At last a win for the thirds

The Third team take top billing from the Saturday matches, as they finally, finally, get back to winning ways in Junior 1s. The victorious  side contained six teenagers  and one player (who we needed to umpire) whose age is very similar to the combined ages of the teens! Skipper Jake Ellis won the toss and decided to offer Ashdon the first use of their own track. He was rewarded as the home side slipped to one for three; and then five for four before ‘recovering’ to twenty for five! The opening new ball pairing of teenager Zane Dennington (3-30) and Geo Varghese (4-19) shared the first five wickets. Ashdon with Rhys Loveday (14 off 48 balls) and Bradley Plumb (15 from 53) then added thirty-four runs for the sixth wicket Teen Etienne Lamb (1-25) then accounted for Loveday caught by the skipper. Plumb and Jasper Perry then took the score to eighty before the Sawston skipper(1-17) had Plumb caught behind by another teen Ethan Hayes Fernandez. Hayden Plumb then joined Perry and the pair added thirty-six valuable runs. However the Rams then ended the fun by removing the last three wickets in a hurry for just two additional runs. First Plumb (20 from 39) was bowled by Sawston debutant Zack Winslow (1-15), a Cambridgeshire u-16 player; top scorer Perry (32 from 43) was next to go stumped by Hayes-Fernandez off the returning Dennington before Varghese bowled last man Richard Ormsby to close the innings on one hundred and eighteen.

The Rams reply hit early trouble when Ellis was dismissed by Perry (1-26) with just eleven on the board. However, the experienced Wes Potschul and Cambridgeshire u-14 Hayes-Fernandez moved the score along to forty-two before Luke Ormsby (1-36) had Potschul (14 off 22) caught. Hayes Fernandez with support from a couple of other Cambridgeshire juniors Daniel Pretorius (6 from 15), and Lamb (2 from 31) added a match clinching fifty-six runs to take the Rams to ninety-eight for four. It was left to debutant Winslow (3 no from 15) to partner Hayes Fernandez to the finishing line with a little more than ten overs to go; the young wicket-keeper batsman ending on an unbeaten seventy-eight; more than double the next best individual score on the day!

The first team travelled to Bury St. Edmunds in the AVL EAPL. The Rams won the toss and skipper Callum Guest opted to bowl. The home side had made a reasonable start despite some early movement from both seamers, helped by overcast conditions and some showery rain (yes I said rain). Ben Clilverd (1-17) made a breakthrough with the score on twenty-six when an excellent low catch from Dan Andrew removed Archie Jones (18 from 20). This was just rewards for Clilverd. The uber-experienced Tom Rash was promoted up the order and he and opener Will Routledge made good, if steady progress. The home side’s fifty came up after fourteen overs. The visitors’ bowlers then stifled and strangled the scoring rate as the next twenty runs came off fifty-six balls. Wayne White (1-16), in his first bowl of the year, was rewarded for an excellent spell by having Rash (13 off 33) caught behind by Thomason. Nineteen balls and one run later Rice (1-14) had Josh Cantrell caught by Guest. The home side took lunch at eighty-eight for three with half of their sixty-four overs gone. This could have been much worse as the Rams normally very reliable fielders managed to squander three good chances.

Singh (1-39) struck to remove the stubborn Routledge (48 from 117) almost immediately after the break. Freddie Heldreich and Sean Park then dug in adding twenty-three (off 48 balls) before the former was yorked by Claydon. Alex Maynard (11 from 25) joined Park and they moved the score along to one hundred and thirty-five. Claydon (3-37) then dismissed Maynard and Alex Cruickshank in the space of three balls. With Claydon stealing a lead in the race to be the Rams leading wicket-taker the Sawston left armer James Sykes hit back and joined the party when he trapped Park (18 from 49) in front just five balls later.  The tail then wagged as Ben Whittaker then found some fluency and some clean striking that hadn’t really been seen up to this point; he added twenty with Dan Shanks (8 from 22) and then another thirty-five with Isaac Walshe (1 from 5). Whittaker finished just four short of a half-century (from just 37 balls). As Sykes (3-54) claimed the last two wickets of the innings as the home side posted one hundred and ninety; the Rams would have sixty-one overs to knock them off.

The Rams reply got off to a terrible start when Ralph Hayward chopped on, third ball, from Rash. Rice (24 from 37) then joined Guest and the pair added forty-five when Rice was dismissed by an absolute screamer of a catch by Rash off the young pace bowler Walshe (1-41) . Claydon joined the Sawston skipper and the pair with a mix of resolute defence and excellent stroke play added fifty (off 62) for the third wicket just before the tea interval was taken. The three figures came up shortly after the break as did Guest’s half-century (off 82 balls). With a century stand just nine runs away Rash (2-20) returned to trap Claydon (45 from 73) in front. This allowed Dan Andrew on his return to action some valuable time at the crease, in readiness for Sunday’s National Cup match. He slowly started to find some rhythm, (on the way to 24 from 45) as he and Guest added an unbeaten fifty-eight to take the Rams to a comfortable seven wicket win.  Guest finished unbeaten on ninety-one (off 126 deliveries) as the Rams got home with thirteen overs to spare.

There were a couple of ‘surprise’ firsts in this week’s AVL EAPL. Firstly the EAPL leaders, Horsford, lost for the first time this season when they were beaten by six runs at home to Ramsey, who ended a miserable run in the red-ball contests in spectacular fashion. The other ‘first’ was a victory for Frinton who beat AB Wanderers in a game that swung back and forth. Mildenhall took advantage of Horsford’s defeat, just, as they snook home by one wicket against Downham Stow. Copdock just failed to fully capitalise on the leader’s loss when they were, just, held to a draw in their third versus second clash at home to Swardeston. Frinton’s celebrations were short lived following Ramsey’s win when news filtered through that Sudbury had the best of a draw away at Witham. At the top of the table Horsford still lead by twenty-three points from Mildenhall, with Copdock just another two back who are two ahead of Swardeston. The Rams are still fifth but have again narrowly closed the gap on the sides above them.

The Rams second team had a dream start after they won the toss and inserted the opposition. Makeshift opening bowler Dan Barnes (2-32)  and Cambridgeshire’s U-14 captain Gabi Harter (1-44) reduced visitors Burwell and Exning to twenty for three. Given that the three were Simon Donald, Peter Richer and Paul Summerskill their delight must have been doubled. However, as in the reverse fixture the visitors’ overseas, Dylan Johnson,  punished them by making a century, this time an unbeaten one hundred and thirty-seven (off 123 balls) and he received support from Cambridgeshire’s Nic Huckle (56 off 108) as their one hundred and forty run partnership made the Rams toil. Shiv Darbar (1-41) dismissed Huckle then skipper Julius Jackson (1-41) claimed the wicket of Savi Fernando to give the home side a brief hope of keeping the score down. However, Charlie Sorensen (23 off 33) helped the Aussie to stretch the total by a further fifty-four runs before another of Cambridgeshire’s under 14’s Dhrona (1-29) picked up Sorensen’s wicket. James Pope (11 no off 12) helped Johnson add a further thirty-five before the declaration came at two hundred and fifty-four.

The Rams dismal form with the bat continued as only Jackson (18) and Barnes (13) made it into double figures as Edward Manning (5-25) and Richer (5-19) dismissed the Rams for a paltry sixty-three.

Buntingford II’s gained revenge for a defeat against the Rams’ fourth team just a few weeks ago. The Rams won the toss at home, at Babraham, and inserted the opposition. Skipper Dom Cameron picked up four wickets (4-48; and was well supported by teenage debutant Thomas Harris (1-20 from 8 overs) and another promising spell from Josh Coleman (2-32). Despite this Hugh McNamara (58 from 93), Mark King (40 from 39), Charles Virgin (28 off 47) and Ryan Neill (21 from 23) ensured that the visitors posted two hundred and fourteen all out. Joel Jordan and Faheem Noushad picking up the other wickets.

In reply only Marcus Wetzl (18 off 41) and Richard Nicholl (15 from42) made it to double figures before teenager Coleman again highlighted his all-round promise with twenty-nine (from 43). The home side were however bowled out for one hundred and seven as Daniel Vincent, Neill, Chris Jordan and Finn Wisson all picked up braces.