It’s raining tons and wins
The first team visited one of their favourite grounds when they travelled to Walcis Park to meet Gt. Witchingham. The Witches must have feared the worst when the Rams skipper Callum Guest won the toss and decided to bat. On the same day exactly twelve months earlier, with pretty much identical weather, SBCC led by Guest and Wayne White’s three hundred and seven opening partnership posted a very impressive three hundred and ninety-six.
This year Jack Beaumont opened with White as the ‘gaffer’ freshened up the line-up. He was rewarded as Beaumont led from the front as the Rams raced to fifty from thirty-seven deliveries, quickly followed by Beaumont’s personal fifty (off 30 balls) full of crisp cover drives and powerful pulls. The powerplay yielded eighty-nine runs. With Beaumont dominating and White providing the perfect foil the hundred was reached from just seventy-two balls. White then accelerated to his own fifty (off just 53 balls) just before the one fifty-was posted (off 111 deliveries). Beaumont then posted his first ever Rams century from sixty-one balls, his sixty-second delivery proved to be his last as he steered a catch to Witchingham skipper James Hale off Joe Gatting’s spin (1-49). However, there was no respite for the Witches as Nikhil Gorantla, fresh from a Surrey debut was soon hitting his straps. The home side were in need of a drink at one hundred and eighty-eight for one. The next milestones two hundred and the fifty partnership (off 57) came pretty quickly after the break before Gorantla raced to fifty from thirty-eight deliveries. With Phil Mustard (1-47) pressed into bowling action White (78 from 87) managed to pick out Gatting in the deep as the second wicket fell at two hundred and twenty-four. The in-form Ben Claydon then came to the crease. Gorantla dominated the strike and the partnership as fifty runs were added off just twenty-eight balls. The three hundred came up with still twelve overs to go! Gorantla then moved to his hundred, just needing two more balls than Beaumont, before the second hundred partnership of the day was reached (off 65). Claydon recorded another fifty (from 41 balls) to register his fourteenth fifty-plus for the Rams in this year’s EAPL. Kieran Elliott struck to remove Claydon (52 from 46) with the score on three hundred and forty-eight. With six overs to go the ‘bugle’ was sounded for the final assault. Gorantla (124 from 78) was then dismissed by an absolute ‘worldy’ of a catch by Gatting. The Sawston batter had smashed a ball from Nathan Muggeridge (1-90) that was sailing for a six over wide long-on but the ball was held up in the breeze only to be caught by a full-length dive by the fielder just inches from the boundary and only just off the ground. Lee Thomason, Ben Clilverd and Ethan Rice were all sacrificed as Elliot picked up another couple of wickets (3-71) before the innings closed on an incredible four hundred and ten with Guest unbeaten on twenty-eight (from 22).
The explosive Jonah Wicks was promoted up the order to give the reply some impetus, and despite some lusty blows the Rams managed to keep the reply under control as the powerplay yielded just forty-one runs. Just four balls later the youngster (33 from 32) picked out White in the outfield as Beaumont made the breakthrough. The classy Mustard was joined by Nico Reifer and the ex-pros compiled an excellent century partnership (from 76 balls). As the drinks break loomed a comedy of errors ensued as Reifer (46 from 35) was run out, with the ex-Surrey man prostrate on the ground as keeper Thomason scrambled to his knees to eventually whip off the bails. The Rams were grateful to this as the South-London batter was just moving nicely through the gears with some very crisp drives. This incident, combined with the curse of drinks, resulted in the Rams taking full control of the match. Mustard, Adam Chislett, Gatting, Muggeridge and Elliott all followed Reifer as one hundred and fifty-eight for one became one hundred and seventy-eight for seven in the space of fifty-four balls. Mustard scored an impressive seventy-eight (from 81), surviving an early strong shout for a catch behind off James Vandepeer. The usually under-bowled Rams skipper, Guest, picked up Mustard, Gatting and Elliott as his longest spell of the season yielded impressive figures (3-18 off 8 overs). Beaumont (3-33) claimed the other two to match the skipper’s wicket haul. Hale and the tail then tried to salvage the available batting points as they got passed the point milestones of two hundred and two hundred and twenty-five. Clilverd (2-16) and Mark Smith (1-44) then picked up the final three wickets of Corey Rushton (24 from 36), Jack Naunton and Monty Panesar as the home side’s reply finished on two hundred and forty with the skipper unbeaten (31 no from 56).
Copdock condemned fellow title challengers Horsford to a second consecutive defeat which keeps the Suffolk side in second and handily placed for a tilt at the title. Early pace-setters Sudbury have rediscovered their early season form and have just overtaken Horsford into third following their win against Witham. Mildenhall, back to full strength, dismissed Bury by ten wickets. Downham Stow like Sudbury have rediscovered that winning formulae as they defeated Frinton. Bottom side AB Wanderers took Swardeston to the brink before they succumbed to a painful one wicket defeat with just six balls to go. There was better news for the bottom Club on Sunday when they won in the next stage of the National T20 Cup.
There were further runs for Beaumont as the Suffolk captain smashed one hundred and fifty-four for Suffolk against Staffordshire. Rams skipper Guest notched seventy-one for Cambridgeshire against Buckinghamshire.
In contrast to the first meeting between the Rams and Blunham where less than one hundred and fifty runs were scored, the latest game turned into a positive run fest. The star of the show was Julius Jackson who hit his maiden ton for the Club, and that Club’s third of the day! Earlier Yousuf Choudhary (32 from 34) and skipper Dan Heath (33 from 37) had added useful runs but at eighty-nine for four and one hundred and thirty-seven for seven it was looking serious for the Rams. However, Jackson (100 from 118) added crucial partnerships of sixty-six (from 56 balls) with Tarun Mouli (30 from 31) and eighty (from 76 deliveries)with Jaykishan Plaha (40 no from 44); this was after earlier partnerships of thirty-nine with Heath and thirty-one with Oli Borley. Bedfordshire’s Archie Houghton (2-32) was the pick of the bowlers but Dilan Sheemar (2-58) and Kanchana Rodrigo (2-25) also picked up braces. Their cause was not helped, however, by eighteen penalty runs as the innings closed on two hundred and ninety-seven.
Mouli and Ed Ball picked up early wickets as the visitors struggled to twenty-nine for two before Houghton (47 from 54) and Anosh Bhosale (25 from 58) repaired the damage. However, in a disastrous phase of play where Houghton’s dismissal was the catalyst they slipped from one hundred and five for two to one hundred and seventeen for six in twenty-seven deliveries. Jackson continuing a superb day snared Houghton, Rodrigo and Kamario Grant with Plaha (1-31) picking up Bhosale to cap an excellent day. Harry Hodgson (18 from 39), Trevino Alleyne (29 from 23) and Sheemar combined to get Blunham to another couple of batting points until the innings was ended on one hundred and eighty-seven. Spin-twins Jackson (4-52) and Mouli (3-25) shared the last three wickets. A second successive win against relegation rivals has lifted the Rams up the table.
A stronger looking third eleven finally got their promotion push back to life as they beat Gt. Chishill to record a double over the side from the Hills! They restricted the visitors to a below par one hundred and fifty-five for nine at Babraham. Sawston’s U-13 pair of Dhrona and Gabriel Harter were in the side after a tiring but successful tour to Taunton with the County squad. Harter (1-19) and fellow teenager Vivaan Kilaru seamer bowled impressively up front before the more experience seamer Nuwan Athukorala (1-23) kept the pressure on. Despite solid contributions from Oliver Gent (31 from 38) and Richard Brunt (21 from 28) no one else could take advantage of ‘starts’ as the Sawston spin trio took regular wickets. Skipper Jake Ellis (2-35); his father Gary (3-30) and seasonal debutant Matthew Day (2-18) ensured that there was a relatively low chase. I am told that Joe Latham took an absolute ‘worldy’ of a catch to help Athukorala get his wicket; full length down to his left with the ball almost past him!
Latham almost became the Club’s fourth centurion of the day when he fell one run short (99 from 70) as the Rams galloped home by four wickets with almost sixteen overs to spare. A partnership of one hundred and eleven with Day (25 from 43) being the telling difference as the Rams like the visitors lost early wickets. Latham just failed to see the game home when he perished with just five runs required. Gent (2-33) and Brunt (3-18) mirrored their performance with the bat to be their side’s most successful bowlers as well.
The fourth team under skipper Dom Cameron followed up last week’s impressive win with another, this time away at Newport. Earlier in the season the rain had intervened as Newport were demolished for just seventy-four, there was no reprieve this time as Cameron’s young attack again impressed. Teenagers Zane Dennington (2-14), Alex Myles (2-10), Sam Ronco (3-13), Josh Coleman (1-14) and Arnav Wadekar (1-15) ensured that the ‘kids’ delivered all ten wickets. Only Andrew Yardwood (21 from 70), Nathan Wilkins (25 from 52) and Luke Yardwood (14 from 31) could make an ‘impression’ ! Adarshpal Brar (39 from 32) again top-scored with Joel Dennington (19) adding a useful contribution before Ronco (13 no) and Sean Gardiner (7 no) steered the Rams home for a six-wicket win. Yogesh Bhaglia (2-25), Michael Wheelhouse (1-30) and James Pretty (1-21) were the only wicket-takers.