Foxton Granta, Burwell & Exning and Old Leysians all chalk up Division One victories

Captain Lewys Hill produced the goods with bat and ball to help Foxton Granta (271-6) overcome Blunham (226-9) by 45 runs on Saturday.

Batting first, Hill came to the crease after 23 overs with his side on a score of 101-5.

And by the time that he had departed, Foxton Granta’s total had moved on to 263 runs as Hill smashed a run-a-ball 90 alongside an unbeaten half century from wicketkeeper Ash Clark (51 not out).

All-rounder Hill then followed up his exploits with the bat by recording bowling figures of 2-18 to help keep the visitors at bay. Sam Beer (2-46) and Vishrut Pisupait (2-48) also snared a couple of wickets, while Richard Kaufman (1-11) and Ravi Mahendra (1-59) both got in on the act.

The victory has kept Foxton Granta sitting third in the Onyx League Division One standings, 11 points adrift of Histon in second position and 52 behind table-topping Ramsey.

And the leaders will be Foxton Granta’s next opposition at Cricketfield Lane on Saturday (7 September).

Elsewhere, Burwell & Exning (95-3) shared the wickets around on their way to recording a seven-wicket home victory over Southill Park (92).

Only two members of the visitors’ line-up scored double figures after they won the toss and opted to bat first.

Joshua Vowden (3-16) and Nic Huckle (3-20) both took three wickets apiece for Burwell & Exning alongside further contributions from Clinton Cornwell (2-25) and Edward Manning (1-25).

In reply, the hosts lost three wickets for just four runs during a mini collapse, but Dylan Hardy (20 not out) and captain Paul Summerskill (24 not out) came to the crease and got their side over the winning line midway through the 20th over.

Burwell & Exning, who have moved up to fourth position in the Division One standings, will travel to face second-placed Histon on Saturday (7 September).

Histon (123) will go into that contest after a poor batting display them suffer a 70-run defeat away at Saffron Walden II (193) on Saturday.

Bowling first, visiting Histon took wickets throughout the Walden innings.

Skipper Ben Leach (2-25), John Turner (2-28), Jake Allcock (2-30) and Henry Wilson (2-37) all took two wickets apiece, but it was the performance of Keelan Mendel (72) that pushed the home side towards the 200-run mark.

And it was a target that proved to be way beyond Histon, who lost opener Tom Newman for a duck and never recovered from that point.

Allcock (28) and Freddie Meldal (22) were the only two batsmen to contribute notable totals, with three being dismissed without troubling the scoreboard and four more providing single-figure scores.

Histon have remained second in the Division One standings with a 41-point gap to leaders Ramsey.

Meanwhile, Old Leysians (221-6) put further daylight between themselves and the relegation zone after Saturday’s four-wicket win over Sawston & Babraham II (220).

Having opted to field after winning the toss, it was Adam Newman that caught the eye with the ball for Old Lesyians thanks to his figures of 3-44, while there was also two wickets apiece for Andrew Bramley, Clem St Rose and Joseph Gunn-Roberts.

And it was Bramley that shone during the run chase with his top knock of 58 runs from 62 deliveries.

Old Leysians, who are 39 points above the bottom two places, will welcome Cambridge St Giles to The Leys School on Saturday (7 September).

The aforementioned St Giles (198-9) came up short by five wickets during their recent trip to Wisbech Town (200-5).

Martin Heginbotham’s 40 not out and Chris Germon’s bowling figures of 2-37 were the stand-out performances for St Giles during their defeat.

Meanwhile, the hosts’ charge to victory was spearheaded by the display of wicketkeeper Josh Bowers, who was involved in two wickets alongside his top score of 80 runs.

The defeat saw St Giles drop to fifth position in the league table with two matches remaining.