On Saturday the 1XI travelled to Copdock and Old Ipswichians. The Mildenhall side had a slightly unusual look about it without stalwarts Shepperson and Reed. The game was delayed by some very heavy rain in the Ipswich area. Copdock and OI’s batted first and their innings was dominated by Jaik Mickleburgh. Mickleburgh made 108 out of the home’s side total of 210. For Mildenhall Tino Best was economical in his bowling figures (8 overs, 25 runs, 1 wicket) while stand in skipper Peter Worthington bowled 8 overs, 33 runs and 2 wickets. The other wicket takers were Jack Loveday and Jack Bowman. A total of 210 would be a very difficult challenge for the away side.

Mildenhall never really looked like chasing down the runs required. Worthington had a magnificent game scoring 75 before he was LBW to Rash. Nobody else in the Mildenhall team really looked comfortable with the bowling. Only Morrison (11), Loveday (17) and Best (12) got into double figures. Mildenhall ended the match with a draw which in the circumstances surrounding the game and conditions wasn’t a bad result. Next week Mildenhall host Frinton and hopefully conditions and team selection won’t be such an issue.

Mildenhall 2XI entertained Ipswich and East Suffolk in a fantastic game of cricket held at Wamil Way. The away side batted first and despite a shaky start were able to post 186 from their 45 overs. Martin Taylor proved that ‘swing is still king’ with a tremendous display of bowling. Martin bowled 15 overs, 7 maidens, 18 runs and 2 wickets. Skipper Steve Graham picked up 2-36 from his 12 overs. There were wickets also for Duncan Fraser, Matt Heywood and 2 wickets for Tom Heywood. Ipswich and ES would have felt that 186 was a challenging total especially with the fragility of the 2XI batting.

And a challenge it proved but a challenge which was met by the 2XI. Fraser (21) and Graham (30) got the Mildenhall innings going and Renouf (21) provided some quick runs. Eddie Finnis (19) keep Mildenhall in the hunt. But the innings of the day belonged to ‘old blue gloves’ Lou Handy. The Chairman showed all of his experience and savvy in guiding Mildenhall home. Lou finished with 58 not out (including an all run 7!). Special mention to Ahmed Afaal whose calm batting at the end helped Lou ensure the victory by 1 wicket. An excellent game of cricket and nice to see Mildenhall come out on top.

Mildenhall 3XI remain one of the most consistent teams in the two counties league and possibly in the country. Mildenhall batted first and Clark and Francis were able to get the innings going. Unfortunately neither Clark (12), Francis (33) nor Taylor (25) could get the big score that the team desperately needed. The rest of the batting fell away apart from good contributions from Saunders (28 not out) and Chipchase (18 not out). The final total of 157 was well short of the 200+ that should have been a reasonable expectation on the pitch provided.

Maldon 2XI had absolutely no trouble and I mean no trouble in knocking off the runs. It was a cake walk for the away side who romped home with well lots of overs to spare. Bryant finished 99 not out and Warpole 58 not out. Maldon won by 10 wickets which was another tough defeat for the 3XI to take. Mildenhall 3XI take on table topping Abberton next week and only a very optimistic pundit would believe that the 3XI will escape Essex with too many points.

It was a very mixed weekend for the 4XI. On Saturday we had to cancel the planned match due to a lack of numbers. Thankfully Monday was a different matter. Battisford provided the opposition at Wamil Way and Mildenhall 4XI was extremely strong. Battisford batted first and struggled against an attack that included Lou Handy (2 wickets), Jack Bowman, Jon Allen (2 wickets), Lee Chipchase (1 wicket) and Steve Graham (2 wickets). The Battisford total of 132 off 40 overs was never going to be too much of a problem for this all-star 4XI team.

Despite the early losses of Matt Heywood and Reuben Handy the 4XI were in control of the chase. Matt Allen continued his form with 82 not out and Tom Heywood scored 21 not out. The 4XI knocked off the runs and completed the win inside 28 overs. A good finished to the weekend for the club and some positive results.