Rams rue a missed opportunity

The Rams missed a golden opportunity to make up ground on the AVL EAPL league leaders as week five saw two of the three unbeaten sides bowed for the first time.

The Rams travelled into very rural Norfolk, just north of Wroxham, to play AB Wanderers at Barton Turf. The home side won the toss and decided to bat; which was no great surprise as they had posted four hundred and seventy-four in their last home game! They got off to an excellent start, aided at times by some poor fielding, and a catch off a no-ball! Openers Ahmed Jamal and Jordan Everett with the former being the main aggressor, added fifty-runs from sixty-two balls before doubling up for a century stand off one hundred and thirty-three balls. Just before drinks SBCC’s skipper, Callum Guest, had introduced himself into the attack and he snared Jamal (66 off 73 balls) with the score on one hundred and ten. This brought Jayden Draper to the crease, he had hit the highest ever individual score in the leagues history when he scored two hundred and fifty a fortnight ago. He and Everett then added another fifty (from 66 balls) and at one hundred and sixty for one in the thirty fifth the home side were eyeing a total of around two hundred and eighty. Despite the disappointment of Draper being dropped and then caught off that no ball, with Guest knocking the bail off in his follow-through the Rams dug in. Guest (2-36) hit back to bowl Draper with the score on one hundred and sixty.  His partner Everett (50 from 115), succumbed to his own frustration just four runs later when the skipper caught him off Raj Singh. Ben Claydon then picked up Kieren Spencer and Jay Parmar and when Dylan Hardy (1-15) took a sharp caught and bowled to remove Rejwanul Islam the Rams had taken five wickets for just twenty-four runs in fifty balls. Tom Harris with twenty-three not out ensured that the total went past two hundred despite Claydon (4-29) picking up both Joe Everett, and Joe Flatt. When Singh (2-34) returned to remove Tommy Chambers the innings closed on two hundred and fourteen.

The home side came out after the break buzzing with energy and enthusiasm and this translated into an exceptional fielding performance with Harris leading the support for the bowlers. They received an early reward when Ralph Hayward was smartly caught by Josh Larner. However Guest and Ethan Rice had almost added fifty but Larner (1-35) had Guest caught behind, the AB Wanderers medium pacer picking up a deserved wicket for a very disciplined and skilled spell. Claydon joined Rice and the pair were steering the Rams towards a decent position when Claydon snicked Chambers (1-26) to the keeper. The Rams moving into three figures just three balls after drinks. Rice then moved to his second half-century of the campaign. The home side squeezed and Rice (59 from 90) , in a similar fashion to Everett, succumbed to a bit of frustration and was bowled by Flatt (1-28) who had replaced Lerner at the Pavilion End and like his predecessor gave the Rams precious little to feed off. Dan Andrew and Lee Thomason added forty-nine, but it had taken them seventy-nine balls and the required rate had climbed to above eight runs an over. Not for the first time this year the Rams innings fizzled out as they lost the last six wickets for just fifteen runs. Parmar started the mayhem with another smart caught and bowled to remove Andrew (40 from 66); before Joe Everett picked up Thomason (19 from 37), Clilverd and last man Singh to end with 4-33. Jamal (2-35) ignored the stiffness following his first spell to pick up James Sykes and Hardy; and give the home side a well celebrated and deserved twenty-eight run victory,

As mentioned above two of three previously unbeaten sides tasted defeat for the first time this year. Copdock lost at Witham and Mildenhall were thumped by a resurgent Swardeston. Leaders and now clear title favourites, Horsford,  did what champions have to do when they dug themselves out of a hole to record a win at Sudbury. Downham Stow won for the second week running to defeat Bury and Ramsey returned to winning ways against bottom side Frinton.

One of Draper and Jamal’s Sunday teammates was a hero in vain as SBCC’s weakened second team bravely went down against Newmarket. The Suffolk side with forty-eight (from 61 balls) upfront from Ziaf Kulasi and big runs from the middle order pairing of Bertie Scott (85 from 70) and Maxford Pipe (70 from 73) amassed a very imposing three hundred and twenty-eight, including eighteen penalty runs for a slow over rate. There were three wickets for skipper Miguel Machado (3-51) and Vibhor Yadav (3-56) with Oli Humphreys (2-47) picking up a brace. Adi Datta with his first Rams wicket showed his true potential with an excellent spell of 1-33 from his ten overs despite all the carnage around him.

It would have been very easy for the Rams to crumble following the onslaught and especially when Newmarket skipper Mark Nunn (3-22) picked up three wickets with only twelve on the board. Draper and Jamal’s Sunday teammate, Yadav,  then took centre stage adding fifty-five with Jay Plaha (29 from 78) and then one hundred and thirty-two with Torin Phelps (30 from 51). Phelps’ play and attitude will perhaps earn him an extended run in the seconds. The Rams right hander then added a further forty-three with Machado (31 from 16). Finally he added another twenty-five with Humphreys and then not before the innings closed another unbeaten partnership of twenty-seven with fourteen-year-old Dan Pretorious (9 no) . Yadav finishing unbeaten on one hundred and thirty (from just 123 balls). Suroor Afzal (2-68) backed up the Newmarket skipper with Scott and Pipe finishing with a wicket apiece as the Suffolk side won by fifty-four runs with over six hundred runs scored on the day.

The third team who were decimated by call ups to the seconds and other selection issues suffered a nine-wicket defeat away at Standon, Aspenden and Puckeridge. Skipper Jake Ellis’ (57) with his first half-century of the season only received meaningful support from fourth team veteran Marcus Wetzl (20 no). With no one else making it into double figures they could only post one hundred and twenty-four all out. R Fitzgerald (4-17) was backed up by Benjamin Surrey (2-40) before L Fitzgerald, R Devonshire, George Johnson and Paul Ward all picked up solitary scalps.

In reply the home side made short work of the chase winning by nine wickets, as Johnson (41), Horniman (37 no) and R Fitzgerald (43 no) with Johnson dismissed by a run out by Zane Dennington. Brighter news for the Rams was that Dennington impressively returned to bowling action following a finger injury.

For the second week in a row a patched-up rag tag of a fourth team saved the Club’s blushes by posting a victory. The first major achievement was in actually getting a full side out; the second achievement was that they won despite losing their skipper and vice skipper to the thirds. This week they won a tight contest by just four runs when they defeated near rivals Newton.  Newton the visitors to the Churchman Ground won the toss and invited the home side to bat. Thirteen-year-old Nathanael Vice who had hit a career best forty-one, astonishingly on debut for an open age team, surpassed that milestone by scoring seventy-one. He shared an excellent opening partnership with Niall Barber (41). Barber was one of two father and son combinations on the day the other Dad Faheem Noushad  adding a useful twenty-seven as the innings closed on one hundred and sixty-one for eight. Richard Naseby (3-14), Joe Zamirski (2-3)  and Tom Lewis (2-32) doing most to restrict the total.

In reply Sam Absalom( (32), Zamirski (34) and Jamie Dye (23 no)  took the visitors to the brink of victory. Teenager Josh Coleman (1-21) and the slightly older Adrian Platt (4-5 off eight overs) ensured that the Rams held their nerve to record back-to-back victories.