The Ramblas picked up where they left off last week, defeating Beechwood by seven wickets on a gloomy Sunday afternoon.
With skipper Matt Rudgyard unavailable, Chris Thomas donned the proverbial armband and led the visitors. Thomas welcomed Michael Cooper, Tom Howgego, and Duane Hall back into the XI to make their season debuts.
Amidst a steady mizzle of rain, the Ramblas took to the field in a timed game with Thomas and Geoff Parrett opening the bowling. The pair carried on their good form from the previous week, and it was Thomas who broke the deadlock thanks to a sharp catch by Cooper running in from square leg. However, a combination of a small boundary on one side and a noticeable slope on the opposite side meant any loose ball was sailing away for four.
It was Thomas again who broke up a settled partnership with a peach of a delivery that cut back in sharply and sent the off stump bail flying. Thomas made a double change in attack, with Hall replacing him and Steve Fitch coming in in place of Parrett.
The new bowlers took a little while to find their rhythm but once they did, runs became hard to come by. Fitch’s spell saw him nab three wickets in seven overs, two clean bowled and the other courtesy of a fantastic catch at long on by Howgego. Beechwood reached the drinks break at 84-5 with rain getting steadier.
Despite the rain, the players returned to the field after the break as Cooper and Howgego replaced Hall and Fitch, respectively. Cooper only had to wait two balls to claim his first wicket of the season, but the celebrations were muted due to questions about the second bounce. Sadly, the rain refused to abate and an early tea was taken to give the players a respite.
Fortunately for all involved, the rain cleared, the players returned to the field, and Beechwood resumed their innings. The break in play did not deter Cooper who picked up the final two wickets of the innings as Beechwood declared on 143-8.
Keen to make hay while the clouds aren’t raining, both teams quickly readied themselves for the second innings. Kieran Gibbons and Johnny Stocks were tasked with getting the visitors off to a strong start. The tandem looked in great touch, with quick singles and punishing boundaries that saw the Ramblas reach 57 for no loss off the first 10 overs.
Gibbon batted beautifully and reached his fifty off just 34 balls before retiring with the score now 90-0. Howgego joined J. Stocks at the crease with 54 runs needed off the last 20 overs.
Sadly, Johnny was dismissed the next over, caught behind for a well-crafted 34, and was replaced at the crease by James Dilley. While Howgego was initially watchful, Dilley was aggressive from the off, unleashing a flurry of delightful cover drives as he raced to 24 before being clean bowled with the score on 121-3.
Laurie Stocks was the next cab off the rank, but his time at the crease was short-lived as he was trapped LBW for a duck, with Mark Loughlin replacing him at the crease. 18 runs were needed off the last nine overs, but 18 quickly became 6 as Howgego smashed three boundaries in four balls to all but end the game.
Loughlin put the finishing touches on proceedings, hitting consecutive boundaries to give the Ramblas a seven wicket victory. A great team performance in trying conditions saw the club open their season with back-to-back wins for the first time in their history.
Ramblas MVP: Shout outs to both Michael Cooper & Steve Fitch for their bowling performance, picking up three wickets apiece. However, for his rapid fire 50* that set the platform for the run chase, this week’s MVP is Kieran Gibbons.