A brilliant century from Benjamin Wilcox proved in vain for Downham Stow as Sawston and Babraham coasted to an eight-wicket victory in the EAPL.
The league champions chased down 192 inside 32 overs with minimal fuss.
Put in to bat, Wilcox’s side never fully recovered from a shaky start against a disciplined Babraham attack.
Early wickets tumbled as James Vandepeer struck twice in his opening spell, removing Freddie Fairey for six and trapping William Denny leg-before-wicket for eight.
When Arthur Wilcox departed similarly for just one, the innings teetered at 30 for 3.
From that precarious position, Benjamin Wilcox launched a superb counterattack.
Mixing calm accumulation with crisp stroke play, the right-hander anchored the innings, compiling a classy 101 from 120 balls, decorated with nine fours and a towering six.
He found support from Patrick Yates, who dug in for 45 from 86 deliveries in a determined stand worth 123 for the fourth wicket.
Together, they dragged their side back into contention and raised hopes of a competitive total.
However, once Yates fell caught behind off Ethan Rice and Wilcox followed two overs later, the resistance crumbled.
Babraham’s bowlers, led by Rice (3–37), Vandepeer (3–40) and Jack Beaumont (3–28), tore through the lower order.
From a promising 153 for 3, the innings collapsed to 191 all out from the full 50 overs.
Only Brett Stolworthy’s late 10 offered token resistance, while three wickets were claimed in quick succession by Beaumont’s tidy medium pace.
Chasing 192, Babraham made light work of the reply.
Despite losing C J Guest cheaply to Arthur Wilcox with the score on 11, opener Jack Beaumont took command of the chase with a fluent unbeaten 79 from 89 deliveries.
His innings, peppered with 11 boundaries, ensured the run rate was never an issue.
Beaumont found a perfect partner in Nikhil Gorantla, who struck a sparkling 72 from just 65 balls.
Displaying aggressive intent, Gorantla dispatched seven fours and three sixes to seize the initiative.
By the time he was caught by George Cook off Jamie Cook with the total on 134, the match was effectively sealed.
Any faint hopes of a fightback were extinguished as Beaumont, now joined by BC Claydon (30 not out from 29 balls), steered Babraham home with 18.2 overs to spare.
Their unbroken stand of 58 underlined the gulf between the two sides on the day.
