St Ives & Warboys captain Jack Haycock was delighted to see his side claim an eight-wicket win at Wisbech Town in their Cambs & Hunts Premier League Whiting Division One clash.

The Hunts Post: Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason)Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason) (Image: Archant)

The home side’s openers put on 101, before Amit Gupta (3-30) made the breakthrough, and wickets then tumbled.

Kevin Gilder (3-24) and Jack Ranganathan (2-26) also enjoyed success as Wisbech closed on 174-9 after 40 overs and Haycock said: “We were quietly confident but you never expect to go to somewhere like Wisbech and win so comfortably, especially after the start they had as well.

“We were average at first. We knew their openers were good and then they had Gary Freear and James Williams, two of their best batsmen to come.

“We knew if we could get through those four we could pull it back a little bit, that was always in our mind. But it was a big learning curve for us to show that if you’re not quite on it you will get punished at this level.

The Hunts Post: Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason)Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason) (Image: Archant)

“It was quite an astonishing turnaround really. They were 74-9 after that drinks break which is quite crazy on a good batting pitch and a beautiful batting day.

“The two experienced spinners in the middle, every time someone came in they just seemed to chip one up, we just got on a roll, the momentum was with us from that point onwards until the game finished really.

“Amit and Kevin, the left-arm spinner, six wickets between them, for not a lot of runs, they’re both very experienced and they made it so easy for me as captain by pretty much telling me what their plan was, what the field was going to be, and if they got three singles off the over it was a win for us.

“They know their game inside out. We had two young opening bowlers who have done well for us but it didn’t come off for them on Saturday. To have two massively experienced players like that come in for us was really good. It was actually Amit’s first bowl for us as well in only his second game.”

The Hunts Post: Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason)Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason) (Image: Archant)

Ranganathan fell to a first-ball duck in reply, but Haycock put on 121 with Ollie Stevens, who hit two sixes and six fours in his 56 off 60 balls.

Richard Greiller dominated an unbroken 56-run stand for the third wicket as he hit 42 off 38 balls, including a six and five fours, with Haycock unbeaten on 50 off 76 balls with eight fours at the close.

He added: “The first 20 overs (of the match) we were average but it shows however it’s all going against you you can still turn it around. it’s a long game, if you have a bad hour you can still get your way back into it.

“The way we batted was so, not aggressive, but positive. It was so focused the run chase. We had a similar chase against Foxton the first week and came up six runs short and really should’ve won that game. I got everyone together after we bowled them out and said we’ve got to get these runs and we just smashed it.”

The Hunts Post: Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason)Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason) (Image: Archant)

A trip to Cambridge seconds is up next this weekend and Haycock said: “We’re quietly confident but we know how tough it is to get a win at that level.

“Foxton we lost by six runs, then we bowled out for March 112 the week after and the rain came.

“Now it’s a slightly different season, there’s a lot of overseas players missing and some clubs might not be at full strength with it being a reduced season but we’re giving it everything and we think we can sneak into the play-offs perhaps and see how we go.”

The Hunts Post: Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason)Action from St Ives & Warboys' win over Wisbech Town (pic Dan Mason) (Image: Archant)