Liam and Ben bring derby delight despite Keymer's century for Ufford
Stamford Town toasted derby delight after beating near neighbours Ufford Park in Saturday's Cambs League Division Two showdown.
Town managed to defend their 264-5 from 50 overs as Ufford fell 26 runs short in their reply despite a cracking century from captain Ross Keymer.
The visitors had been put into bat by Ufford and lost a couple of early wickets with Andrew Hulme (12) being caught by Andy Larkin off Joe Harrington who then held onto a catch off Ibrahim Javed's bowling to dismiss Simon Lem for two.
When skipper Tom Williams was run out by Amir Munir for seven, Stamford were struggling on 68-3.
However, opener Liam Dave was still at the crease and he joined forces with Alex Birch (25) to take Town to 129-4 when the latter was caught by Harrington off Munir.
This brought Ben Peck to the fray and, together with Dave, they put on 53 for the fifth wicket until Dave was caught by Harrington off Ibrahim Javed for an excellent 93 which included seven fours and four sixes.
Peck then proceeded to take Town past the 200-run mark with Simon Prentice providing valuable support.
Peck plundered six fours and five sixes to finish unbeaten on 73 off just 41 balls while Prentice needed just 19 deliveries to make 39 which included six fours and a six as Town totalled 264-5 from their 50 overs.
Keymer and Munir got Ufford off to a stunning start in their reply as they shared a century opening partnership before the latter was bowled by Richard Field for 53 which included 10 fours and a six.
Keymer continued to hold the Ufford innings together but, while he moved closer to his century, wickets started to tumble around him.
Peck picked up Larkin and Tom Cooper cheaply while Birch removed Wahid Javed (16) and Tanvier Hussain to leave Ufford on 177-5.
The hosts then lost two more quick wickets to Peck and a Prentice run out, meaning they were 82 runs short of their target with just three wickets remaining.
Keyner and Matt Smith (20) kept Ufford in the hunt but, when the home captain was caught by Lem off Prentice for 123, Town had the vital breakthrough they needed.
Keymer's innings of 123 came off 131 balls and included 12 fours and four sixes, but his departure ended Ufford's hopes of victory.
Scott Chamberlain chipped in with the final two wickets to dismiss Ufford for 238 and seal successive wins for newly-promoted Stamford.
