back Wayne White to replace Gorantla in an otherwise unchanged line up as Ethan Rice and Alex James retain their places. Several of the Sawston boys gained valuable time in the middle with bat and ball representing Cambridgeshire, and Suffolk, in the recent NCCA three-day game. The Rams enjoyed a sixty-six-run victory in the pink ball game away in Norwich when the sides met in May. Callum Guest and Ben Claydon both hit tons that day before Mark Smith and Jack Beaumont both picked up three wickets. Ethan Metcalfe was a third centurion on the day.

Third placed Copdock travel to meet last week’s only winners Downham Stow.; AB Wanderers host Mildenhall no doubt wary of KC Cariappa who bagged another seven-fa last week; Bury entertain Witchingham; Frinton welcome last week’s only losers Sudbury to the Essex Coast; and perhaps last week’s luckiest side Witham, in fourth, entertain Swardeston.

Dan Heath, as is almost compulsory makes a number of changes for the basement battle at Upwood. The Club’s first visit since the early nineteen eighties. In come Ed Ball, Ben Beson, Henry Cotton and Arya Saeb-Parsy  to replace the youngsters that filled in last week. Tarun Mouli however will be a big miss after a string of excellent performances for both the senior two sides. The side from Huntingdonshire have Vibhor Yadav sitting third on the Onyx Premier leading run scorers’ ladder and Johnny Du Plessis and Angus Pare in the top twenty wicket takers.  They both trail Darcy Murphy who with thirty-two victims is six behind leader Sandun Madushanka. The Rams will be out to replicate their home victory in May when they won by four wickets. The home side have had three defeats in the last four red ball games that they have played with the Rams tasting defeat only once in the same period.

The third team visit Buntingford who lost for the first time last week when Ickleton beat them to breathe some life into the CCA Junior One title race. In the first meeting Buntingford got home against a weakened Rams side by five wickets but with only one ball to spare. The side from Hertfordshire have George Coote and Syed Hussain in the top ten run scorers; and Callum Ricketts and Mohammed Saif in the leading ten wicket takers. Jake Ellis, the SBCC skipper, still leads the wicket taking contest by a healthy seven wickets. The Rams have been boosted by the deadline day signing of Jake’s father, a Cambridgeshire Over-50’s player with vast Senior league experience. We may see the Ellis’s in tandem at some point. He will also be delighted to have his leading run scorer Wes Potschul back as well as Joe Latham  and Torin Phelps to add experience to his young squad.

The fourth team are also in action against Camborne, at Babraham,  and will hope that they can match last week’s friendly victory over the same opposition, although the visitors are still among the favourites for promotion. Dom Cameron is pleased to have most of his impressive young bowling attack available but will be delighted to have retained the services of all-rounder Arnav Wadekar as well welcoming back Rob Benson and Adarshpal Brar to strengthen the batting unit.

On Sunday the third team go in search of Junior Cup glory but have been hamstrung to a certain extent by the competition rules, holidays, County age group tours and the fact that the Club is hosting Cambridgeshire’s Super 12’s T20 group with a place at the National finals’ day at stake. In a mix and match squad of third and fourth teamers the odds are perhaps stacked against us. However, the squad does contain a number of potential match winners and you never know. I’m confident that they’ll do their best and that’s all we can ask. C’mon u Rams!