MARCH suffered an agonising 18 run loss to title contenders Ramsey at The Avenue on Saturday.

Cambs Times: CRICKET: March v RamseyCRICKET: March v Ramsey (Image: Archant)

They bowled first and restricted Ramsey to 166 all out, with Steve Seymour taking 4-50 and James Harradine picking up 3-36.

In reply, March collapsed to 16-4 before Carl Chapman (55) and James Harradine (53) gave them a sniff of victory.

But March’s last four wickets fell for ten runs and they were dismissed for 148.

The defeat sees them slip to fifth in the Tucker Gardner league, 11 points behind Saturday’s opponents Godmanchester, who are fourth,

Captain Chris Ringham said: “It is disappointing to lose at home, especially to lose a game we could have won, but there were way more positives than last week.

“They were 90-2 and looking set for 200 but Harradine, Seymour and Tylers Phillips bowled well to restrict them to 166.

“Chapman and Harradine batted well to get us back into the game after finding ourselves 16-4 but we just fell short at the end.

“We conceded 30 extras compared to their 11, which was too many and the difference between the two sides.

“Another frustration was their last wicket partnership, which involved a 13 year-old, put on 16 runs.

“Those are the things you look back on when you lose by a small margin.”

March will be without Andy Wright, Josh Jackman, Matthew Vail and Chapman on Saturday, who are all on holiday.

But Ringham says this will give other players the chance to step up and show what they are capable of.

He said: “Their absence will give some youngsters the opportunity to play for the first team, which they will hopefully find a good experience.”

HIGH flying Cambridgeshire begin a three-day The Eastern Division Minor Counties League game against Bedfordshire at The Avenue on Sunday.

Play starts at 11am each day and admission is free.