Rams finish off superb red ball campaign in style

The Rams have certainly enjoyed a stunning long format season with eight wins and two draws (plus one abandonment) in the eleven-match sequence. A major reason behind this success has been the outstanding performance of the bowlers; they have only conceded more than two hundred runs on one occasion.

On Saturday they faced, the unpredictable,  but highly dangerous AB Wanderers who in the previous week had topped a four hundred run total for the second time in the 2026 season; within their ranks they had also two batsmen who had scored double centuries this year. SBCC skipper Callum Guest won the toss and opted to bowl on another very sultry afternoon. The visitor’s innings started cautiously as their openers moved to forty-eight for no wicket. The break-through then came when Lee Thomason, somewhat untidily, stumped Jordan Everett (19 off 52 balls) off the bowling of Jack Beaumont. Their fifty came up in the twentieth over. Zak Tribe joined opener Kieran Spencer and they moved the score along to seventy. The Rams then critically took three wickets for just fifteen runs as Ben Clilverd (2-23) in an excellent spell removed Spencer (31 off 99) and overseas Jayden Draper; Wayne White in a lively spell of seam bowling then had Jay Parmar superbly caught by Dan Andrew in the deep. Tribe was joined by Josh Larner and they took AB Wanderers to lunch at ninety-three for four, with thirty-seven overs completed.

The three figures and then Tribe’s fifty (from 56 balls) came up shortly after the break. Tribe and Larner’s partnership had added forty-eight (off 74 balls) when Tribe had a bit of a hack off Beaumont and he was caught by Ben Claydon for fifty-five (from 65 balls). Larner then followed, bowled by Claydon (1-54), just sixteen runs later. Craig Beeden (30 from 68)  and Joe Flatt (13 no off 21) added twenty-eight before the former was trapped in front by Beaumont (3-33) with the score on one hundred and eighty-eight. White (2-38) , now bowling off-spin, had AB’s skipper Joe Everett caught in the deep by Miguel Machado. The innings closed after the full allocation of sixty-four overs on one hundred and ninety-nine.

In comparison to the AB Wanderers innings the Rams and in particular Ralph Hayward set off at a fair clip.  The young opener raced to a fluent fifty from just fifty-one balls. He was however, trapped in front by Tommy Chambers (1-25), with the reply on seventy-two in the seventeenth. Sawston skipper Callum Guest was then joined by Ethan Rice with the pair progressing the total into three figures, with tea taken at one hundred and sixteen for one (after 27 overs). The pair moved to another fifty stand quickly after the break before Guest went to his personal half-century and the total to one hundred and fifty. Rice (37 from 43) fell one run later when he was caught in the deep off Parmar (1-35). The visitors struck again just four runs later as Guest was deceived by a full ball from Tribe (1-37). That was as good as it got for the visitors as Claydon (25 from 30) and Dan Andrew (25 from 31) added an unbeaten forty-eight to take the Rams to a seven wicket win in the forty-fourth over.

Elsewhere in the AVL EAPL the top two continued to lead the way as leaders Horsford demolished Sudbury and their closest title challengers Copdock eased to a win at home to Witham. Swardeston won a low scoring affair at Mildenhall with a win that keeps them in the frame for the 2026 competition but severely dented the hosts hopes. Downham Stow overcame Bury. At Frinton, the game was abandoned due to an unfit surface and a nasty finger injury  to one of the Ramsey batsmen. The game was awarded to Ramsey.

In the ‘Oliver Humphreys Charity Match’ the Rams started well when Zach Winslow (2-44) dismissed his schools’ Head of Cricket , Richard Kaufman and then followed it up with the wicket of Harry Hopwood. This followed Foxton Granta winning the toss and electing for some batting practice. Unfortunately twenty-eight for two became one hundred and eighty-four for three as Adam Webster (80 from 106) and overseas Jonty Webb (99 from 128) put the home side back on track. The Rams not helping themselves following a few lapses in the field. Despite a superb (his word not mine) fourteen over spell from Humphreys the breakthrough did not arrive until Gabi Harter (1-60) had Webster caught, by Winslow. It was a big learning day for our young quick but the scalp of the prolific Webster isn’t the worst wicket to pick up! Rams skipper Julius Jackson caught and bowled Ash Clark just eleven runs later. With his first Foxton Granta century there for the taking Jackson (2-39) spoiled the party by repeating the trick to have the Aussie caught and bowled just one shy of three figures. Youngsters Freddie Doel (23 no from 30) and Jack Carnegie (9 no from 6) took the Foxton Granta score to two hundred and sixty-seven before the declaration came.

Despite the top four, Jackson (25 off 28); Cotton (12 off 40); Humphreys (19 off 29) and Winslow (13 off 20) all getting starts there was an all too familiar ending to the Rams innings as they were bundled out for just one hundred. Lewys Hill (6-23) and Webb (3-15) taking nine wickets, to follow up on the ten they took last week! Sam Beer taking the other to notch one up for the seamers!

Clearly Zach Winslow learned a great deal from watching one of the best nineteen’s that you are ever likely to see (again his words not mine) as he notched a career best one hundred and thirty-four for Cambridgeshire’s under 15’s against Suffolk. This was his second hundred of the County Age Group season having matched his 2025 best of one hundred and one not out, against Leicestershire and Rutland earlier this year.

The selection committee’s decision on the make up of the third team was validated as they defeated fellow strugglers Aspenden, Standon and Puckeridge by five wickets. The visitors won the toss, at the Churchman Ground, and opted for first use of the track. They put on seventy-five for the first wicket before the Rams hit back to take three wickets for just another nine runs. Horniman (23) and Devonshire (52) opened up followed by one guest from the additional player’s list. Etienne Lamb (1-24), Faheem Noushad and the skipper, Jake Ellis, each taking a wicket. The visitors through their skipper, Fitzgerald (21), Whittaker (38) and Peace (15) took the score to one hundred and sixty-two for four before the Rams then hit back to ensure the final total remained manageable at one hundred and sixty-nine for seven. Geo Varghese (1-29) accounted for the top scorer, as Ellis (2-23) and Noushad (2-33) doubled up and Dhrona (1-21) picked up the other.

In reply the youngsters took centre stage with Dhrona (22 off 42) ), Lamb (47 off 48) helping Noushad (52 from 42) to knock off the majority of the runs. Noushad and Torin Phelps with an unbeaten twenty-five (off 28 balls) took the Rams to the brink of victory before the former was dismissed with just nine runs wanted. Devonshire (1-32); Lester (1-50); Fitzgerald (1-39) and Peace (1-14) all picked up solitary scalps as the Rams moved up the table.

The fourth team stayed second in Junior 4s thanks to a second successive concession by their scheduled opponents.

Three of the Rams’ young guns helped to cause an major upset, on Sunday, as Cambridgeshire’s Under 14’s defeated their first-class county counterparts Kent by one wicket. The visitors, to our Churchman Ground at Babraham,  were restricted to one hundred and seventy-seven. Dhrona Irinjalakudakkaran (2-45), Etienne Lamb (2-36) and skipper Gabi Harter (2-16) all picked up braces to restrict the Kent total. Dhrona then dominated the reply scoring a very impressive one hundred and nine not out (off 130 balls) as the home side got home nine down.

With many of our youngsters contributing for Club and County in the last few days and with three wins from four there is much optimism around the Club for the remainder of 2026 and looking forward to 2027. That said, there are still many question marks around where are we going to find a wicket taking seamer all-rounder cum number three bat for the seconds!

First team skipper Callum Guest, on his seasonal debut for Cambridgeshire, scored two half-centuries (60 and 51 no) and took a wicket as Cambridgeshire drew with Northumberland on an absolute belter at Spicers. Fellow Ram and the 2026 Cambridgeshire red ball captain Ben Claydon top scored for the home side with seventy-two in the first innings; to go with his three wickets in the visitors first knock.