Like London buses

Saturday was a mixed bag with a poor set of results impacting on the fantastic effort from the Club’s captains to get four sides out; despite the impact of schools’ cricket and other issues. Fortunately we only had one home game but with the Club hosting the Sawston Fun Run this year it still involved a tremendous all-round team effort just to get the game on.

The first team travelled to Witham hoping to build on last week’s excellent victory against the previously unbeaten Bury.  The Essex side won the toss and elected to field despite the absence of their experienced spinner Greg Stephens. Ram’s skipper Callum Guest opened up with Ralph Hayward; the pair and in particular Hayward got of to a flier before he mistimed a back foot punch straight to Jamal Richards off the bowling of Aussie quick Sam Greer. Twenty-six for one quickly became thirty-three for two as last week’s top scorer, Ethan Rice, was caught behind off Richards (1-45). The skipper was joined by Ben Claydon (34 from 47 balls); and the pair built steadily taking the score to eighty-nine in the twentieth. Their half-century partnership coming off seventy-two balls. However, Claydon in a similar fashion to Hayward offered a simple chance off the bowling of Oscar Burley (1-21) . This was just rewards for the young quick who kept one end tight in a disciplined and quality seven over spell. Guest then moved to his personal fifty (off 76 balls) just after drinks. He and Dan Andrew were setting up the innings as they first added a fifty-run partnership (from 63 balls) before doubling up for a century stand (off 112). In common with recent matches the innings lost momentum just when the final push was starting when  Andrew (47 from 62) was run out, and Lee Thomason was snared three runs later by Jake Wakelin (1-58) just as the two hundred came up.  Guest then brought up the Rams’ first ton of the campaign (from 119 balls). Ben Clilverd then joined the skipper and they had added thirty-five at a run a ball when Guest (105 off 123) was caught in the deep off Greer. Clilverd with a useful cameo (25 from 22) and Dylan Hardy (10 from 8) ensured that the Rams past two hundred and fifty. The Aussie quick snared them both and added the wicket of James Sykes to finish for a deserved five-fa (5-44). Raj Singh was run-out off the last ball with the Rams on two hundred and sixty-five. It was a decent total but an excellent all round fielding display; with Michael Glynn and Harrison McDonald especially good, had certainly reduced the eventual total.

The home side’s reply was given a good start when home skipper Michael Godwin and McDonald added seventy for the first wicket in seventeen overs. Clilverd dismissed the unfortunate Godwin (35 from 55) when a decent ball dribbled back off the bat and gently hit his stumps. Witham with the opener and Richards at the crease took the total into three figures in the twenty-fifth over; with McDonald moving to fifty (off 77) shortly afterwards. With the required rate climbing to a manageable six point six. The visitors gained a second wicket when Claydon got one to grip to bowl Richards (27 from 32) with the score on one hundred and twenty-two in the twenty ninth. The experience Chris Huntington joined the young opener and they steadily added thirty-eight from forty-nine balls as the Rams squeezed and the rate required rose to above eights. Claydon then dismissed Huntington (17 from 23) with the score on one hundred and sixty. Jake Wakelin with a quickfire twenty-four (from 18) tried to inject a bit of urgency into the reply,. When both he and McDonald (82 from 123) perished, both out to Claydon, within five runs of each other and just one run short of the two hundred the momentum was with the visitors. The home side needed a further sixty-six at near on twelve an over. Claydon claimed his own five-fa (5-43) to eclipse the Aussie when Oliver Cooke was caught by Guest. However, Greer had clearly decided it was his day as he smashed six sixes and one four off just twenty-three balls; as Clilverd and Sykes took some punishment. With the winning post just five runs away Guest (1-37) dismissed the big Australian with eleven balls to spare. A tense finish was relieved when four over throws ended the game, and gave the Essex side their second consecutive home victory over the Rams. It was certainly one that got away from the normally clinical Rams and they were left to rue a below performance in the field!

Elsewhere in the EAPL the top three sides march on undefeated; Copdock demolished a sorry looking Sudbury; Horsford won a six hundred run-fest at home to Swardeston and the resurgent Mildenhall defeated Ramsey. Bury brought the previous weeks’ record breakers AB Wanderers back down to earth with a bump; and Downham Stow won the battle of the two winless sides at Frinton.

The fourth team including a couple of young debutants drafted in from the Juniors, and a number of well ‘seasoned’ seniors answered the Club’s call for ‘all hands on deck’. They visited Fulbourn II’s in Junior 4s. The home side won the toss and decided to bat. They were indebted to veteran Mark Hodgson (52) and skipper Jeremy Major (74) as they posted one hundred and eighty-nine all out in under thirty overs; with the help of thirty-eight extras.  Veteran Adrian Platt (5-15) and teenager Josh Coleman (3-47) did the damage with Amy Keyes picking up her first senior wicket.

In reply one of the late registrations Nathanael Vice top-scored with an impressive forty-three; the other debutant youngster, Joel Jordan, added eight to his promising but wicketless display with the ball. Christian Keyes, one of our Girl’s team coaches, and father of Amy challenged for family bragging rights with a vital forty-two run contribution before skipper Dom Cameron took his side home with an unbeaten thirty-one as the fourths made it home by four wickets.

A much changed second team lost by forty-nine runs; and in a similar vein to last week had opportunities to push for a first victory. Their home game was moved to Babraham to accommodate Fun Run preparations in Sawston. The visitors St. Giles  won the toss and opted to bat. In a see-saw innings the visitors were given a decent, if steady, start by James Gillespie (20 from 66) and Zaheer Hussain (40 from 98). However seventy-one for no wicket became one hundred and six for five as the Rams struck back.  The superb Shiv Darbar (3-11 from ten parsimonious overs) and the seasonal debutant Oli Humphreys (2-27 from 10 overs) doing the damage. The visitors however rallied as Craig Dourado (36 from 30), ex-Ram Martin Heginbotham (22) and Craig Driver (24 from 27) helped push the total to two hundred and seven; this boosted by forty-six extras! Vibhor Yadav followed up his debut five-fa with a brace (2-41) and skipper Miguel Machado (1-44) picked up one.

Julius Jackson weathered the early loss of Joe Latham and Yadav taking the score to  one hundred and thirty-seven for four as Machado (28 from 44) and Humphreys (27 off 41) set the platform for a successful chase. However the loss of first Humphreys and then Jackson (51 from 84) sparked a collapse as the home side lost their last six wickets for just twenty-one runs. Ashok Singh (3-44), Dourado (2-22), Chris Germon (2-29) and Charles Bell (1-25) doing the damage to give the visitors their win.

The third team also tasted defeat, as well as a fabulous tea, as they lost by eight wickets at Rickling. The team unrecognisable from the previous week won the toss and batted. Skipper Jake Ellis (35) opened up but only received any sizeable support from his father Gary (42) and youngster Arnav Wadekar (19). Braces from Rob Love-Halls (2-44) and Kye Brown (2-25) were surpassed by George Templeman’s three wickets for one run in seven balls as the innings petered out for one hundred and seventy-five with thirty-eight extras boosting the total.

Peter Emsden (85 from 65), Love-Halls (47 no from 41) and Jack Culpin (26 from 63) made light work of the reply to take the home side to victory in just over thirty-three overs. Skipper Ellis (1-51) and Sam Browne (1-23) taking the wickets.

On Sunday an almost full-strength Rams side, with thanks to the County Club, faced a tricky tie against Northants Premier League Oundle in the National Club Cup. The tie was switched to the pretty ground at Oundle as Spicers was hosting the fun run. Callum Guest won the toss and decided to bat. He opened up again with Ralph Hayward and the pair got the Rams off to a flyer. They raced to eighty-nine in just sixteen overs before Hayward (25 from 36 balls) was bowled by former Cambridgeshire player Harrison Craig (1-37) whose controlled left arm spin slowed the Rams progress for a while. Guest moved to fifty (from 63 balls) and SBCC reached drinks at ninety-nine for one. Dan Andrew was out soon after, deceived by the wily off spin of Mark Hodgson, and Ben Claydon joined the skipper. They added fifty-three runs at almost a run a ball with the ‘in’ Guest dominating. The skipper had just reached his second century of the weekend when he was run out attempting to get back on strike. Claydon and new partner Thomason then pushed the score along with sixty-three runs coming off just forty-two balls. In an eventful fortieth and last over Connor Craig dismissed Thomason (24 from 25) and Miguel Machado before Claydon selflessly ran himself out attempting a third run. He finished with fifty-two from just thirty-five balls as the innings closed on two hundred and thirty-three for six.

The Rams started the Oundle innings with fireworks as Raj Singh (3-18) picked up two wickets in two balls in the second over and  a third wicket in the sixth over to leave the home side on sixteen for three. Guest (1-20) then struck at the end of the thirteenth over to leave the hosts on thirty-eight for four. The squeeze continued as Ben Clilverd picked up his first wicket as the hosts struggled to fifty-four for five, approaching the halfway mark. Clilverd in tandem with Machado (1-17) then took two wickets in six balls as Bill Amas and Harrison Craig were snared with the total just shy of ninety. The Rams seamer  then ended Hodgson’s resistance (29 from 45) just after the home side made it to three figures. Clilverd then capped a fine day to pick up the last two wickets to finish with five for forty-one as the impressive Rams won by one hundred and eleven runs. The Rams face a trip to Crouch End in North London in the next round.

Footnote

Despite Callum’s two tons, and five-fas for Ben and Adrian I am reliably informed that the performance of the weekend must go to Humpdog with his seasonal Saturday debut producing runs and wickets; and possibly a ‘level’ two!  However, the highlight of the weekend for me was ‘Luvver’s ‘world class grab at slip for Cambs at Exning (that’ll be two pints of Guiness zero- many thanks).