Sudbury batsmen need to build on good starts

“We have to get better at getting in and making it count. Thirty or 40 runs isn’t going to win you a game.”

That was the verdict of club skipper Darren Batch after Sudbury slumped to a home defeat against Mildenhall at the weekend.

Sudbury, who surrendered top spot in the East Anglian Premier League to Mildenhall, have a chance to get back on track when they visit Cambridge Granta on Saturday (11am).

Sudbury have found runs hard to come by in their last three matches – 164 against Swardeston, 162 against Vauxhall Mallards and 161 last week.

“Batsmen don’t score every week, but it’s essential if they get into the 30s and 40s they build on that,” said Batch.

A collapse either side of lunch, with three wickets going down for two runs, put Sudbury on the back foot. “It gave us no momentum going into our bowling,” said Batch.

“We thought 161was defendable, but we dropped three catches early in their innings. Joe Reed was put down twice, and good batsmen will punish you for that.”

Batch believes it was a blip, and the team will be back to winning ways on Saturday against a team ninth in the table.

“But there are lots of good teams in the league, and we are taking nothing for granted,” he warned.

Billy Moulton-Day is out long term injured, but otherwise Sudbury have a full squad to select from.