Coote Cup Semi-Finals ELTISLEY and Dean battled their way through to the Coote Cup Final with resounding wins at the weekend. Last year s winners Sawtry looked pre-match favourites against Eltisley but struggled to 139 with Eddie Relihan (5-22) turning th

Coote Cup Semi-Finals

ELTISLEY and Dean battled their way through to the Coote Cup Final with resounding wins at the weekend.

Last year's winners Sawtry looked pre-match favourites against Eltisley but struggled to 139 with Eddie Relihan (5-22) turning the game in favour of the home side.

Eltisley made it home compfortably by nine wickets, largely thanks to Robert Smith (44*).

Dean, who lost in the 2007 final to Sawtry, have had an indifferent season to date but quickly put Buckden to the sword and the home side's 77 all out was never going to be enough. Only Paul Tidey (29) offered any real resistance as seven of the Buckden batsmen bagged a duck, Tom Firm (5-18) was the thorn in the Buckden side.

County Over 50s

HUNTINGDONSHIRE became the first side to lower the Lincolnshire flag this season after setting their rivals a total of 280 to win at Boston.

Gary Scotcher (103*) and Barry Morris (73) starred with the bat as Hunts amassed 280-3 and Lincs had no answer to Nick Andrews (5-46) and Dave Smith (3-25) as they closed on 221 all out. County Juniors.

County Youth

HUNTINGDONSHIRE U15s gor their season under way with a narrow defeat against Suffolk at Worlington.

Hunts skipper Jonathan Carpenter invited Suffolk in to bat and good early bowling allowed Carpenter (5-50) and Taylor West (3-44) to steadily make inroads into the Suffolk batting, restricting the home side to a modest 146 all out from 49 overs.

The Hunts reply stuttered somewhat as only West (40) and Carpenter (23) looked comfortable against the Suffolk bowlers. After their dismissals some late resistance took the score to 135 all out

EAPL

RAIN, a poor wicket and a bad start to their reply still failed to stop Godmanchester from taking 25 points and holding on to third spot in the table at Horsford.

The hosts had not been beaten at home for 11 matches and the two-wicket win was Goddy's first at the Norfolk ground.

Godmanchester restricted Horsford to just 118 with Paul Swannell (4-32) the pick of the bunch, well-supported by David McCullum (3-8).

The reply was held up by rain before Goddy found themselves 26-4 but Stuart Houghton (36) rescued the situation with a super knock and Adam Cousins (32) took Godmanchester to the win.

Hunts Division 1

RAMSEY II continued their poor run of form at home to Alconbury. They failed to come to terms with the accurate bowling of Craig Carter (4-14) and Richard Ewing (3-8) as they tumbled to just 66 all out.

Alconbury grabbed their chance of easy points as Ewing (37*) and Richard Wilcock (18) steered them home with just two wickets down.

Sawtry posted an impressive 225-6 at Barnack thanks mainly to Ian Bonsall (67), Sam Journee (34) and Gareth Smith (32). Barnack looked set to snatch a good win as they reached 166-3 but skipper Alun Hollocks (3-55) and Brian Chapman (2-31) had other ideas and the home side collapsed to 214 all out.

Huntingdon rolled Upwood over easily after recovering from 28-5 to 175 all out. They dismissed Upwood for a poor 82 with excellent spells of bowling from Humza Rachid (4-20) and Nomi Khan (4-26).

Dean suffered at the hands of the Newborough batsmen as they racked up an impressive 249-7. Dean were all out for 188.

Hunts Division 2

WARESLEY II were made to struggle against Ufford Park after making a quick start. James Collings (17) and Simon Donald (22) moved the score to 31 in seven overs. However a major collapse set in and only Phil Gillett (44) looked capable of building an innings and the final total of 139-9 did no justice to the wicket.

The Ufford batsmen played soundly and eased home with five overs to spare with Gillett (3-25) the top bowler.

Old Eastonians proved too strong for visitors Warboys, who had to be content with 177-6. There was no magic from the Witches bowlers as Eastonians cruised to 178-4 in reply.

Buckden must have thought that their 187-8 was enough to see off Nassington II but a combination of good batting and indifferent bowling saw Nassington reach the total with two wickets in hand while elsewhere Godmanchester III (142) lost to Perkins (143-5).

Hunts Division 3

UPWOOD II crashed to Netts by five wickets. Upwood's 123 all out was well below-par and Netts needed little help in reaching 124-5.

Hunts Division 4

ALCONBURY II as they won for the second week running off the final ball of the match - this week chasing 1922 to beat Castor.

Sam Barnard (4-44) was the pick of the bowlers with good support from Andy King (2-33) and Andy Ford (2-32). King (78) and Steve Alexander (65) then put on a stand of 152 before the scrambled two runs were made of the last ball.

Buckden II managed just 57 all out against Warboys II and had the extras (34) to thank for most of the runs. Warboys needed 10 overs to get the match finished as Daniel Hyde (25*) and Ryan Humphrey (30*) ensured an early tea.

Socon III were in superb form against Orton II. The Socon batsmen made the most of the sun to pile on 266-9. Orton took the chance for some batting practice but were never going to take points as they eventually succumbed for 167.

Elsewhere, Hilton (201-7) lost to Werington (202-7).

Hunts Division 5

GREAT Staughton hosted Ramsey III with the visitors reaching 183-9 despite the best efforts with the ball of Dave Oddy (4-36). Damian Clarke (92) was able to come to terms with the bowling.

Jonny Brittain (59) and Pete French (43) gave Staughton a good chance of victory but a middle order collapse left Staughton short at 166-9.

Brampton (104-5) remain top of the league after beating Huntingdon II 101 all out. Gary Farmer-Wright (5-35) had a field day once again and Ian Purser (48*) made sure that the points went in the bag.

Elsewhere, Upwood III (188) lost to Sawtry III (189-6).

Tucker League 1

GODMANCHESTER II will be pleased with the points from the draw against Ramsey in this high scoring encounter. Ben Clement (75) and Jon Durrant (49) scored a large slice of the 268-7, with Grant De Kock (3-67) bowling well. De Kock (85) got things going with the bat but Rams were well short at 215-8 at close.

Tucker League 2

WARESLEY were indebted to Daniel (45*) and Jay (30) Szwajbax as they plodded their way to 151 all out against Abington. At 60-2 Abington looked set for the points but Nigel Buckingham-Jones (4-9) sent down five maidens in nine overs and support from Chris Whitfield (3-27) saw Waresley gain an unlikely 32-run win.

Eaton Socon's batsmen went into cruise mode as they chased down Bluntisham's score of 196-5. In a crisp all round team performance it was the batsmen that took the honours as Bob Nicklin (53*) and David Humphrey (59*) put on an unbroken 100 partnership to see Socon home. Earlier, Jon Carpenter (41) added to his growing reputation with a solid knock.

Cambs Senior 1

CAMBRIDGE St Giles were no match for St Ives as they were dismissed for 151 after controlled and accurate bowling from Ollie King (4-21) and Kevin Gilder (4-42). Reuan Williams (97*) and Ricky Greiller (38) then took a liking to the St Giles bowling and saw their team to an eight wicket win.

Cambs Senior 2

YELLING bowlers Steve Tack (3-42) and Dominic Walker (3-40) ensured Cottenham were kept in check as the visitors were restricted to 178-8. The home side always looked in charge when they took up the challenge and Aaron Johnson (58) and Andy Johnson (37*) saw them home with few scares.

Cambs Division 3A

ST IVES III managed to get to 114 all out against Fenstanton but the villagers held the upper hand. Mark Everest (48*) was the highlight of the chase as Fenstanton reached 116-3 in the 26th over.

Cambs Division 5A

A MEAGRE total of 122 from Willingham caused little trouble for Needingworth, who reached the target with seven wickets left. Josh Stimson (35*) provided the stability to the run chase after Mohsin Khursid (3-10) had reaped rewards for line and length bowling.

Rutland Leagues

ONLY Terry Day (63) stood firm for Eaton Socon in their Rutland Division 4 match against Whittlesey as they were dismissed for 186. Whittlesey replied positively from the start and lost only two wickets as they reached 190 to grab the spoils.

Meanwhile, Socon II had the better of Whittlesey II in Rutland Division 7 as father and son duo Tim (83) and George Richards (65) saw Socon to a very competitive 232-6. Whittlesey II had little to offer as they fell to 117 all out.

Smith Barry Cup

FINE knocks by Reuan Williams (131) and Simon Jones (101*) booked St Ives a place in the semi-finals and gave their side a total of 271-3. Sawtry were never at the races and fell away to 118 all out after good bowling by James Biddle (3-25) and Ollie King (3-9).

Hobbs Cup Final

ST IVES gave opponents Foxton a good run for their money in the final of the Hobbs Cup. Batting first Ives closed on 183-9 with Ricky Greiller (61) and Reuan Williams (51) proving to be the back-bone of the innings. Foxton managed to win by four wickets but not before James Biddle (3-39) tried his best to destroy their batting.

Junior Matches

WARBOYS U13s (84-4) lost to Peterborough (85-3), St Ives U15s (100-4) lost to Warboys (104-4) and Warboys U11s lost to Upwood U10 by 13 runs.

Needingworth U15s reached 82 of their allotted overs against Nassington and looked to have lost the game as Nassington reach 76-6. Mitchell Chandler had other ideas and took the last four wickets in seven balls to return match figures of 7-13 and leave his side winners by two runs.

Five wickets in an over for Needingworth's Joshua Smith saw Needingworth U9s defeat Upwood by more than 100 runs.

Godmanchester U11s maintained their form with the fourth win of the season at the expense of St Ives. Goddy's 141-2 included fine knocks by George Furbank (30*) and Marcus Watkinson (30*). The Ives reply fell short at 98-6 but include equally good knocks by Zak Stevens and Scott Pepper (both 30*).

Other match

A WARBOYS XI reached 152 with Daniel Hyde (28) and the extras (39) helping the score along. Chris Hoy (5-6) then destroyed Newborough II's fragile batting to record a comprehensive win by 86 runs.

Other Results

Cambs NCICC 223-7 Kimbolton 143; Needingworth 176-6 Somersham 179-6; Dullingham 190-9 St Ives 127; Cambourne 162-8 Coton 166; Elsworth 38 St Giles II 39-1; Burwell II 290-4 Somersham II 76; Abbots Ripton 137 Bluntisham II 108; Elsworth II 137 Cambs NCICC IV 111; Willingham II 122 Needingworth II 123-3; Cambs NCICC V 75 Cambourne II 216-5.