Rams stay in the title hunt

On Saturday the Rams travelled to third placed Swardeston in the AVL EAPL. The eight times winners of the title, and the only side to ever finish above the Rams in the competition,  had set themselves up for another title push with just one loss in the last fourteen games. It was clear from the journey that this part of Norfolk had received more rain than we’d seen in Cambridgeshire for a good while.

Rams skipper Callum Guest won the toss and decided to bowl. With Rajan Singh away the visitors opened up with Ben Clilverd and Wayne White. The latter produced a ‘beauty’ to remove the Swardeston opener Ben Chapman with the score on fourteen. The home side were looking to consolidate but could only add another seventeen runs (off 33 balls) when Richard Sims was superbly caught by Ben Claydon. This gave Clilverd (1-32) a much-deserved wicket. The home sides’ other opener Oli Longdon and skipper Alfie Cooper then added thirty-eight runs (off 45 balls) in a much more fluent partnership. With the Rams spinners now bowling from both ends and rattling through the overs they struck taking three wickets for sixteen runs (in just twenty-eight balls). First Longdon (33 off 56) gave Jack Beaumont a first scalp when Clilverd took a fantastic grab to remove the opener. Last week’s centurion Jonah Wicks was then trapped by Guest before Beaumont dismissed the dangerous big-hitting Saranga Rajaguru caught by Jakes Sykes. At eighty-five for five and nearing the halfway mark it would have been a mistake to write-off Swardeston, especially at the Common, as the skipper was joined by the experienced Peter Lambert. The pair had added twenty-six when Nelson struck (on 111) when Cooper (44 off 54) was adjudged leg before off Beaumont (3-28). Matthew Taylor joined Lambert and they took the score to one hundred and thirty-three (with 82 balls to go) before the Rams then struck back to close out the innings on one hundred and fifty. Taylor went first caught behind, by Thomason, off James Sykes (1-12); Lambert (20 off 34) was next to go caught by Miguel Machado off Claydon; Rams skipper Guest (2-29) then returned to deceive Adam Todd before Guest caught Ben France in the deep to give Claydon (2-25) a second wicket.

Just before the innings closed there was an unfortunate incident where Machado was penalised five penalty runs and received a Level two disciplinary charge for unnecessarily endangering an opponent. I’d  better be careful what I say otherwise I’ll be on a charge as well in these days. According to the rules and the video evidence which look far worse than in real time the penalty is correct, I would hope there is some latitude (or some needs to be introduced in future), for either the disciplinary panel or in future the umpires to recognise the context of the incident and the match in deciding the penalty or sanction.

The skipper called for calm heads at the break and to finish off what had been an impressive performance to date. The Sawston openers Guest and Ralph Hayward gave the Rams a near perfect platform adding, another fifty partnership (off 53 balls) as they put fifty-nine on the board in the first power-play (10 overs). It wouldn’t be a trip to the Common without a little drama and the introduction of Adam Todd gave the home supporters some hope when Guest (26 off 40) chopped-on. Those hopes rose just eighteen runs later when Rajaguru (1-33), the EAPL’s leading wicket-taker at the start of the day, trapped the in-form Ethan Rice in front. Todd (2-48) then produced a ‘jaffa’ to claim Hayward’s (42 of 32) wicket. At seventy-seven for three were the Norfolk side back in the contest? The visitors’ nerves were settled when Cambridgeshire captains past and present were re-united at the wicket, when White joined Claydon. The pair added a fifty-partnership (off 77 balls) in contrasting but complimentary styles. White (13 off 45) then chopped on off the returning Lewis Reeder (1-38) with just twenty-five runs required. Thomason (9 no) and Claydon (53 off 72) did the necessary as Claydon moved to another half-century  (off 68 balls) to take the Rams unbeaten run to sixteen games.

With wins for Horsford, at home to Mildenhall in a reduced overs contest, and for Copdock at home to Frinton the win for the Rams over Swardeston leaves the Rams and Hosford still joint top with Copdock just two points back. Swardeston are now twenty-three points away from the summit and Mildenhall are realistically now out of the running. In the other games Ramsey defeated AB Wanderers; Bury beat Sudbury and Downham Stow won at Witham.

The third team all but guaranteed their place in next year’s Division 1s after defeating local rivals Great Shelford. The visitors, to the Churchman Ground, won the toss and surprisingly invited the hosts to bat. This decision was immediately vindicated as Henry Cotton, Wes Potschul and skipper Jake Ellis were all dismissed with only twenty on the board. Faz Lee (2-20) and Jeff Wilson (1-37) claimed the early wickets. Partnerships are key and often more important than individual contributions; this was highlighted by Etienne Lamb’s (9 from 29) as he helped Torin Phelps add sixty-two vital runs (off 73 balls) before the Sawston teenager was finally dismissed by Evan Edmond (1-39). Faheem Noushad (24 off 32) helped the Ram’s keeper to add forty-seven runs (off 52 balls) until he was sent back to the pavilion by Mark Milne (1-45). Phelps then dominated another partnership as he and Gary Ellis (10 off13)  added another thirty-six before the latter was undone by Rajeshkumar Rangasamy (1-26). Phelps found another willing partner as he and Geo Varghese added a useful twenty-eight. Phelps finished with a career best (84 from 97), underlining his tremendous development over the last couple of seasons, as he fell with the score just seven short of the two hundred mark. The Shells hope of keeping the Rams to a below par score were dented as Varghese hit a personal best for the Rams (48 no off 29) in a boundary laden innings to add thirty-five with  teen Gabi Harter (6 from 12). Harter followed Phelps to the hutch as Sasikkumar Sakthivel (2-31) picked up a brace. Varghese and thirteen-year-old Muhammad Khan then iced the cake, adding another eleven runs as the innings closed on two hundred and thirty-nine for eight.

In reply the Shells almost mirrored the Rams’ innings as they lost there first three wickets for just forty-two, with Jeff Wilson top scoring (19 from 29). Varghese (1-22), Harter and Noushad (1-30) doing the early damage as the initial required rate climbed above sevens. The Shells innings again followed the pattern of the home side’s innings as opener Graeme Leese (38 from 75) and Theo Wilson (52 from 69) added fifty-five runs; before Wilson then added a further sixty-five with Gion Medica (41 from 45). Jake Ellis (1-26) had Leese caught behind by Phelps and Harter returned to the attack to bowl Wilson. Despite the urgency introduced by Medica the Shells were way behind the required rate. Wilson’s dismissal and scoreboard pressure also sparked a collapse as Lewin, Medica and Edmond all followed Wilson for the addition of just fourteen runs. Khan with two wickets for one run, his career best so far, did the damage before young pace ace Harter  (in a stunning return to form after a couple of difficult weeks) picked up his third wicket (3-29) in a lively spell. The Shells finished fifty-nine short.

The second team took ‘one for the Club’ to allow the first and third teams to be as strong as possible and thankfully they were put out of their ‘misery’ quickly. Stand in skipper Oli Humphreys scored a bright twenty-eight (off 24 balls) and Habib Boulam (13 from 15) as the Rams raced to forty-two without loss in just thirty-three balls. JJ Hewitt then hit back to take three wickets (3-39) for just five runs as the Rams frailties against spin once again surfaced. However Shiv Darbar (51 from 32) and Ari Sen (14 from 31) then had the Rams handily placed on one hundred and twenty-one for three. The Rams weakness against spin then kicked in again as Eaton Socon skipper Jonathan Carpenter (4-18) put an end to the fun and games as the Rams lost their last six wickets for just ten runs. Ryan Worboys (2-8) picked up two wickets before Max Boxall retired hurt after trying to bat with a shoulder injury sustained just a couple of weeks earlier as the innings closed.

Humphreys picked up the only wicket, that of Matt Pateman (34 from 30) as Carpenter (32 no off 38) and Harrison Mitchell (53 no from 54) took the visitors to the required total just one down.