With the 1XI and 2XI games called off early the focus was on the 3XI and their fixture at home against Walsham Le Willows. Earlier on in the season Walsham destroyed the 3XI by bowling them out for 36. Mildenhall were determined that this would not happen again. Agreement was made to make the fixture a 30 over a side match and Walsham batted first.
Opener and skipper Brant was the key man for Walsham as he made 61. He had to cope with the worst of the conditions and some economical Mildenhall bowling. Brant was supported by Forbes who made 38 before he was run out thanks to a GOOD throw to the bowler Renouf. Walsham reached a very competitive 148 for 5 wickets from their 30 overs. Martin Kingdon was his normal reliable self taking 1-27 from his 10 overs. Kiefer Renouf took 2-49 from his 10 overs and there was a wicket for Ewan Kingdon.
Mildenhall got off to a good start thanks to the batting of Thurston and Clark. Clark was just about getting into his stride when he was caught for 16. James Taylor briefly flirted with taking on the Walsham attack before he was undone by a slower ball from Rotham. Kiefer Renouf hit a towering six before he was out (stumped) after a lapse in judgment. It was however a day for the skipper to find some glorious form. Mark showed touches of class and skill in his innings of 55, which included a sumptuous cover drive where he moved into line and stroked the ball with the class only Brian Lara could dream of. It was an innings of redemption for the much maligned 3XI skipper and despite the trauma of what has been a truly awful season for the side he has led from the front with humour and good grace. It's very easy to captain a side when you are winning and your team is settled and in good spirits. Real leaders are the ones that battle through the tough times trying to raise everyone else's mood. Whatever happens next season the 3XI are lucky to have had Mark at the helm these past couple of years and it was good to see Mark scored some deserved runs at the weekend. The 3XI fell just short as they reached 135 for 8 off their 30 overs. M. Rotham took 3-51 and B. George took 4-30. A better performance from the 3XI and a match played in the right spirit and the conduct of the Mildenhall players on the day showed the club in a positive manner.
Mildenhall 4XI made the long journey to East Bergholt on Saturday. East Bergholt batted first. D. Taylor was the main run scorer in the innings with (46) until he was bowled by club legend Kevin Boardman. Smyth made 41 before he was run out. Last finished 33 not out. There were wickets for Lou Handy, Kayleigh Francis and Graeme Jones. East Bergholt finished 194 for 6 off their 40 overs.
That experienced pair of Francis and Thurston got Mildenhall off to a start. Paul was out for 20 and Andy 26. Lou Handy made 15 and Connor Cobbold made 15 not out. Mildenhall finished well short on 122 for 8 from their 40 overs. A difficult defeat for a young side.
The rain flowed on Saturday but on Sunday it was glorious runs that were flowing. Mildenhall 1XI took on Woolpit at home. Woolpit scored 282 for 8 from their 40 overs. I'm afraid I don't have any information with regards to who scored the runs for Woolpit and I've decided I don't much care either ;o) As far as Mildenhall's bowling is concerned I don't have any details at this time but I will update the report as soon as I do. I do have some details regarding the Mildenhall batting and after all batting is far more important than bowling. Reuben Handy opened the batting and made an accomplished 26 before he was bowled by Parker. Mildenhall's skipper Steve Graham batting at four was happy to demonstrate his class and talent with a superb 116 from 85 balls. Steve hit 13 4's and 4 6's in his match winning 116 not out. Steve was assisted by jack Loveday who batted at six. Jack hit his 2nd 100 of the season as he made 113 from 72 balls at a strike rate of 156.94. Jack hit 18 4's. Mildenhall lost some late wickets but reached their target for the lost of 7 wickets off 37.4 overs. A brilliant run chase from the home side. Well done Steve and Jack.
Mildenhall Sunday 2XI made the short journey to take on Worlington Academy. Worlington batted first and made 167. The scorecard shows that T. Baugh made 27 not out...now I'm not sure if that is a typo or he retired and came back to bat but 27 not out as an opener in a 40 over match? I'm hardly Gilbert Jessop (Google is your friend) but that's some going, I mean slow going!! M. Whittish was the mainstay of the Worlington innings with 62. The real story of the Worlington innings was not the batting but the bowling of Mildenhall skipper Steve Ready. Steve bowled 9 overs and took 8 wickets for 25 and in doing so he entered Mildenhall folklore. It's very rare that any bowler takes 8 wickets and Steve should feel very proud of his efforts with the ball. Congratulations Steve.
And the good news doesn't stop there. In response Mildenhall 2XI reached their target for the loss of 2 wickets with almost four overs to spare. It was opener Kiefer Renouf that had a day to remember. Kiefer worked extremely hard on his batting all winter with lots of hours spent against the bowling machine. His hard work paid off on Sunday as he struck his maiden 100. Kiefer regularly attends nets during the week and his approach should be commended. Kiefer has demonstrated that by putting the effort in you can improve and you can have success. I hope this serves as a springboard to Kiefer to put in even greater efforts and achieve even more. All of us can learn something from Kiefer. In fact I learnt something from Kiefer this weekend. I learnt that a 'Sparky' can be on-call and still sup on a strong cider beverage during the evening. Those lightbulbs won't fix themselves without a scruffy Electrician with alcoholic pear breath!
Mildenhall ladies took on Thriplow on Sunday and came away with the win despite only having 10 players available. Thriplow batted first and were bowled out for 84 from 32.1 overs. Helen took 2 wickets for 5 runs. Kayleigh first 2 wickets for 9 runs. SFK took 3 wickets for 22 runs. Angela took 2 wickets for 11 runs and Kim took 1 wicket for 2 runs.
Mildenhall chased down the total for 4 wickets from 20 overs. In shocking news Sheldene was out for 24. Kim was a victim of the deadly Unsure for 20. Angela finished 19 not out and Kayeligh finished 7 not out. A good win from the ladies who look certain to be crowned league champions this season.
As in victory...