Nail-biting finish as Taylor's Swift Runs take Walsham close

It was a case of so near, yet so far for Walsham’s trip to Haverhill on Saturday in a game that saw momentum swing from one team to the other on a regular basis. Friday’s incessant downpour thankfully gave way to bright sunshine for Saturday morning, but the volume of moisture meant that some sterling work was required from Haverhill’s groundstaff to make the pitch playable. When Walsham captain Liam Bryant won the toss he elected to bowl first, looking to make the most of the moisture left in the pitch and with no rain due in the afternoon, batting conditions were likely to only improve as the day went on. However, Walsham were missing their regular opening bowlers Ali Waugh and Ash Forbes so restricting the hosts total was always going to be a test.
Much like last week against Mistley, Walsham got off to a strong start with the ball as the hosts struggled to get their innings underway. The pressure to score became to much for opening batsman Venigalla and he nicked a Mark Rothon ball to keeper Joe Scarce leaving Haverhill 0/1 after 4 overs. It was the other opening batsman, Craig Williams, who got things moving for the hosts as he put on 43 runs with Sam Street for the second wicket. Williams was then half of 3rd wicket partnership of 31 and a valuable 4th wicket partnership of 64 with Rob Dovaston as the hosts moved to 138-4 from 33 overs. The Haverhill tail continued to add runs at a fair pace and despite Finn Daly and Barry Lynn taking their first wickets of the season, they closed on a very defendable 221/8.

Walsham’s reply was the exact opposite of their remarkable chase against Tuddenham 2 weeks ago, when they looked set for victory and then collapsed to within 1 wicket of defeat before sneaking over the line. This time, hopes of a victory looked to have disappeared early on as the top 6 all failed to make it beyond 20 runs and at the halfway point of the innings, the visitors were teetering at 106-6. However, Taylor Rothon and Finn Daly, both recent graduates from Walsham’s youth section, steadied the ship as they put on an impressive seventh wicket partnership of 40 from 35 balls. Daly was dismissed when he picked out the fielder on the deep mid wicket boundary with a shot that would have cleared the rope at many other grounds. This brought Mark Rothon to the crease and the Father and Son partnership pushed Walsham into a position where victory looked to be a very real possibility. Taylor was doing the hitting, picking the gaps through the covers and punishing any bowler who strayed towards leg stump. He brought up his 50 from just 45 balls, as Mark blocked up the other end effectively. The two added 38 runs to the total before Mark was bowled in the 35th over with the score 184-8. There were plenty of overs left to get the 38 runs required, but that didn’t stop number 10 Connor Daly dispatching his first ball to the square leg boundary with a powerful leg glance. The hosts kept rotating the bowlers but they were not able to stem the flow of runs. Daly took the pressure off Rothon, as he pushed for singles and then found the mid wicket boundary twice in as many balls in the 38th over. Rothon repeated the feat in the 40th over but with Walsham needing 3 to win he went for a risky single. A sharp piece of fielding meant Rothon was well short of his ground and he was Run Out for 82 from 69 balls. Suddenly the game hung in the balance again, but the suspense did not last long. The next ball was hit in the air straight to the fielder at Mid On to give the hosts a narrow 2 run victory at the end of a compelling game of cricket.