Onyx League Division One round-up: Foxton Granta, Burwell & Exning and Sawston & Babraham II among winning teams on opening day

Foxton Granta (205-6) made a winning start to new Onyx League Division One season with a four-wicket triumph at Cambridge St Giles (203-9) on Saturday.

Having won the toss and opted to bat first, St Giles skipper Sam Thain (3) was one of six home batsmen to finish with single-figure scores.

Zaheer Hussain top scored for the home team with a patient 61 from 97 deliveries, while Vansh Bajaj (34) and opener James Gillespie (30) made solid contributions.

Richard Kaufman was the pick of the Foxton Granta bowlers with figures of 2-24 alongside two wickets apiece for Alfie Piper (2-30) and Cameron Ryall (2-31).

Kaufman went on to score 38 runs at the top of the order during Foxton Granta’s reply, which also featured knocks of 33 and 22 from stand-in skipper Johnny Atkinson and Adam Webster respectively.

However, it was Ash Clark that made the biggest total with 49 runs, while there was a quickfire unbeaten knock of 20 from nine balls lower down the order courtesy of Jack Carnegie.

St Giles’ all-rounder Bajaj (4-40) did his best to stem the flow, but Foxton Granta completed the chase in two deliveries shy of 49 overs.

Foxton Granta will be away from home again on Saturday (26 April) – this time against an Old Leysians side that lost by 144 runs to Ramsey last weekend. St Giles, meanwhile, will host Eaton Socon.

Elsewhere, a century from Dylan Hardy helped Burwell & Exning (249-9) to beat Blunham (111).

Batting at number three, Hardy came to the crease early on after the dismissal of opener Simon Donald for a duck.

He scored a total of 108 runs from 125 deliveries – an innings that feature 11 fours and one maximum.

Support came from Nic Huckle with his knock of 36 runs, while both Frans Bester (27) and Tom Mangelsen (25) fell in the 20s.

Overseas addition Mangelsen (5-23) went on to show his quality with the ball in hand as he chalked up a five-for alongside Daniel Baigent’s 2-20 as the visitors were bowled out in less than 30 overs.

Burwell & Exning will now go in search of back-to-back victories at the start of 2025 when they play host to Upwood, who beat Saffron Walden last weekend, on Saturday (26 April).

Meanwhile, Sawston & Babraham II’s (206-0) opening pair got the job done in their 10-wicket victory over Wisbech Town (202-9).

Having been set a total of 203 for victory by their hosts, the combination of Yousuf Choudhary and Julius Jackson secured the victory with their wickets intact.

Choudhary was the aggressor with an unbeaten 125 runs from only 118 deliveries, while fellow opener Jackson (58 not out) scored a half century in support.

Dan Heath’s side will now aim to make the most of their home advantage on Saturday (26 April) when they welcome Saffron Walden to the Spicers Sports Ground.

Last season’s runners-up Histon (194) started the new campaign with a 54-run defeat on the road at Eaton Socon (248-9).

Fielding first, Tom Newman (3-37) and Jacob O’Sullivan (3-50) were the top-performing Histon bowlers in terms of wickets.

And O’Sullivan also produced the goods with the bat as he top scored with 87, but he was just one of four Histon batsmen to contribute a double-figure return.

Histon will aim to bounce back at the first time of asking on Saturday (26 April) when they travel to face Ramsey.