Cricket roundup: Week ending July 16

Division 2A

A THRILLING encounter at Qua Fen Common saw Soham beaten by just two-wickets against a gritty Wimblington side.

The epic encounter saw more than 500 runs, 13 wickets and 101 extras but it was Wimblington who ultimately came out on top.

Batting first, Soham made the most of the overhead conditions to pile on the runs and, led by Mick Harvey (103*) and David Thomas (63), the home side posted an excellent 245-5.

With plenty of runs on the board, Soham could afford to go on the attack with the ball and they found some early success as Wimblington battled to keep up with the scoring rate.

Nimble work in the field from the home side saw three batsmen run out in quick succession and, moving into the business end of the innings, it seemed a matter of time before Soham wrapped up the win.

The nagging persistence of opener M Woodall (107) kept Soham waiting however, and an incredible tally of 64 extras saw the pressure mount for the home side as the total crept nearer for Wimblington.

Chris Branch took 4-36 for Soham as the game entered its final stages but it was Wimblington who held their nerve to emerge winners with just two wickets to spare.

LITTLE Downham boosted their title ambitions with a crushing 211-run win over Wilburton on Saturday.

Peter Baker (73) and Gary Dewsbury (77) put on 129 for Little Downham’s second wicket as the home side took control early on and a decent middle-order knock of 59 from Phil Cornwell helped push their total on to 266-7 as Wilburton toiled in the field.

Lee Newton’s 3-37 for Wilburton proved an excellent effort in difficult conditions for the visitors.

Requiring a gargantuan effort to reach their 6.6-an-over target, Wilburton failed to really get going with the bat and soon found themselves in dire straits as wickets tumbled. Three ducks in the top six batsmen, left them staring at a near inevitable defeat which was wrapped up with less than 20 overs on the board thanks to solid efforts from Rob Palmer (2-11) and Dewsbury (2-4).

Extras topped scored for Wilburton with 18 with batsmen Tony Jacobs managing 10.

A SOLID all-round effort from Sutton wasn’t enough to see them to victory against high-flyers March at the weekend.

Notbale top-order knocks from Chris Robinson (42), Laxman Singh (35*) and Paul Robinson (54) had Sutton in an excellent position at the half-way stage but some polished bowling late from March kept Sutton’s score down to 198-6 at the close.

Glen Campbell (2-35) led Sutton’s reply with the ball but the wickets didn’t fall quick enough to stop March edging over the line in the latter stages as Manuj Patel (39*) guided the home side to a six-wicket win. Rob Braybrooke’s 2-42 was also worthy of note for the visitors.

Divsion 1A

WITCHAM were short of runs as they lost by five-wickets at Cambridge NCI.

Batting first, Witcham looked to have done a good job as they posted 204-2 from their 40 overs. Michael Hook (100) and Tyler Philips (48) racked up a sizeable total for Witcham amid excellent batting conditions.

Where Witcham had prospered on the decent surface however, NCI thrived and comfortably made their way to 206-5 as Witcham struggled to take regular wickets. The wickets were shared among the Witcham bowlers.

There was better news for Witcham in the quarter-finals of the 20/20 Cup however, as they beat Cambirdge NCI to move through to the finals day on August 8.

SUPERB batting from Littleport smoothed their path to an eight-wicket win over Fordham II.

Scott Blaber hit 74 for Fordham at the top of the order as they patiently built their way to 203-8 batting first. Jamie Leonard’s 3-42 for Littleport helped restrict Fordham’s scoring in the latter stages.

Requiring a little more than five-an-over for the win, Littleport wasted no time in notching up the runs and opening duo Adrian Buxton and Nicky Marsh showed the rest how best to do it as they scored 92 and 63 respectively.

Port hit the winning runs with six overs to spare.

PYMOOR slumped to the bottom of the division after a six-wicket loss at Histon.

Life has been difficult for Pymoor in their debut season in 1A and they have managed only one win in 11 games so far this term.

Batting first, Pymoor were bowled out for 119 as Histon blasted through their top order in relative ease. Needing regular wickets in reply, the visitors started promisingly but couldn’t carry their momentum forward as Histon reached 120 for the loss of four wickets.

Senior Division 2

A LACKLUSTRE batting display from Ely saw them slip to a six-wicket loss at struggling Milton.

Sent in to bat first, Ely’s innings started with some promise amid the sweltering conditions as M Hatcher (78) and Andy Buck (23) piled on the runs. With the pair’s dismissal however, Ely quickly began to crumble and could only add another 28 runs as the innings drew to a close at 145-8.

Needing a little more than three-an-over for the win, Milton began nervously and were soon on the back foot as Ely blasted through the top order. Two wickets a-piece for Ben Storey and Chris Reay had the home side in dire straits early on but a gusty effort from the middle-order brought the home side back into the game. Led by Sandeep Mohanraj (54) and Jeremy Major (57*), Milton sezied control of the match and sealed the win with 14 overs to spare as Ely failed to carry their momentum into the final stages.

Division 3A

THERE was agony for Ely II as they fell just three runs short of victory against Willingham at the weekend.

Bowling first, Ely did a superb job of restricting their lively opponents and some measured spells from Chris Aniskowicz (3-30) and Melvyn Palmer (2-11) saw the visitors’ innings wrapped up with 117 on the board.

Ely’s run chase started brightly with Josh Sivier notching 29 at number three but aside from a notable knock of 18 from Tim Rossington, the home batsmen struggled to get a firm grip on the game.

A tense final over, saw the game shift from one team to the other as runs were scored and wickets fell but it was Wimblington who held their nerve to bowl Ely out for 114.

Division 4A

HADDENHAM continued to collect vital points after they breezed to a five-wicket win over Fordham III.

Bowling first, Haddenham took just 25 overs to dismiss their under-strength opponents, who could only manage 70 runs against a determined attack. Dillon Wass took 3-14 and Nigel Morton 2-19 in an exceptional spell of bowling for Haddenham.

The home side needed just 23 overs to knock off their total with Geoff Buck (20) and Wass (20*) doing most of the work.

INSPIRED bowling from Sutton II earned them a telling 94-run win over March IV on Saturday.

Keen to stamp their authority on the game from the outset, Sutton piled on the runs and had the batting of Karl Covell (65) and Spencer Saberton (30) to thank for their score of 193-9 at the close.

The young side have time and again relied on their bowling to help rack up the points this season and so it proved again on Saturday as they smashed through March’s line-up.

Early breakthroughs for Richard Powell (2-20) exposed March’s middle-order and the introduction of David Mayle (4-23) ensured there was no comeback for March as they were dismissed for just 99.

Divsion 5A

AN imperious bowling display from Paul Leaford helped Soham II secure a 145-run win over Wimblington II.

Leaford collected 6-20 in a whirlwind four-over spell that decimated a seemingly comfortable Wimblington batting line-up.

Opting to bat first, Soham performed solidly throughout to edge their way past the all important 200-run mark. Accomplished work from top-order batsmen Liam Eley (47) and Peter Fretwell (58) steering the home side on to 202-8 at the close of the innings.

A solid start from Wimblington in reply looked set to make the game a tight one but the introduction of Leaford swung momentum in Soham’s favour and some good support from Chris Smith (2-5) ensured the innigs was wrapped up with just 57 runs on the board.