Mildenhall 1XI entertained Frinton 1XI in a EAPL clash that proved to be one of the best matches to be seen at Wamil Way for some time. Frinton always bring a good sized crowd and a good sized positive attitude with them. Mildenhall batted first and were soon in trouble as Coomber removed Matt Allen and Nick Mailo fo 0. It was then over to Young to dismiss Joe Reed for 11 and James Stamatis for 4. Mildenhall were on the brink of destruction but managed to rally through Ben Shepperson and Tom Rash. Ben played with real composure during one of his best innings in the EAPL. Ben reaching 55 from 63 balls including 9 fours. Tom was more circumspect facing 84 balls and hitting 6 fours. Sadly Tom was dismissed one short of what would have been a very deserved 50. There then followed three more ducks (all dismissed by Young). A fantastic last wicket partnership between Jon Allen and Ed Finnis gave Mildenhall hope. Jon batted superbly for 35 not out. A tremendous innings against real quality and pressure. Ed also batted well for his 22. Mildenhall finished on 179 all out from 49.1 overs. It was a phenomenal bowling performance from Frinton and Kyran Young in particular. Kyran finished with 6-48 from 12 overs.
On a good surface Mildenhall's total shouldn't have been too much of a challenge for Frinton. Frinton started solidly enough through Griggs (18) and Sinclair (43). Machado also weighed in with 19 and Tharanga with 23. It was Michael Comber that provided some much need lower order power and control with his match winning innings of 48. Towards the end of the Frinton Peter Worthington produced one of the very best spells of bowling to be seen at Wamil Way for many years. Pete ripped through the lower order of Frinton's batting and took Mildenhall to the brink of winning. However it was not to be as Coomber saw the away home by one wicket from 57.3 overs. Tom Rash also bowled superbly for his 2-39 but it was Peter with 5-32 from 15 overs that will be remembered for a long time by all supporters that were present.
Mildenhall 3XI took on a very strong looking Halstead 2XI in Essex. The home side batted first and looked in total control through the batting of the excellent Dakin and Wickes. The openers putting on a fantastic stand before the returning Kiefer Renouf dismissed Wickes for 61 and then Dakin for 96. Clark was also dismissed by Renouf for 8. Morris finished the innings on 34 not out. Halstead setting an imposing 239 from their 45 overs. For the away side Kiefer took 3-75 from his 15 overs and Matt Heywood 2-77 from his 15. Mildenhall were missing the significant bowling talents of Martin Kingdon and Martin Taylor.
Mildenhall lost Tom Heywood (3) and Mark Thurston (7) quickly. Jordan Francis returning to 3XI action showed some form with his 39. Renouf (13) and skipper Andy Youngs (16) were unable to make the significant contributions that were required. It was Luke Turner that top scored for the Suffolk side with his 54. Dustin 'Van' Wilder also weighed in with 16 not out well played Y'all. Mildenhall finished well short on 182 for 9 from there 45 overs. Justin Rose taking 4-22 for the home side.
Mildenhall 4XI also entertained Frinton at home. This time it was the Frinton 3XI. Mildenhall batted first and Saunders and Reuben Handy showed promise. Polpaka was able to remove Mike for 14. Reuben showed great flair in his innings of 29 but alas he was also a victim of Polpaka's. Taylor (4) and Ellis (3) came and went quickly. Skipper Lou Handy developed a decent partnership with Connor Cobbold. Connor in particular was very, very impressive. The wicket keeper batsman showed a wide range of shots in a top class innings of 39. Lou was able to contribute 32 before he was unfortunately bowled by Pritchard. Mildenhall finished on a below par 158 for 7 from 45 overs. Polpaka was the star for Frinton with 3-43. Oram took 2-33 and Pritchard 2-29.
Frinton started badly. Handy removing the dangerous veteran Pat Patel for 6. Taylor also bowling Newland for 0. But Frinton rallied through the batting of Cooper and Pritchard. Despite the considerable efforts of Lou Handy who finished with 3-48 Frinton just had too much strength in depth. Special mention to an excellent spell of leg spin bowling from Muhammad Ubaid. On his bowling debut I have rarely seen such excellent control of line and length. Muhammad finished with 7 overs for 30 but was unlucky to bowl at the set batsman. Frinton reached their target from 29.5 overs.
I'm not sure that I want to write about the Sunday 1XI match between Battisford and Mildenhall. I am going to give some very brief details. Mildenhall lost. Battisford scored 164 all out from 34.5 overs. Kiefer got 3 wickets, RVO 2, Steve Ready 2, Tom Heywood 2 and Jordan Francis. 1. Mildenhall were all out for 37 from 12 overs. 6 wickets for Alderton (please Sir!) and Trye took 3. I now feel it is important to break away from reporting about cricket to bring you a public safety message. Without wishing to reveal my identity...I am not the most practical man (whoops sorry person) in the world. Normally my partner, who is a horticulturist (damn more revealing information) likes to take care of the garden. I am not one to object from female independence. However on Sunday she encouraged me to cut the grass. I was very happy with my efforts on the back garden. It was evenly cut, good lines. Grass was removed and bagged with control and a dash of panache. I then ventured out to the front garden. The front garden can be tricky. It is small, curved and somewhat bumpy (bit like me). I attacked it cutting (damn more personal info!!!) with gay abandon. I made a quick turn and then horror struck as I cut through the mower's power cable. Thankfully I had ensured that I had plugged in a power cut (I believe power breaker is the technical term) facility and remain safe and unhurt by the cutting of the cable. Power breakers are important people, use them please especially in the garden.
As in victory.