4ths win in late finish thriller!

With two big wins and one defeat already in the Rams’ fourth team kept everyone waiting until just before 8 p.m.  before they finally recorded their amazing win; their third in a row. The win guaranteed them promotion from Division 5s. This is a remarkable achievement for Dom Cameron and his squad of boys, men, girls and women. Being a fourth team they not only suffer from their own availability issues but the availability problems from the three sides above are compounded on them.

On Saturday a number of batters got starts; Richard Molton (23), Marcus Wetzl (21); Charlie Borley (19); Adrian Platt (16) and Rob Benson (22) but no one could go on, however the total was boosted by forty-five extras to a challenging one hundred and seventy-six. There were three wickets for Ronnie Cameron  (3-32) and two apiece for Cambridgeshire Women’s Kelly Haynes (2-26) and Asit Raval (2-36).

Wilbrahams had battered the Rams attack earlier in the season but it was looking like a different game this time as they slumped to forty-eight for nine, after eighteen overs. Youngsters Josh Coleman (2-21); Ben Latham (1-24) and Ethan Cashmore (2-20) were supported by the skipper (3-29) as the Rams looked like they would wrap the game up nice and early. However Haynes (57 not out from 72) and Cameron (52 from 64) had other ideas. The last pair had added one hundred and six runs and needed just twenty-three from the last two overs to snatch an unlikely victory. With all his front-line bowlers bowled out the skipper turned to his usual keeper Charlie Borley to bowl the penultimate over. It didn’t start too well with a wide and a boundary after just one legitimate ball, the second was a dot and this piled the pressure back on the batter who was bowled by the third ball to seal another win for the Rams. Special thanks must also go to Jeff Free for organising a superb tea to celebrate the last game at Babraham this season.  All the Captains and their squads who play their cricket at Babraham wanted me to thank Head Curator Steve Tovey and his volunteer grounds team for all their hard work during this season.

At Sawston, Mildenhall won the toss and opted to field. The surface looked as though it would offer some assistance, as it traditionally does at Spicers, and with some overhead cloud cover it was, perhaps, a good toss to win. The in-form Jack Beaumont with two tons in the last week again accompanied Wayne White. The pair added a second successive half century partnership; this week’s effort coming off a more sedate (than last week) seventy-three deliveries. Beaumont had just brought up his personal fifty (off 52 balls) when he picked out a fielder off the bowling of Matt Allen (1-31) just four runs short of a second successive century opening stand. There was no respite for the visitors however as Ethan Rice joined White and took the Rams to one hundred and ten for one at drinks. White reached his first personal milestone (off 92 deliveries) before the second wicket pair completed a half-century partnership (off 69). The tempo continued to quicken as the pair reached the hundred stand (off 108 balls) with the second fifty coming off just thirty-nine balls. The pair had just taken the score to two hundred and eight (in thirty-eight overs) when Mildenhall skipper Tristan Blackledge bowled Rice (43 off 58). White then went to his ton (from 127 balls), his second fifty requiring only thirty-five deliveries. With the final assault in full cry White (112 from 137 balls) was caught in the deep off Jonah Handy. Handy (2-29) and Blackledge (2-48) then picked up the late wickets of the Ben’s Claydon (32 from 28) and Clilverd as the innings closed on two hundred and eighty-two for five.

James Vandepeer, who so often bowls superbly but without much luck, finally had some goof fortune as he dismissed Jack Potticary with a full toss. However, there was no further luck required as Vandepeer (4-37) skilfully took three more wickets in almost identical fashion as three catches from Lee Thomason accounted for Matt Allen (29 off 36), Connor Cobbold and Blackledge. At sixty-three for four the visitors were beginning to look over their shoulders towards the bottom of the table and starting to think of maximising their batting points. Dom Palmer was next out to a fantastic over the shoulder catch by Claydon off White’s spin (1-15). Joe Tetley and John Allen then dug in to add forty-two valuable runs (off 80 balls), before Mark Smith (1-25) induced a loose shot from Tetley  (26 from 50).

At one hundred and twelve for six even the first batting point was looking a long way off. However, Jon Allen (34 from 63) and Ben Palmer (48 no from 47) then got Mildenhall to one-fifty and their first point. Sawston skipper Guest then had Allen caught and then repeated his trick to remove his Cambridgeshire teammate Jack Loveday. Loveday being snaffled spectacularly by White right on the boundary.  The Rams wicket-keeper Thomason was then replaced by Clilverd as Thomason (1-5) became a part time bowler to end the Mildenhall innings.  The Rams’ super effort in the field continued as youngster Henry Cotton took an excellent catch before Vandepeer and Clilverd combined to affect a run out as the innings ended on one hundred and eighty-eight.

Mildenhall’s four-point haul gave them little solace as AB Wanderers recent revival and survival hopes were boosted by a four-run victory over Sudbury. Sudbury remain in third, now joint third as Witham have joined them after their win over Downham Stow.  Horsford with another defeat, at home to Witchingham,  have slipped down to fifth. Copdock demolished Frinton to keep themselves in the title hunt and it probably means that realistically everyone else are fighting for third place as Copdock have a thirty-four-point cushion. Bury overcame Swardeston in a basement battle to move up two places into ninth, as Frinton join Mildenhall and AB Wanderers in the bottom three.

The second team won their third successive relegation battle when they defeated Old Leysians in Cambridge. The home side won the toss and asked the Rams to bat. The Rams led from the front by teenager Alex James’s stunning knock (87 from 72) and well supported by Miguel Machado’s fifty-three (off 69 balls) were handily placed at two hundred and sixteen for five with ten overs to go. Despite starts for Julius Jackson (16), and skipper Dan Heath (19) they found themselves, disappointingly, at two hundred and twenty-four for nine. It needed twenty-two from Tarun Mouli to boost the score to two hundred and forty-five. They would also have been disappointed not to use their full allocation of overs; with almost four unused. Andrew Bramley (4-36), Joseph Gunn-Roberts (2-35) and Gus Barraclough (2-43) did most to restrict the total.

On a tiring Fitzwilliam College wicket with one very short boundary the score looked vulnerable; especially as Old Leysians had knocked off of similar score in the reverse fixture and given their excellent record against the Rams. Overseas Darcy Murphy (4-14) had other ideas as he blew away the home sides’ top four with only twenty-nine on the board. Richard Bramley (27 from 34) and Milan Mniszko (32 from 47) dug in to take the score to fifty-three before Mouli struct to have Bramley caught behind by Heath. Dante O’Reilly then added twenty with Mniszko before Mouli snared O’Reilly, and Charles Kent in quick succession. Geo Varghese (2-14) then collected the wickets of Mniszko and Gunn-Roberts before Mouli picked up his fourth (4-25) as the Old Leysians innings folded on one hundred and twenty with almost twenty overs to go. The Rams stayed ninth but increased the gap to thirty-eight points over Old Leysians, and to over seventy points on the bottom two. They are within three points of eighth and sixteen points adrift of seventh. The top three remain Walden, Ramsey and Burwell.

The third teams’ miserable end to the season continued when they lost their penultimate match of the season away at Ashdon. The home side led by Jamie Miilership’s ton (100 from 123 balls), and supported by Jack Ormsby (42 from 30) and Jamie Lovatt (42 from 35) posted an imposing two hundred and twenty- two for six. Millership just failing to carry his bat as he was dismissed on the last ball of the innings. Arnav Wadekar (2-46) and skipper Jake Ellis (2-54) were the most successful bowlers with Gabriel Harter (1-37) and Gary Ellis (1-39) picking up the others.

The Rams reply got off to a poor start when leading scorer Wes Potschul was run out. The middle order capitulated to Arthur Smart (6-23) with only Niall Barber (54 from 64) and Wadekar (27 from 36) making any real progress. Jasper Perry, Bradley Plumb and Philip Salt all picked up a wicket as the Rams reply fizzled out for one hundred and thirty-three.