Mildenhall Cricket Club match reports for August 6^th and 7^th 2016.

Mildenhall 1^st X1 travelled to Wivenhoe on Saturday for a top of the table clash with their nearest rivals for the Two Counties division one title. Matt Durrell and Jordan Elliott opened the batting for the home club. Kyle Morrison bowling downhill got good bounce in the first over, but Steve Taylor bowling from the pavilion end saw his first three balls dispatched for 10 by Elliott. Taylor however struck with his last ball of the over when Elliott (10) drove a fierce straight drive back to the bowler who held a great caught and bowled chance. This brought to the wicket Jonty Rushton and he and Durrell took the game to Mildenhall. Wivenhoe raced to 50 and Mildenhall then missed a chance to dismiss Rushton when Adam Trett spilled a chance at second slip off Taylor. With Wivenhoe’s total up to 68 off 10 overs captain Ben Shepperson tried to take the pace off the ball by introducing young spinner Jack Bowman, but this proved disastrous with his one over going for 12.  Tom Allen then came on at the pavilion end and saw Rushton (38) loft his first delivery to deep mid-off where Ben Shepperson took the catch. Ryan Vickery (10) looked assured but with the score on 97 he pulled Allen to deep backward point straight into the hands of Morrison. Willie Morgan and Durrell saw up the 100. Allen then got a ball to lift on Morgan (2) who top edged it to Hamzah Ikram in the gully. Wivenhoe were now 101 for 4 and Allen and Peter Worthington reduced the run rate with a spell of line and length bowling. Durrell with his new partner Jimmy Butcher stuck at it dispatching anything pitched short. Joe Reed and Ikram were brought into the attack but could not make the break through as the Wivenhoe score climbed steadily. Mildenhall through Worthington and Reed, were guilty of dropped catches with both batsmen having a life. The Wivenhoe score had moved up to 191 before Mildenhall took their next wicket. Durrell’s (76) fine innings came to an end when he drove Ikram high to Shepperson. Butcher then completed his 50 before Taylor was brought back into the attack and with his third ball he got Butcher (54) to play a loose shot to Reed.  Jacob Kelly rode his luck making 15 before he was bowled by Shepperson. Louis Homewood (2) was run out by Taylor who then got his third wicket when Harry Burnett (1) was caught by Ikram. The late flurry of wickets had left Wivenhoe on 236 for 9 at the close of their innings. For Mildenhall Allen ended with 3 for 28 and Taylor ended with 3 for 38.

 Mildenhall’s objective was a tough one as they were required to make the biggest total in a run chase at Wivenhoe this season. Wivenhoe started with the aggressively quick bowling of Rushton and guile at the other end through Durrell. They had their first success when Rushton yorked Reed for 17. Worthington joined Taylor and they found runs hard to come by. Taylor had made 6 by the 10^th over with only one scoring shot. Patience was the order of the partnership, although it was to be tested throughout the Mildenhall innings as ball after ball was lost in the hinterland of the Essex ground. Taylor and Worthington had added 68 by the time of the drinks break. Worthington (34) then tried to up the tempo, but drove Butcher over his head into the diving Kelly who took a catch close to the ground. Shepperson soon showed his intent and attacked the bowling at every opportunity. Wivenhoe gave Taylor (then on 41) a lifeline when Elliott put him down at extra cover with the score on 106. Slowly the Mildenhall pair asserted themselves and when Shepperson took 16 off Butcher’s ninth over the home team started to look like a team that knew the game was up. Burnett brought back his opening bowlers but by now they were unable to stem the tide. Rushton’s over went for 10 and Durrell was dispatched into the next field by Taylor. A century partnership saw the Mildenhall pair within striking distance of their target. The 200 total came up in the 41^st over and runs were flowing freely from both batsmen and they continued on taking 100 runs off 10 overs. Shepperson by now had raced to 94 (74 in boundaries) and, with just 5 runs needed to win the match, the opportunity to score a century proved too great, he attempted a straight drive for 6 but was caught on the boundary by Butcher. There was a nice touch as some of the Wivenhoe players shook Shepperson hand and congratulated him on a magnificent knock.  (Photo capture by Wivenhoe shows Ben falling on his sword) It was left to Luke Youngs and Taylor to strike a boundary each to give Mildenhall victory. Taylor finished a fine all-round performance in scoring 85 not out. The win leaves Mildenhall 16 points clear at the top of the table. After 25 years of competing and with 5 games to play, is this the year the club finally wins the championship?

Mildenhall 2^nd X1 took advantage of ten men Easton to rack up 308 for 5 at Wamil Way. Steve Graham top scored with 130. Taha Ahmed made 68, opener Ryan Clark scored 42 and Jordan Francis was unbeaten on 29. Mildenhall’s Jamie Allen then ripped out the top order of Easton with some intelligent spin bowling taking 5 for 51. He got good back up from Ashley Clark who took 4 for 54 as Easton finished their innings on 206 all out.

On the second square at Wamil, Mildenhall 3^rd X1 entertained Yoxford and at the end of the day the sides each scored 219 for 6 and a rare tie was recorded. Yoxford batted first and Mark Thurston took 2 for 29. In reply an entertaining 70 from Andy Zajec was the pick of the batting. Opener Andy Francis made 37, however despite scoring 63 not out James Taylor and his partner Freddie Tucker were unable to get the 11 runs needed from the last over.

Mildenhall 4^th X1 fulfilled their fixture at East Bergholt with a make shift team caused by summer holidays. East Bergholt batted first and made 231 for 6. Gabe Jones took 2 wickets for Mildenhall, while there was a rare wicket for veteran Kevin Boardman. Boardman’s grandson Connor had a good day behind the stumps with a catch and two stumping’s. Mildenhall opener Mick Saunders made 46 in the teams reply and Captain Lou Handy scored 25. Matt Parker and Gabe Jones each made 21. Mildenhall however were unable to get close to their target and finished on 151 for 9.

On Sunday Mildenhall 1^st X1 continued on their course to winning the Hunts County Bats league for the third season in a row. They journeyed to Bardwell where the home team batted first and made 195 for 7 in their 40 overs. Mildenhall bowlers Tom Allen, Gabe and Graeme Jones each took two wickets. The Mildenhall batsmen shared the run chase. Matt Allen (34), Kyle Morrison (36), Ben Shepperson (32) and Steve Graham (29) were all eclipsed when Tom Allen finished 50 not out. Mildenhall won by 4 wickets.

Mildenhall Sunday 2^nd X1 lost at home to East Bergholt. Opener Steve Grinling top scored with 74 as the home side made 178 for 9. Bergholt made light of their task reaching 179 for the loss of 3 wicket in the 31^st over.

Mildenhall Ladies suffered a setback to any league honours this year when they were defeated in their match at Easton. The home team amassed 229 for 2. In reply Helen Atkinson made a fighting 64 and Fliss Cleverley scored 25, however the visitors finished their innings some 61 runs short.

Tom Allen is currently leading wicket taker in all matches with 38. Close behind is brother Jon with 36. Also Gabe Jones has 36 in both senior and junior matches combined.

Steve Taylor leads the aggregate runs for the season with 1411. Joe Reed 1071 and Ben Shepperson 1120 have also completed the 1000 runs in a season target.