Cricket roundup: week ending July 15

CCA Division 3A

A SHORTAGE of runs ultimately cost Ely II dear as they lost out to Wimblington.

Sent in to bat first, it was left to number three batsmen Michael Sellers to pile on the runs for Ely after openers Matthew Tonge (2) and Melvyn Palmer (1) fell cheaply, leaving Ely struggling at 10-2.

Sellers clattered 11 boundaries on his way to 75, but there was little else to cheer as his colleagues continued to struggle. Oliver Sellers pitched in with 22 in the middle order before the home side were finally dismissed for 155.

A tentative start from Wimblington handed Ely’s bowlers some hope, but a crucial innings of 49 from Matthew Day quickly handed the initiative back to the visitors.

Though Mark Deas (2-6) and Oliver Sellers (2-21) continued to plug away to good effect for the home side, they simply didn’t have enough runs to defend as batsmen Ashley Irvine (27) helped tie up the win.

CCA Division 2A

AN under-par performance in the field from Little Downham saw them spill six catches on their way to defeat by March III.

Downham began the match well enough with the bat as Peter Baker hit 55 and Nigel King made 22, the duo managing to push the score on to 83 before the first wicket finally fell.

With the openers dismissed though, the soft underbelly of the Downham lineup was exposed and wickets quickly began to tumble. Brief innings from Paul Staines (13), Mark Nicholas (13) and lower order batsmen Tim Connolly (13*) kept the scoreboard ticking but it wasn’t enough to push the score past 160-9 at the close of the innings.

Early wickets from Baker (1-42) and Robert Palmer (1-33) looked set to make a game of it as Downham took to the field but a series of bungled catches soon checked their momentum, allowing opener N Peck to rack up 85 not out.

James White (2-34) impressed for the home side but it wasn’t enough as March reached 164 with an over and six wickets to spare.

Cambs and Hunts Premier Division

FORDHAM’S bowlers put on a star showing against Babraham on Saturday as they helped secure a 40-run win.

Gavin Harding and Mark Silcock were the early victims of some excellent Babraham bowling and it wasn’t long before Fordham found themselves in real trouble at 29-3 as batsmen Matthew Foulds was bowled for 15.

Middle-order duo Nicholas Poole (37) and Graham Arnold (46) went some way to restoring some stability to the Fordham innings before Christopher Rule (29*) opened his shoulders late on to push the visitors on to 171-8 at the close.

Good work from Clinton Cornwell and Jason Harding early on quickly saw Babraham reduced to 25-3 early in their reply and the introduction of Ian Jelleyman ensured the Fordham momentum was maintained into the middle overs.

At 93-5, and with Babraham’s Andrew Palmer (65*) in full flow at the crease, the match was finely poised until the introduction of Graham Arnold, who picked up two wickets for 37 runs as the final few batsmen fell without troubling the scorers.

CCA Division 1A

WITCHAM gave their season a much-needed shot in the arm by beating strugglers Longstowe.

Nigel Pate’s men have been in indifferent form with the bat in recent weeks but enjoyed a greatly improved performance on Saturday as they scored runs with relative ease.

Captain Pate hit 27 at the top of the order while Michael Hook (30*) and Jamie Lawrence (54) performed patiently to push the visitors on to 182-5 at the close of a productive innings.

Though Longstowe also found form with willow in hand, regular wickets from Witcham ensured the run-rate was kept in check. Iain Housden picked up 4-30, while Glen Griffiths took two wickets and young Angus Pate and Brandon Philips took one-a-piece.

Longstowe were eventually restricted to 169-8 at the close to secure Witcham’s fourth win of the season.

? LITTLEPORT Town were no match for a polished Newmarket side as they slipped to an eight-wicket defeat.

Opener Gary James (55) was in excellent form for Port as they opted to open the batting, but aside from a useful cameo of 36 from Nik Marsh, there was little else to cheer.

Port were eventually dismissed for a 3.3-runs-per-over total of 134.

The visitors’ bowling attack plugged away tirelessly in their reply but some obstinate work from the Newmarket openers all but made the win safe before a wicket fell.

The experienced Doug Marsh picked up 2-28 from his seven overs, but there were no other wickets to fall as the home side crossed the line with eight-wickets in tact and more than 10 overs to spare.

CCA Senior Division 2

ELY’S batsmen were unable to match a mammoth knock from Cottenham’s Stuart Cronin that ultimately secured his side a 90-run victory.

Opting to bat first, Cottenham made good use of a flat track and were quickly into their stride as Ely’s gallant bowlers toiled away.

Cronin stole the show with an undefeated knock of 139, but excellent supporting play from Tom Colqhoun (45) saw the home side bat their way to 271-6 and in to a commanding position.

Ely’s Chris Reay took 2-37 from his nine overs while Chris Aniskowicz picked up 2-45.

Though opener Andrew Foster fell for a duck, Ely’s Thomas Beaumont (27) and Ed Aniskowicz (34) remained unphased and put in a gusty performance as they tried to keep their side in the chase.

Sam Buck managed to grind out 16 runs from 41 balls faced while tail-end batsmen R Vinsett hit 34 to keep Ely’s hopes alive. As the wickets continued to tumble however, it was only a matter of time before Ely succumbed and the final wicket fell with 181 on the board.

CCA Division 3A

HADDENHAM’S seemingly inexorable march to the league title continued unchecked on Saturday as they breezed past Burwell III.

Asked to bat first, Haddenham found runs difficult to come by thanks to some aggressive Burwell bowling, but solid knocks of 31 from Geoff Buck and 19 from Ian Jacobs and Gary Thistlethwaite ensured they had posted 148 at the close.

A grand total of 38 extras also helped boost Haddenham’s cause.

Where Haddenham had struggled for runs, Burwell positively floundered and could only reach 73 before the home bowlers closed out the win.

Neil Smith (3-24) and Geoff Buck (3-11) were the destroyers in chief for Haddenham, with Dillon Wass (2-10) also in on the act.

The win leaves Haddenham in pole position in the league, having won seven of their 10 games so far this season.

? AN ever-improving Littleport II side recorded their fourth win of the season on Saturday at the expense of Willingham.

Superb bowling early in the piece from Conor Logan (3-5) had the visitors on the back foot and it was only an excellent knock of 88 from Darey Horn, including 14 boundaries, that kept Willingham from total collapse.

With Horn dismissed by Ben Shipp however, the floodgates opened and Mark Scott (5-55) moved in to finish the visitors off for 137.

Openers Andy Race (23) and Stuart Wallace (42) ensured Port’s run chase started on the front foot and Richard Scott (51) was on hand in the middle-order to blast his side to victory with seven wickets and 10 overs in hand.

CCA Divsion 5A

EXCELLENT bowling from Sutton II helped them tie up a comfortable eight-wicket win over Elsworth.

Aiden Bowles (3-13) ensured Sutton started their innings with the ball in fine fashion and more good work from Colin Coulson (3-15) had the home side in dire straits.

Young Spencer Saberton did his bit for the team by taking 2-26 from his eight overs, with Jack Loveday (1-2) and Luke Richards (1-0) also performing well to see Elsworth dismissed for just 87.

Openers Chris Robinson (21) and Ren Barnard (15) laid the foundations for Sutton in their reply before the experienced John Megginson hit six boundaries on his way to a match-winning 28.

CCA Division 6A

IT was a welcome return to action for Little Thetford on Saturday as they scored a seven-wicket win over Burwell IV.

When able to field a full side, Kevin Russell’s men have performed stoically and so it proved again at the weekend as they managed to bowl out strugglers Burwell for just 81.

Scoring enough runs has proved a real struggle for Thetford this season but they looked an altogether more solid proposition on Saturday as they reached their target at a cost of just three wickets.