Haverhill Cricket Club riding high in Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship Division Two after positive first half of season

While his side may sit second at the halfway point of the season, Haverhill captain Ben Wilkins is refusing to get carried away.

Life in Division Two of the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship this term has been a far cry from the struggles of recent campaigns.

In 2022, Haverhill finished down in seventh, while the last two campaigns has seen the team flirt dangerously with the relegation zone.

However, last weekend’s five-run win at Abberton & District was their seventh of the campaign, and they are now just one more victory away from doubling their return for the whole of 2024.

It leaves Wilkins’ side 20 points adrift of table-topping Mistley and leading the current battle for second place ahead of Bury St Edmunds II and Sudbury II, both of whom are two points adrift.

But despite all of the positivity, Wilkins has stressed that it still remains a ‘game by game’ philosophy at Manor Road.

“We’ve done really well so far and to be second at the halfway stage is a great achievement,” he said.

“I’m sure everyone looks at the table every Saturday night and checks how everyone is doing – that’s just natural. And it’s nice to see us at the right end of it for a change.

“It’s very close up there, but there’s no pressure and we’re still taking everything game by game.

“There’s still a lot of games left to play and we’re excited to see where we could end up.”

Wilkins will have to shuffle his pack for tomorrow’s trip to Felixstowe Corinthians (1pm).

Adam Dellar, Russell Davis, Will Bailey and Sam Hartshorn are all unavailable for the trip to the Suffolk coast, but the skipper has no qualms about calling up players from the second XI.

“We’ve reached that stage where people have holidays, weddings and things like that – you can’t begrudge players doing those things,” added Wilkins.

“We’ll dip into the seconds and when we’ve had to do that this season, those players have stepped up well.

“There’s been a drop off between the firsts and seconds in recent years, but that gap has closed with the depth that we’ve been able to add.

“We’re sending two strong teams out each weekend now.”

One player that will be looking to continue his positive form this weekend is Callum Lewis.

The bowler stood in as captain last weekend for the absent Wilkins and he dismissed two opposition batsmen, moving him joint top of the league’s wicket-taking chart with 19 for the season.

“He’s done superbly for us this year,” said Wilkins. “When we’ve needed a bowler to step up Callum has done it.

“He’s been vital at times and to have 19 wickets at halfway is a tremendous achievement.”