Two Rams butt heads in local derby

The Rams visit their nick-namesakes when they travel to Ramsey in the Cambridgeshire (& Hunts) derby. The SBCC Rams will be buoyed by their winning return to red ball cricket last week. After the travails of recent weeks the Rams captains had a totally different issue this week when there was a ‘feast’ of availabilities. The first team welcome back Raj Singh; and Wayne White is making his seasonal league debut. Their skipper, Callum Guest will wish that a few of his batters get valuable time in the middle and are able to make match winning contributions. Only Guest and Dan Andrew have more than two hundred runs against their names this season so far. White adds strength with both bat and ball and the skipper has plenty of options to juggle; both a curse and a blessing (but certainly more of a blessing in the red ball game).

The opposition Ramsey have made a decent start to their life in the AVL EAPL, but they have lost the last two with the second defeat coming in their red ball debut. It is rumoured that they may be  missing a few, notably ex-Rams Michael Cafferkey and Henry Wilson. ‘Caffs’ is the skipper so ex-Sawston skipper Dan Heath may be in prime position to take over. Ben Saunders, one of Cambridgeshire’s rising stars, leads the way with the bat and he currently sits in third place in the AVL EAPL ladder. Another ex-Ram Tarun Mouli and Ben’s brother Mark, another emerging player for the County, are the leading wicket takers with ten apiece. 

Elsewhere in the league unbeaten title favourite’s Horsford, the freshly crowned AVL EAPL T20 champions, face a tricky tie to the inform Witham. The game of the day is the Suffolk derby where second placed Mildenhall visit Copdock. Title dark horses Swardeston host Bury in a top six clash. In the Norfolk derby Downham Stow host AB Wanderers. It may be premature to talk about relegation six pointers; but both Sudbury and their visitors Frinton will be keen for a first win and to close the gap on the sides above them.

The second team face geographically their closest rivals when they meet Foxton Granta at Spicers. Skipper Miguel Machado has a full squad to choose from and possibly a new signing. Whether or not we can get this one over the line Migs will still be delighted to have Dylan Hardy back with him. Dylan comes into the team looking for more time in the middle with both bat and ball. The visitors got over their disastrous double defeat  to Eaton Socon,  the second of which ended their reign as National Village Cup champions, with a comfortable win against Southill Park. That win lifted them to fourth and within touching distance of the leaders in Onyx One.  They still retain much of the backbone of their EAPL side but have supplemented it with excellent performers like Sam Beer, William Brown and new overseas Jonty Webb. They also include a liberal splash of young Cambridgeshire colts. Webb and Beer figure in the top ten wicket-takers in Onyx One, and although Messrs Webster, Atkinson and Hill are not on the first page of either list you wouldn’t back against them catching up at some point. The Rams have their skipper and Vibhor Yadav in the top ten batters and Yadav in the top ten wicket takers. Machado will want his side to finally deliver that complete all-round performance which at times this year has just eluded them.

Third team skipper Jake Ellis finally has a team to his liking with some vast experience complimented by some exceptional young talent, He has County age group players Ethan Hayes-Fernandez, Dhrona, Ettienne Lamb and Gabi Harter all of whom have performed with distinction for their respective squads in and around this half-term break. To supplement them we have Arnav Wadekar and Zane Dennington who have progressed via our junior set-up and fourth team cricket.  Although currently sitting second bottom, and winless, they will be hoping to get their campaign underway when host Gt. Chishill. Their opponents have a mixed record with two wins and two defeats. Evergreen Angus Gent is remarkably again their leading batsman but Rams skipper Ellis trumps his entry in the batting top ten by being in the top ten batters and bowlers in Division 1s.

The fourth team travel to TAC III’s based at Balsham, as they attempt to deliver an unprecedented third win on the trot. Unfortunately TAC are aiming to do the same and so it promises to be a tight encounter. Rams skipper, Dom Cameron, who himself returns to the fourths, had seventeen to choose from this week; in itself an almost unknown luxury. He will be hoping that his wily bowler Adrain Platt can stay top of the wicket-takers ladder in Division 4s following a remarkable start to the season. Nathanael Vice, a very late call up to the side three weeks ago has taken to adult cricket like a duck to water but it would be too much to expect him to set a third personal best in a row in successive weeks. The fourths again field a couple of dads and lads, Faheem and Muhammad and Trev and Richard, and once again will be that 50-50 mix of youth and experience.

On Sunday the first team travel to Crouch End looking for a place in their National Club Cup Group final. Their opponents sit third in the Middlesex Premier league and appear to be a strong side both on a Saturday and Sunday. They won a six hundred and fifty run thriller last Saturday; and having posted two hundred and eighty in their forty overs in the last round runs appear to be free flowing. The Rams with a few of the Cambridgeshire boys freed from County T20 duties are expected to be strong. Jack Beaumont has also been released by Suffolk therefore the only changes from Saturday are that Sykes, the Cambs white-ball skipper and White miss out but Hardy and Machado come in.

On Sunday the Club, ironically, host Cambridgeshire’s two NCCA T20 games against Suffolk.

I knew it was too good to last – the fourth team leading wicket-taker Platt is out (surely he’s over the mighty Wolves relegation!) and Jon Windsor comes in.