The Rams warm to the return of red ball cricket

On a scorching day the visitors, Downham Stow, won the toss and unsurprisingly they opted to bat in this first red ball contest of the 2026 AVL EAPL.

A fit again Ethan Rice opened up with the ball, with the usual opening bowler Raj Singh absent, and he was rewarded by picking up Finlay Wilcox with just nine on the board. Rice (2-40) later became the nemesis of the Wilcox family by bowling Finlay’s brother Ben, the Downham skipper; after he and opener William Denny had moved the score onto forty-two. The visitors dug in and progressed steadily with Dan Cooke joining Denny. They were setting up the potential sixty-four over innings when they reached ninety-four in the twenty-sixth. Clilverd (1-48 from 16 overs) then, finally, after a fine and long spell , was rewarded by bowling Denny (40 from 77 balls). The home side struck again just fourteen runs later when Cooke (36 from 42) was caught off the bowling of the returning Jack Beaumont. Freddie Fairey and the experienced Josh Bowers then tried to steady the ship taking the score to one hundred and thirty-four in the thirty first over. Beaumont then removed Fairey (27 from 47) and just eleven runs later SBCC skipper Callum Guest struck with two wickets in two balls to remove Hudson De Lucchi and Addam Todd to leave the visitors on one hundred and forty-five for seven. With possibly still twenty-overs to bat the visitors were endangering wasting the win of the toss. Bowers hung around and with the help of Otto Esse the pair added thirty-eight runs from seventy-five balls. The innings then folded in a hurry as Ben Claydon (2-2) picked up two wickets in an over to remove the stubborn Bowers (26 off 55 balls) and the equally resolute Esse (17 from 46). Beaumont then picked up his third wicket (3-41) as the Rams took the last three wickets for just two runs to dismiss their Norfolk opponents for just one hundred and eighty-five in the fifty-eighth over.

In reply The Rams had moved to thirty for no wicket when the door was forced open by the bowlers as Downham hit back to leave the Rams on forty-one for three with Ralph Hayward, Ethan Rice and Ben Claydon all back in the Pavilion. Cooke (2-47) and Brett Stolworthy (1-45) taking the wickets. That door of opportunity however was closed as Guest and Dan Andrew added a reassuring fifty stand in just sixty-five balls as the home side made it to tea on one hundred and fourteen. Guest was first to his personal fifty (from 107 balls) before the pair brought up their century stand (off 169 balls). Andrew then registered his own half century (off 89) before the Rams reached the one-fifty mark. The home side then eased their way to the finishing post as Guest finished unbeaten on seventy-eight (144 balls) with  Andrew sixty-two not out (off 114 balls) to record a seven-wicket win.

Elsewhere in the EAPL the top two shared the spoils as Copdock played out a draw against the high scoring Horsford. Mildenhall made up ground to move into second place with a five wicket win at home to Sudbury; Swardeston’s fine form continued as they skittled Frinton to record a very quick win. AB Wanderers held on nine down in a game that went the full distance at home to Witham; and finally Bury returned to winning ways with an impressive win at home to red-ball debutants Ramsey.

Sawston II’s search for a first win continues after a desperate bowling performance was in drastic contrast to a fine batting display. The Rams won the toss and decided to bat on the hottest day of the year. They recovered from the very early loss of Arijit Sen, a first victim of the day for Faizan Khan. Teenager Henry Cotton and skipper Miguel Machado had weathered the early salvos of the Burwell attack when Cambridgeshire’s Nic Huckle trapped Cotton (12 from 29) leg before with the score on forty-one. The experienced top order of Machado and last week’s centurion Vibhor Yadav then came together and were threatening to take the Rams to a very big score.  Machado was first to his half-century (from 62 balls) before the half century partnership was reached (from 86). The pair took the total past double figures at the half way stage. They then completed a century stand (from 118 balls) with some very clean striking. Yadav then went to a second successive fifty (off 72 balls). They had just taken the score to one-fifty when a tiring Machado succumbed to the home sides’ debutant Rupes Kitzinger (1-30 from ten overs); the tall bowler’s accuracy and length offering few easy runs. Yadav then found a useful ally in Dan Barnes, showing the first signs of his pre-season promise, the pair added thirty-five before Yadav with a tired looking shot was caught right on the boundary rope to give Khan a second wicket. The momentum shifted in the game as the home side sniffed an opportunity and a match winning total was morphing into a mid-range score. When The Prince, teenager Ethan Hayes-Fernandez and Oliver Humphreys all fell within nineteen runs of each other it was beginning to look like a missed opportunity for the Rams. Khan (3-34) picked up his third, Huckle his second (2-42) and Baigent his first in this disastrous spell for the visitors. When Barnes (30 from 37) gave Baigent (2-73) a second scalp the game was moving away from the Rams. However, Shiv Darbar with twenty-seven (from 12) with great support, and running, from Torin Phelps (11 from 10) added thirty-three runs from the last seventeen balls to wrestle back some of the initiative. The innings closed on two hundred and fifty-seven for eight. The Burwell bowlers and fielders should be commended for sticking at their game and not wilting in the heat and at times under the threat of the game getting away from them.

Having analysed the strengths of the bowling in the first innings the Rams formulated a fairly sound bowling plan; in truth they were also hoping that the home side might wilt after fielding for fifty overs in the heat. Despite the early breakthrough to remove Simon Donald with the score on eleven; a smart catch by Torin Phelps off the bowling of Jay Plaha (1-44) that was as good as it got. Burwell then proceeded to bat with commonsense, excellent skills and were punishing of anything loose. Instead of the home side wilting it was the Rams that showed signs of flagging and scrambled brains. Instead of hitting the tight hard length that had been so effective in the first innings they bowled, at varying times too full, too short and too many wides and no balls. In total the Sawston side bowled thirty-three wides and six no balls. Unfortunately this poor discipline with the ball was ‘complimented’ by another poor display in the field. That’s enough of the negatives as the home side batted superbly well; first new signing Savi Fernando and overseas Dylan Johnson added seventy-four runs off just sixty-six (legitimate balls). Dan Barnes (1-27) capped a decent day, with bat and ball at least, when he bowled Fernando with one that nipped back. With one of the most skilled batsmen in the division, Paul Summerskill, joining the young Aussie they effectively and efficiently closed the door on the Rams. The pair saw the home side past double-figures before Johnson completed his first fifty (off 59 balls) for the home side, with no doubt a huge sigh of relief from the Head of recruitment! The fifty stand (off 57 balls) followed before the one-fifty mark was reached, in the twenty-sixth. With bags of time and  overs left the home side strolled their way to victory. The pair recorded a century stand off one hundred and twenty-one balls with the youngster, from Adelaide, dominating. The Burwell total went past two hundred and then the Burwell skipper, Summerskill, added another half-century to his record (from 69 balls). Fittingly Johnson moved to three figures (off 120 balls) , rumoured to be his first ever in cricket and not just his first for Burwell. The pair were unbowed at the end having added one hundred and seventy-three; Johnson finished on one hundred and twelve (off 127 balls) and Summerskill on sixty-six (from 82). The Rams ruing the forty extra balls and the resultant extra runs from re-bowled deliveries; and still searching for that complete performance that at times this season has been in touching distance.

On Sunday the Club hosted Cambridgeshire’s Under-14’s against their Buckinghamshire counterparts. On another steamy day with a good wicket and a very fast outfield the Cambs boys did well to restrict their visitors to just two hundred and eighteen; Ben Compton (3-42) and Neel Kumar (3-29) were the home sides leading performers in an excellent bowling performance. In reply Ferdie Piper and young Ram Ethan Hayes Fernandez added one hundred and sixty-two for the first wicket, in thirty overs, to effectively shut out the opposition. Piper (71 from, 95) laid the foundations before a tiring Hayes-Fernandez (85 from 98) was run out with just seventeen required. Kumar and Thomas Doel seeing the home side home for an eight-wicket win.