Cricket roundup: week ending July 1

CCA Division 3A

A SUPER bowling effort from Haddenham set them on the path to a comfortable five-wicket win over St Ives III on Saturday.

Opting to bowl first after winning the all-important toss, Haddenham tore straight into the Ives line-up and quickly had them in trouble as the bowlers took advantage of the spongy track.

Ian Jacobs took 4-19 in a dazzling 10-over spell while the ever-reliable Neil Smith managed 2-27 as St Ives could only reach 106-8 at the close.

A shaky start for Haddenham saw them encounter many of the same problems Ives had suffered on a difficult track but Jacobs was once more at the sharp end of the action as he smashed an undefeated 43 to hand the home side the momentum. Bowler Chris Hughes then showed his versatility by clattering 38 with the bat to help guide Haddenham to 106-8 in just 23 overs.

n A REMARKABLE derby match between Wilburton and Littleport II ended in a rare draw.

Sent in to bat first, the visiting Littleport team had a near disastrous start as Andy Race fell for a duck but Stuart Wallace, who smashed six boundaries in his 39, and Robin Freestone (18) guided them on to 72-3.

Middle order batsmen Chris Farnell enjoyed an excellent innings in the middle, hitting five boundaries on his way to an undefeated 51 that held Littleport’s innings together.

The visitors finished their 40 overs on 149-9, with Ryan Newton starring for Wilburton with the ball as he collected 4-29. Wilburton opener Stuart Buller remained unphased as his side were quickly reduced to 8-2, hitting four boundaries on his way to 51. Gary Dewey supported well with 28 but Littleport stepped up their game and looked certain to take the win as Wilburton were reduced to 118-9.

A gutsy final stand between Callum Steel and Luke Minall rescued the day for the home side however, as the tail end pair defied the Port attack.

Wilburton required 11 runs off the final over and Minall hit the necessary runs off the final ball to secure his side’s first draw since 1991.

Top bowlers for Littleport were Richard Scott (3-47) and Chris Farnell (2-19).

n THE experienced batting of Phil Koopowitz helped guide Ely II to victory over Burwell III.

Tasked with setting a score first, Ely started poorly and lost their three top batsmen for less than 30 runs between them. Koopwitz’s arrival at the crease signalled a turnaround in Ely’s fortunes though, as the number four batsmen notched up 53 runs in just 43 balls, smashing 10 boundaries along the way, including two sixes.

Some timely assistance from Steve Bone (33*) ensured Ely finished their innings on a respectable 179-8. Burwell’s Josh Arksey took 4-42 in a decent eight-over spell.

An indifferent start from Burwell was quickly seized upon by the Ely attack, with Mark Deas (3-21) and Bone (3-31), in particular, doing the damage.

Simon Seabrook (21) threatened to spoil the party late on for Burwell until Jan Aniskowicz (3-23) intervened.

Tucker Premier League 2

FORDHAM scored a convincing seven-wicket win over Fulbourn after a satisfying all round team performance.

With moisture in the pitch, Fordham has no hesitation in inviting Fulbourn to bat and Clinton Cornwell claimed a wicket in the first over.

The visitors were soon reduced to 24-3 when Joel Gilmour took his first two slip catches off the bowling of Jason Harding. Opener J Kindred did his best to hang around but two further wickets fell in the forties before Graham Arnold and Ian Jelleyman bowled the visitors out for 97.

J Kindred top scored with 20 and C Kindred remained unbeaten on 18. For Fordham, Cornwell took 3-23 from 16 consecutive overs, with Jelleyman (3-17) and Arnold (2-32) also amongst the wickets.

J Kindred struck early for Fulbourn, trapping Silcock lbw and the home side then lost Gavin Harding with the score on 36. Matt Foulds (48) played superbly however, and gradually led his side to victory. He shared in stands with Nick Poole (17) and Abbott (16), who hit three boundaries in the final over of the match to wrap up the win.

CCA Division 1A

WITCHAM thought they had all but wrapped up the win after bowling opponents Bar Hill out for just 95 on Saturday.

Nigel Pate’s side hadn’t reckoned with the grim determination of the visitors however, who went one better and bowled Witcham out for just 83.

Bowling first, Witcham’s Angus Pate (5-23) and Nick Jones (2-19) made light work of the visiting line up, dismissing the league strugglers with less than 100 on the board.

Their celebrations were short-lived though, as Bar Hill too enjoyed an excellent innings with the ball, Pate (15), Jamie Lawrence (13) and Andrew George (12) the only notable scorers as Witcham slipped to a 12-run defeat.

n LITTLEPORT’S batsmen were unable to capitalise on the good work of their bowling colleagues as they slipped to a 56-run loss at home to Histon.

Adrian Buxton and Scott Connop were in unstoppable form for the home side with the ball as they picked up 4-39 and 3-30 respectively to give Histon a real headache.

James South also weighed in with 2-23 to see the visitors reduced to 132 all out inside 34 overs.

Requiring little more than three-runs-per-over was to prove too much for Port, however, as they fell victim to some ferocious bowling from Histon. Three of the top five batsmen fell for ducks and it was only the resolute batting South (44) that spared Port a more sizeable loss.

Steve Harrison’s 14 was the only other knock of note as the home side were all back in the hutch for just 76.

n FORDHAM II came out on top at Cambourne by 15 runs, after being put into bat on a very wet pitch.

V.J Vilthran made 19 early on and middle order men Reece Theobold and Scott Blaber, with 26 and 24 respectively, ensured their side made 155-7 from their 40 overs.

The home side began their response well and at one stage were 69-1 from 15 overs. But the introduction of Alex Theobold changed the course of the innings as the youngster picked up two wickets to open the floodgates for the regular bowlers.

Tom Peters then tore into the Cambourne middle order to finish with 4-32.

Darren Pryke claimed 1-24 from his 10 overs as all the bowlers were back up by some superb catching. The home side were dismissed for 140 in the 38th over.

CCA Divsion 2A

LITTLE Downham suffered a shock defeat at home to basement side Needingworth.

Sent in to bat first, Nedingworth lost their first wicket with just a single run on the board but recovered well to reach 56-2 at the half-way stage.

Peter Baker (3-27) led the attack admirably for the home side and some strong cameos from R Palmer (2-9) and T Connolly (2-3) ensured the visitors were bowled out for a meagre 117.

Despite their relatively low target, Downham were ill at ease on a damp track and were reduced to 39-5 by a rampaging Needingworth attack early on.

Solid batting from Peter Baker (18), Dave Cutforth (12) and Phil Cornwell (15) went some way to lifting Downham’s score but the inevitable wasn’t to be denied for long as the last wicket fell for just 83.

Cambs Senior League Division 2

CITY of Ely’s slide towards the drop zone continued on Saturday as they lost out by five-wickets to Girton.

Batting first, Ely’s top order started soundly enough, with Matthew Tonge (14), Thomas Beaumont (18) and Jonny Wallace (11) setting the foundations for the middle order.

Unfortunately for Ely however, only Andrew Foster (23) was able to push on and the home side were eventually bowled out for 121.

An opening knock of 43 from Andrew Huxley at the top of the order for Girton piled on the pain for Ely and the rapidly drying pitch became increasingly batsmen friendly as the innings wore on. The home side hit the winning runs with just 28 overs bowled and five wickets lost. Ely’s Chris Reay (2-18) was the stand out performer with the ball.

CCA Division 4A

FORDHAM III came away with a two-wicket victory against Doddington, although they were made to fight all the way by their opponents.

Fordham inserted the opposition on a damp pitch and with the exception of Killingworth, who made 33, the Doddington batmen struggled against the home side’s attack.

Wickets fell at regular intervals with Ryan Houghton taking 3-11, Carl Houghton 2-10, Miles Neal 2-6, Olly Mitchell 2-14 and Andy Barker 1-8 as the visitors fell for 92.

Fordham lost Simon Murfitt early on but Chris Foulds with 30 and Sean Brighty 21 put their side in a strong position. A major collapse put the result in the balance until Ryan Houghton 14 swung the match Fordham’s way. The hosts finally made it home with two wickets in hand.