Foxton Granta aiming to build on impressive start to season after moving up to second in Onyx League Division One

Foxton Granta skipper Lewys Hill is pleased with the manner in which his side have gone about their business during the opening few weeks of the new season.

After their Onyx League Division One opener at Southill Park was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to wet weather, Hill’s charges have racked up six straight victories to sit second in the table.

And during that winning sequence Foxton Granta have shown an ability to win games in different ways – much to the delight of their captain.

Hill said: “Unfortunately we had that one game rained off right at the start but it’s been a good start and we couldn’t really have asked for much more.

“The most pleasing thing is that not every win has been straightforward. Some of those wins have been comfortable, but others we’ve had to find a way to get over the line.

“There has been some close finishes and we’ve had to show plenty of fight and grit when we’ve not had the best of the conditions.

“Winning when everything is in your favour is all well and good, but it’s the tough wins that show what a team is about.”

It is with the ball in hand where Foxton Granta have been particularly impressive so far this term.

Hill is the division’s third highest wicket taker with 17, while team-mate Sam Beer is joint fifth with 15 to his name. Wicket-keeper Ash Clark, meanwhile, leads the way in terms of dismissals with the gloves.

And Foxton Granta’s bowling strength came to the fore once again last weekend when they bowled out visiting Burwell & Exning for just 132 runs in what transpired to be a two-wicket triumph.

But while the bowlers are currently in the limelight, Hill is backing the batting unit to prove its worth in the weeks to come.

He added: “The bowling attack have been great but to be fair to the batters they’ve not had many opportunities to bat first.

“We’ve done a lot of chasing and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve not had lots of big scores.

“We’ve bowled a lot of teams out and as the scorecard from last weekend showed, it was another bowler-friendly pitch.

“That will probably change as the summer goes on. The focus will go more towards runs and I’m sure we’ll stand up to that challenge.”

The next three weekends are set to provide a true test of Foxton Granta’s credentials, with the home clash against Histon on Saturday (8 June) followed by a clash against sixth-placed Blunham and then a match up with table-topping Ramsey.

There will still be plenty of cricket to be played after those trio of fixtures, yet Hill has conceded that positive results will hold his team in good stead for the second half the season.

“They will be quite key momentum wise for the rest of the season but I also don’t think they will define anything,” he said.

“We’ve put ourselves in a strong position after a good start and if that continues in the next few weeks then obviously we’ll be really pleased with that.

“We’ll go into each game full of confidence and hopefully by the end of them we’ll have a good indication of where we are at.”

As well as the league, Foxton Granta will also be in Voneus Village Cup action this weekend when they host Barney & Fulmodeston in the Cambridgeshire & Norfolk Regional Final on Sunday (9 June).

Foxton Granta were semi-finalists in the national competition two years ago.