Cricket roundup

Division 5A

A GARGANTUAN knock of 139 from Sutton opener Andy Bowles powered his side to a 23-run win over a gutsy Willingham side on Saturday.

Keen to set a belligerent tone from the outset, the experienced Bowles clattered the bowling to all parts, notching up 12 boundaries and six maximums in his undefeated century.

Able assistance from Spencer Sabbertton (77), who himself hit eight boundaries, saw the home side hit 238-5 at the close of a brilliant innings.

Not to be outdone however, Willingham too were in no mood to hang around and the 89 blasted by Paul Peacock put them right back in the picture. Fortunately for Sutton however, some tight bowling from Jack Loveday (4-51) quickly took the sting out of Willingham’s effort and they were eventually held at 215-8 at the close.

n SOHAM II’s dynamic three-pronged bowling attack were just too good for Elsworth as they helped secure a 119-run win at the weekend.

Batting first, Soham found a pleasing fluidity with the bat and half-century knocks from Trevor Pauley (55) and Christopher Smith (51) put some momentum into the innings.

Useful innings from Chris Branch (32) and Dale Isaacson (28) helped push the score yet higher for the visitors who made it to 215-6 at the close.

A breezy 23 from T Leader at the top of the Elsworth innings looked to have set the tone until the intervention of pace trio Olly Pringle (2-33), Branch (3-29) and Paul Leaford (4-3) who smashed their way through the lineup to see Elsworth dismissed for just 96.

Tucker Premier

IN a high-scoring encounter, Fordham gained a superb two-wicket victory after opponents Babraham had set a challenging total.

Fordham were off to a flier as Clinton Cornwell dismissed Tom McNulty without a run on the board but the Palmer brothers battled solidly before dominating the innings with a fine partnership of 133 for the second wicket.

There was no help for the bowlers and the visitors went from strength to strength. Andy Palmer eventually went for 89 and his brother Chris for 45, before Archer came to the crease to hoist the score beyond the 200 mark with his 59 not out.

Babraham finally reached 237-3.

Fordham openers Mark Silcock and Gavin Harding continued their good form to lay the foundation for victory with a fine stand of 117.

But when Silcock went for a fine 75 and Harding for 59, Fordham faltered. With 15 overs remaining they still required 100 runs for victory.

Debutant Joel Gilmour lifted the tension with a quick fire 23 but it was the partnership between Mirrisearchchi (31*) and Jason Harding (18) that turned the game.

Division 1A

A HIGH-FLYING Old Leysians side picked up their second victory of the year over Witcham at the weekend.

Determined to put some runs on the board, Witcham batted first and their innings held some promise early on as skipper Nigel Pate hit 33 and his opening partner Andy Hook 16.

A stuttering effort from the middle-order threatened to derail the innings until some solid work late on from Glen Griffiths (22) and Angus Pate (31) who hauled the score on to 151 before the team was bowled out.

The top three Leysian batsmen were dismissed having scored no more than 30 runs between them, with Witcham’s young guns Pate (1-25) and Iain Housden (2-45) doing the damage.

A middle order fightback led by John Welch (59) shifted the balance of power however and the visitors were able to canter to a five-wicket victory with about eight overs to spare.

n A SOLID batting performance enabled Fordham II to defeat Bar Hill by 78 runs.

After posting a score of 191-9, Fordham then destroyed their opponents by taking five wickets for three runs.

Jack Peters claimed the four wickets with Adam Cornwell and V.J Vilthran taking three excellent catches.

Peters ended up with 4-21 and Phil Dean took 4-33 as Bar Hill were bowled out for 113.

Nick Foulds played superbly for his 49 and a partnership of 59 between Pat Willmott (36) and Jordan Theobold (24) set their side on the way to a good score.

n A LUCKLUSTRE performance with the bat cost Littleport the points against St Ives on Saturday.

Opting to bat first, Port opener Lewis Buxton (43) ensured his side made a decent start but his support quickly evaporated as the St Ives attack plundered wickets.

Nik Marsh hit 13 in the middle order to allow Buxton time to push the score on but after he fell the rest of the line-up quickly capitulated, finishing the innings on 116.

Ives opener Chris Rogers (57) wasted no time in tucking into the bowling and despite some good work from Port’s James South (2-23), Rogers stuck around long enough to guide his side to the win inside 25 overs.

Division 2A

PYMOOR gave their season a much-needed boost with a narrow two-wicket win over Leverington on Saturday.

The home side batted strongly early on to put the Pymoor attack under pressure but the re-doubled efforts of Chris Baker (2-32) and Ashley Legge (3-27) ensured they were quickly reigned in.

Excellent work from Jamie Russell (2-37) helped restrict the home side to 166-7 at the close of the innings.

A lacklustre start from Pymoor with the bat saw the two openers dismissed with less than five runs accrued between them but bowling ace Russell was on hand to lead the fightback, smashing 68 runs alongside Jon Hunt (24) to put Pymoor back in the picture.

A few quick wickets looked likely to thwart Pymoor’s surge but some nervous work lower down the order from Nick Sabberton (14) and Carl Ward (5) saw the visitors to victory.

n EXCELLENT batting from a rejuvinated Soham side helped them to a 96-run win over Wisbech III.

Though Nick Mingay fell for just six, his opening partner Joshua Pope smashed 98 to steady the Soham ship and cameos from Tom Clayton (30) and Keith Metcalfe (22*) helped push the home side on to an imposing 221-7 at the close.

Two ducks among the opening three Wisbech batsmen painted a grim picture for the visitors early on and Alexander French (4-28) was on hand to ensure the advantage was rammed home. Clayton took 2-32 as the visitors were eventually bowled out for 125.

Senior Division 2

AN undefeated knock of 71 from Ben Travers helped Ely secure only their second victory of the season at Girton.

Jonny Wallace carved out 40 runs at the top of the order for Ely as they batted first and his good work was seized upon by Ed Aniskowicz (26) and Travers, who fired Ely on to a solid 186-6 at the close of the innings.

Girton’s Tony Thorton opened their innings with a sinuous half-century that looked to provide a solid base for Girton to take the win.

Bowling duo Oliver Sellers and Andrew Zajac were also in top-nick however, and they took 3-29 and 3-34 respectively to check Thornton’s momentum.

K Dasgupta weighed in with 2-29 from a mammoth 12-over spell to drive home Ely’s dominance and the win was wrapped up with just 109 runs on the board, a healthy 77-run winning margin.

Division 3A

HADDENHAM moved back into the promotion places with a polished 57-run win over Wisbech.

Batting first, Haddenham’s top order played some fluid strokes and soon had the scoreboard ticking over as a young Wisbech side struggled.

Jason Murfitt hit 54 and Iain Jacobs and undefeated 49 as the home side powered their way to 162-7.

Taking wickets has seldom proved a problem for Haddenham this season and the well-rotated bowling attack once again pulled its weight with an excellent performance.

Despite a solid enough start from Wisbech’s Hanrahan (31) and Chapman (15) the four-pronged Haddenham attack were soon into their stride and wickets closely followed.

Dillon Wass took 4-22 in a tight eight-over spell while batting hero Jacobs picked up 3-25. The tail was mopped up by old-hand Neil Smith (1-35) together with Chris Hughes nipped in with 1-12 to see the visitors bowled out for 105.

n CITY of Ely II’s seven-wicket win over Willingham was dominated on both sides by some outstanding work with the bat.

Matthew Fisher took the plaudits on the day with an excellent undefeated knock of 107 as his side reached 182-4 batting first. Mark Deas workman like 1-11 from his 10 overs was the highlight for Ely’s bowling attack on a difficult track.

Eager to match Willingham’s Fisher, Thomas Beaumont struck a cultured 86, which included 16 boundaries, to put Ely on a firm footing batting second and his good work was complemented by Roby Mani (42) who helped push Ely on to 183-3.

n A STAGGERING knock of 292 from 40 overs helped Burwell to a crushing 142-run win over Littleport II at the weekend.

Opting to bat first, Burwell’s vastly experienced line-up wasted no time in piling up the runs, with Mark Chinery (67*) and Jamie Seabrook (54) leading the way.

Herculean efforts from Mark Scott (3-56) and Jospeh Murfitt (1-57) kept Littleport fighting throughout but they had no answer to Burwell’s relentless assault as Gavin Jones (43) and John Gray (34) found a second wind to push the home side to a whopping 292-5.

Requring more than seven-runs-per-over for victory was an almost insurmountable task for a young Littleport side but opener Andy Race smashed 10 boundaries in his 54 and Mark Scott clattered six maximums on his way to 62 to ensure the visitors gave a worthy account of themselves.

Darren Logan (5) was the last wicket to fall for Littleport as they finished on 150 all out. Jack Hindle-Smith was the stand-out bowler for Burwell, picking up 4-35.

CCA Division 4A

YOUNGSTER Alex Theobold was the hero of Fordham III’s batting performance as his side defeated Bluntisham II by 78 runs.

Theobold made a superb 80 in his side’s 147, with opener Simon Murfitt making 21. The Fordham attack then dismissed the visitors for 69, with Carl Houghton (5-25) and Nick Clarke (3-3) the destroyers in chief.