All the action from matches across the district

Division 4A

A DISAPPOINTING effort with the bat cost Haddenham dear as they lost out to Wisbech IV on Saturday.

Asked to bat first on their home track, which has produced several huge scores so far this season, Haddenham began superbly, Chris Hughes in particular performing well as he crafted his way to 56 before being bowled.

With the opening four batsmen dismissed, however, the home side suffered a collapse and lost their last six wickets for just seven runs as they finished 131 all out.

Haddenham began their spell in the field with admirable endeavour and some tidy bowling saw the first three Wisbech wickets fall at a cost of just 48 runs. The home side proved unable to follow up their electric start, however, and Wisbech’s Tom Jupp (59*) and Danny Emmington (31*) saw the visitors to victory with about eight overs to spare.

? FORDHAM III defeated Sutton by five wickets in a keenly fought contest.

Potter’s 64 and Saberton’s unbeaten 36 enabled Sutton to post 186-8 from their allotted overs, with Martin Hancock and Ian Woodbridge collected two wickets apiece.

A 95-run partnership for the second wicket in Fordham’s reply put them firmly on the road to victory with Nick Poole chipping in with 65. Tom Chrisite (28*) saw Fordham home in the 35th over.

Division 2A

AN awe-inspiring performance form Sutton’s Glen Campbell saw his side to a five-wicket win over Wimblington.

Leading from the front with both bat and ball, Campbell picked up four wickets and 90 runs in what was a memorable day for the all-rounder.

Bowling first, Sutton performed steadily but had the efforts of Campbell (4-52) to thank for ensuring Wimblington were restricted to 200-7 from their 40 overs. James Nutall (2-31) also performed well.

Requiring five-an-over for victory, Sutton stuttered somewhat early on as the visitors made some useful inroads. Laxman Singh’s 20 helped steady the ship before Campbell arrived at the crease at number six to change the course of the match. Together with Paul Robinson (20) and Karl Covell (20), Campbell (90) batted superbly to guide his side past their total with three overs to spare, albeit aided by a whopping 39 extras.

? A RESILIENT performance from Wilburton ultimately went unrewarded as they slipped to an eight-wicket loss against Newmarket.

Batting first, Wilburton were reduced to 53-7 following a disastrous start but the arrival of Gary Dewey (18) and Ian Jacobs (27) to the crease helped the home side fight their way into triple figures. Decent knocks from Marcus Brook (15) and Chris Holden (11*) lower down the order saw Wilburton reach 106.

Early wickets from Paul Dewey and Jacobs inspired hope of an unlikely victory for Wilburton but their hopes were soon quashed as the visitors’ S Rodman (45*) lashed his side to the win inside 20 overs.

? LITTLEPORT suffered a 165-run hammering at the hands of a clincial Wisbech side at the weekend.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Wisbech looked to be in trouble after Chris Farnell nipped out two early wickets but the home side recovered in style by clobbering their way to a sizeable 235-6 at the close of the innings.

Farnell’s excellent 3-40 from his 10-overs proved the highlight of a disappointing performance from Port.

Matters soon worsened for the visitors after the tea break as they were blown away by a relentless Wisbech attack. Robin Freestone’s knock of 15 at the top of the order proved the stand-out effort in an otherwise lacklustre display from the Port batsmen that saw them dismissed for 70.

Tucker Premier

FORDHAM had the better of a drawn match at Nassington that yielded 12 bonus points.

Batting first, a third wicket partnership of 79 between Mark Abbott (58) and Gavin Harding (44) put Fordham in the ascendancy.

Though they had overs in hand, Fordham were bowled out for 210 to claim eight batting points.

A devastating opening spell of 3-13 from seven overs by Charles Forden had Nassington rocking on 33-5 but the home side gradually recovered and a superb innings of 82* saw Nassington edge towards their target. Despite inheriting additional overs from Fordham, the visitors finished on 189-6. Forden finished with 3-52 with Clinton Cornwell on 2-44.

Division 1A

AN enthralling encounter saw Fordham II defeated by one wicket off the very last ball of the match.

Invited to bat first, Fordham struggled early on but were lifted by Scott Blaber who crafted 64 to see Fordham finish on 148-8 from their 40 overs.

NCI began solidly in reply but Fordham gradually got among the wickets as the impetus switched between the teams.

Fordham took two wickets in the final over and with the last pair at the crease, the scores were level with one ball remaining.

But the visitors managed to scramble a single for victory to end a nail biting final session. Phil Dean and Tom Peters took two wickets a piece.

? AN excellent batting effort from Witcham proved the difference between the sides in their five wicket win over Isleham on Saturday.

A resilient effort from Isleham batting first saw them notch 173-6 from their 40 overs, D Smith’s 44 among the highlights in a useful innings from Isleham. Witcham’s Ian Housden (3-29) and Nick Jones (3-46) shared the wickets as the visitors managed to keep the score below the all-important 200-run mark.

Housden was again at the forefront for Witcham as they took to the crease, with a brisk 56 handing his side the early impetus. A number of wickets from Isleham threatened to take the match away from the visitors in the middle overs but young Tyler Philips (39*) and A Sharp 25 settled some late nerves to bring home the win.

In Sunday’s 20/20 cup competition, Witcham moved through to the third round with a six-wicket win over Bluntisham.

Nigel Philips took 4-23 as Witcham dismissed the hosts for 86 and it was left to another Philips, Tyler, to seal the win as he smashed an undefeated 49 to help Witcham reach their target with an over to spare.

Division 5A

SOHAM II fell just 17 runs short of victory in an entertaining tussle with Willingham at the weekend.

Bowling first, Soham continued their recent good form with a miserly display that denied Willingham the opportunity to post a big total. Paul Leaford proved a constant thorn in Willingham’s side as he collected 3-26 from his eight-over spell and Wade Leaford also chipped in with 1-22 to see the home side restricted to 149-7.

Soham’s efforts with the bat were not a patch on their bowling though, and despite a number of batsmen patiently working their way into the teens and twenties, nobody proved able to push on and post a pivotal big score.

Willingham took the all-important tenth wicket with 132 on the board, leaving Soham agonisingly short of their target.

Senior Division 2

CITY of Ely missed an opportunity to move into the top half of the CCA Senior Division 2 after they slipped to a 85-run loss at Yelling.

Andrew Foster picked up 3-52 for Ely as the home side were invited to bowl first. Ben Storey also impressed as he finished with figures of 2-25 as Yelling finished on 202-9 from their 45 overs.

A good start from Ely’s Matthew Tonge (35) and M Hatcher (34) put the visitors in a strong position early on but Yelling fought back admirably and tore through the visiting middle order to seize control of the game. Foster’s 12 provided some hope of some late resistance for Ely but it wasn’t to be as theywere dismissed for 117.