Seven wins from seven games, best weekend so far by a mile
First X1 details
Saturday v Copdock
An overcast day saw Mildenhall lose the toss and get asked to bat first. Joe Reed and Danny Wilson started steadily adding 40 in the first 10 overs. Reed (18) then attempted to hit Daniel Leggett straight,however the ball went straight up high and Matthew Wareing took the lofted catch. Wilson (13) was next out bowled by Jason Pembroke with Mildenhall on 50. Ben Shepperson started brightly however once again he edged to slip and was out for 14 leaving Mildenhall on 65 for 3. Ankit Sharma and Ollie Lovejoy then steered the ship adding 56. Sharma's patience then ran out as he pulled a ball from Jack Beaumont and was caught on the square leg boundary by Fergus Atkins for 30. Lovejoy was by now dominant and he and Tom Rash added a further 48 before Rash (9) drove straight to Jack Mexome. Soon after Lovejoy having completed a half century was out to a horrible shot and was bowled by Beaumont for 59. Jack Loveday (10) breezed in and in one over was dropped , hit a six and was then caught by Wareing off Atkins. Blackledge and Douglas both fell cheaply , however dogged batting by Jon Allen (17) and Murtaza Hussain saw Mildenhall past 200 and close on 212 for 9.
Mildenhall without a win this season, began their challenge brightly with Douglas and Rash. Douglas bowled Miambo for 10 and Rash had Atkins caught behind for 3. Both openers were gone with just 18 on the board. Douglas made it 3 wickets down when Lovejoy took another sharp catch to dismiss Wareing for 7. Copdock were by now reeling as Mexome went for a duck, comprehensively beaten and bowled by Douglas. Copdock were on 27 for 4 with Douglas having his best bowling performance since joining the club last season. Swallow joined Beaumont and they dug in. Rash switched himself to the bottom end and it proved inspirational as he induced Swallow (8) to chase a ball and give Reed in the gully a catch. Mildenhall turned to a spin attack and Ankirt Sharma got Leggett (3) caught behind leaving Copdock on 56 for 6. Fifteen year old Arthur Phoenix joined Beaumont and they batted doggedly, however the run rate required was soaring. With 102 on the board Sharma finally broke through when he had Phoenix (14) stumped by Lovejoy. With Scarff going to a high catch to Douglas off Sharma it was just left to get the prized wicket of Beaumont . Beaumont made 54 before he hit a hard shot to Rash off Sharma. Then Sharma quickly wrapped things up when he took his 4th wicket having Hunn trapped lbw for 4. Copdock all out 134. There were four victims for wicketkeeper Lovejoy and 4 wickets a piece for Sharma and Douglas. The win saw Mildenhall remove themselves from the bottom of the league and a sigh of relief from all involved
Sunday saw Mildenhall competing in the first stages of the EAPL T 20 competition at Saffron Walden. Highlight of the first game was a sensational hattrick by Jack loveday against Cambridge Granta that helped the team to beat Granta by 21 runs. In the next match Joe Reed (103*) in club colours hit a magnificent century ably supported by Ankit Shama (70). Amazingly Ben Shepperson stood on the brink of a second hattrick in this match but had to be content with 4 for 27 as his efforts helped Mildenhall overcome Saffron Walden by 34 runs. Mildenhall now advance to the EAPL T20 finals day ( date and venue to be confirmed)
