And then there were two...

Sawston and Babraham travelled to third placed Copdock and Old Ipswichians (C&OICC) knowing that only a victory would keep them in the hunt for the AVL EAPL 2026 title.

The Rams won the toss and elected to bat. In the past the home side’s playing surface has been universally described as a road; where huge scores were regularly posted and chased. However, it was evident almost immediately that this pitch would be more challenging. Matthew Wareing, bravely stepping up to help his side despite not being fully fit, induced a false stroke from Sawston opener Ralph Hayward as the Rams lost their first wicket with just three on the board. Sawston’s newly crowned Batsman and Player’s Player of the Year Ethan Rice joined his skipper Callum Guest in the middle. The pair batted sensibly and took advantage of anything loose as they added fifty runs (off 76 balls). With the C&OICC attack losing a little control at times the pair moved to another century stand (from 127 balls),  with the help of twenty-two extras, just before drinks.

The score had moved onto one hundred and twenty-four when Guest (49 from 79) was given out run out when Rice played the ball back towards the bowler who claimed a touch before the ball hit the stumps at the bowler’s end and Guest was adjudged to be out. This dismissal clearly invigorated the hosts as Rice (59 from 87) was dismissed by Cameron Strudwick (1-24) just seven balls later to leave the Rams on one hundred and thirty-three for three. Jack Beaumont joined another former C&OICC man Ben Claydon at the crease. With around twenty overs left of the innings the visitors were still hoping to set a challenging two hundred and fifty target. This looked a long way away as the unpredictable nature of the pitch led to Beaumont getting a leading edge as he was caught off of the bowling of Wareing; and Claydon offered a simple caught and bowled to Suffolk’s Thomas Harper (1-46). With just under fifteen overs to go the Rams were one hundred and fifty-one for five; having lost four wickets for just twenty-seven runs (off 47 balls). The hosts were in the hunt to dismiss the visitors for a sub-two hundred score.  Lee Thomason and the lower order would need to bat very well to get the Rams beyond this. Not for the first time the Rams responded magnificently as the experienced campaigners of Thomason and Wayne White added forty-seven vital runs (off 70 deliveries). White (25 off 33) then fell, with a skied attempted hook, as Luke Froggatt (1-38) took a caught and bowled just two runs short of the two hundred mark. With six overs to go the Rams were hoping for another thirty-odd runs. Ben Clilverd (18 from 18) joined Thomason (26 from 50) and they added twenty-six (off 29) before the latter became a third victim of Wareing (3-28). James Sykes perished in the last over to give Norfolk’s Andy Hanby (1-33) a wicket before second team skipper Julius Jackson (4 no off 2) got the Rams to two hundred and twenty-nine.

The experienced eye of the home groundsman felt that the total  was above par given the conditions. However, any side with the prolific EAPL batter Sam Arthurton will always be considered a threat. The Rams had bowled and fielded magnificently throughout their unbeaten run of fifteen EAPL games; they needed to repeat that feat and avoid the extras, free-hits and poor balls that were evident in the first innings.

The home side started cautiously with Luke Froggatt promoted to join Arthurton up top. They had added twenty-three when Clilverd (1-25) made the breakthrough to bowl Froggatt. Six balls later Raj Singh trapped Arthurton (his old teammate) in front as the reply stuttered to thirty for two. The Suffolk pairing of Ishaan Rakesh and Alex Oxley rebuilt slowly as they added thirty runs (off 79) as scoring became more difficult against the ever more turning ball. It was the spin of Sykes and a smart catch by Clilverd that led to Rakesh (19 off 53) being dismissed.  Skipper Jacob Marston joined Oxley but they could only move the score along to seventy at drinks. The required rate had increased from 4.6 runs per over to 6.4.

Sykes (2-20) struck forty-four balls after drinks to bowl Marston (13 off 30) with a beauty as the reply lurched to ninety-two for four, with the required rate now approaching eight an over. Oxley was joined by Strudwick and the pair had lifted the score to one hundred and twenty when Oxley was run out by a smart piece of fielding and a direct hit from Jackson. Harper then joined Strudwick and they were just two runs short of the one-fifty mark when the Suffolk skipper, and birthday boy Beaumont, bowled his Suffolk teammate Harper (13 off 15). With just over five overs to go the required rate was over fifteen runs per over. Strudwick (46 off 58) fell to a full ball from Rice and this was the first wicket as the last four wickets  went down for just nine runs in fourteen balls. Rice (2-27) repeated the medicine to bowl Wareing; Beaumont (2-28) had James Bridges caught and Singh (2-29) came back to dismiss Archie Miller as the innings closed on one hundred and seventy-six.

Horsford had earlier demolished Bury; this insured following the Rams victory that there would be a final game decider between the top two. Mildenhall had inflicted another defeat on Frinton and in the process Matt Allen had taken his runs total to over one thousand for the season; and Swardeston’s title charge hit the buffers with a home defeat to Downham Stow. Sudbury recovered to beat AB Wanderers and Witham scored an impressive win at home to Ramsey.