Cricket round-up (South Essex): Shepherd Neame League

LOUGHTON 259-6 dec

BILLERICAY 224-7

(Match drawn)

Loughton set Billericay a tough target when they visited Blunts Wall Road on Saturday.

Their 259-6 declaration meant Billericay were chasing five runs an over in order to get the win.

The home side made a reasonable start with a 41 partnership between Jon Walford and Richard Swile.

But Walford departed on 27 and left Swile having trouble finding a partner with any longevity.

The score was standing at 104-4 when Swile was run out for 48 at a crucial time.

Yet Damian Brandy came into steady the innings with s 68 not out knock, while Denny Pryke, batting at number nine, contributed and unbeaten 31 off 32 balls, 20 of his runs coming in boundaries.

"Damien batted superbly but we had our work cut out," explained club spokesman Gary Marshall.

"We were looking fo five runs an over for the whole innings which is difficult."

Loughton had earlier found themselves able to declare mainly thanks to Nick Carlier's 102.

He had come in after the visitors had put on 41 for their first wicket.

With the score on 82-3, Watson joined Carlier and they added 79 before the latter was run out.

The other batsmen chipped in until Loughton declared. Billericay's bowlers struggled to make an impression, although the pick of the bunch was Faizal Sharif with 2-44.

Billericay face current champions Fives & Heronians next Saturday.

Fives have had a poor start to their title defence but picked up an eight-wicket on Saturday against Wanstead.

Division One

'Strong' Horndon in control

HORNDON 182-8

COLCHESTER 119-8

(Match drawn)

Horndon picked up as useful nine points to Colchester's three as this game petered out into a draw.

The home side batted first and put on 182-8 off 52 overs, with contributions coming all the way down the order.

Captain Dave Stitson made 39, as did Graham Werry, with Julian Vereker adding 29 and Plom 30.

Kennedy did the most damage for Colchester, claiming 3-68.

In reply the visitors had made 119-8 at the close, with Kevin Price posting the greatest threat to their wickets with figures of 4-39.

"Colchester are a very strong side but we were also very strong and controlled it from the start," said club spokesman Julian Vereker.

"We should have made 200 but our bowling was good. They never really got going at all and we outplayed them."

He added that Horndon had now played the top three sides - Colchester, Woodford Wells and Brentwood - and went into the match behind them in fourth place.

"It bodes well for the season," Vereker added. "But there's a big difference between nine and 18 points and we should have won on Saturday."

Horndon face Wickford next Saturday and will be fielding a full strength side after missing a few players on Saturday.

Leigh bounce back to see off Orsett

ORSETT 216-6 dec

LEIGH 217-3

(Leigh won by seven wickets)

A strong batting performance from Leigh clinched victory after mixed fortunes in the field.

Having got rid of the opening three batsmen, Leigh found themselves up against Trevor Parrer, whose 88 not out knock provided the main Orsett resistance.

The home side then declared 216-6 after 50.2 overs but they had not counted on their visitors turning in a fine performance with the bat.

John Dios (33), Adam Goodman (41) combined to make and opening stand of 71 and Norman Puckering chipped in with a useful 58.

Then skipper Simon Burch had a 71 not out knock as Leigh passed their target for the loss of only three wickets.

"We have just had two wins back-to-back and it is good that we have not been beaten this season,"said a delighted Burch.

"Our bowling was pretty poor and our fielding was not that clever. We were lucky that Trevor came in at number four. If he had come in earlier we could have been chasing a lot more."

Burch is happy with the way the season is panning out after two wins and three draws.

"I am reasonably happy that we are holding our own. We had a good season last year and I think we have a better side this year than last year.

"If we can win a couple more people will start talking about promotion and that is good for morale."

Time is against Wickford

WICKFORD 162-9

CHINGFORD 123-8

(Match drawn)

Chingford took their time in bowling their 52 overs which meant Wickford only had a limited amount of time to attempt to bowl their hosts out.

Wickford made 162-9 and the mainstays of their innings were S Hammond's 39 and I Letch's 34.

With time slipping away the visitors contained Chingford at 123-8 from 34 overs.

The star of the Wickford attack was Quinten Friend, who took 4-15 in a nine-over spell which featured two maidens.

But the visitors' hopes of skittling their hosts out were not helped by some poor fielding.

Division Two

Old Boys suffer batting collapse

BUCKHURST HILL 167-8

OLD SOUTHENDIAN 151

(Buckhurst Hill won by 16 runs)

A batting collapse saw league leaders Old Southendian come a cropper against a Buckhurst Hill team lying second from bottom.

Things had started well enough when the Old Boys won the toss and put their visitors into bat.

A couple of early wickets saw the leaders on their way and good bowling kept Buckhurst Hill's runs down.

A Russell made 32, J Chipperfield 27 not out and A Dantes 26 as they reached 167-8 off 52 overs.

Ian Vaughan, 2-26 off ten overs, and Chris Sorrell, 2-24 from 11 overs, were the mainstays of the Old Southendian attack.

But things turned sour once the Old Boys took their turn at the crease.

James Blackman went for 15 with Alan Drake and Des Beckett also going cheaply as the home side teetered at 35-3 at one stage.

Chris Bunce (43) and Ian Vaughan (39) came together to steady the ship by putting on 90 for the fourth wicket.

But Old Southendians then crumbled again after that brief respite, with the last six wickets falling for only an additional 20-odd runs.

"It was not a very good performance really," said skipper Chris Bunce.

"We started well by getting a couple of quick wickets and we bowled and fielded well.

"We were hopeful going into bat but then we collapsed and were all out for 151."

The captain reckoned his opponents were a better side than their lowly position in the table suggested before the game, but came away from the game in an upbeat mood.

"We can't get too disappointed because we have had such a good start this year," he added.

"We are bound to have the odd game when we don't do so well during the season."

The Old Boys travel to Hutton next Saturday for a game Bunce says is always enjoyable because of the close links between the clubs.

"Hopefully we will get back to winning ways," he added.

Take that - Dave Slaughter bowls for Old Southendian in their match against Buckhurst Hill

Picture: MIKE BELLENIE

Pair set up victory

WEST ESSEX 186

WICKFORD III 187-7

(Wickford won by three wickets)

A fine fourth wicket partnership from C Baker and M Everitt set up Wickford's victory after their reply had seen three wickets fall for 51 runs.

Baker (40) and Everitt (51) took the total to 108 for the fourth wicket before the score was pushed to 160 and Everitt fell while needing only 16 runs to win. But Wickford eventually cruised home with three wickets in hand and eight overs to spare.

Earlier West Essex were 134-8 before a ninth wicket stand of 49 gave their innings a boost. But their final wicket fell three runs later

Division Three

Duo's brave stand can't save the day

EPPING 170

SOUTHEND 138

(Epping won by 32 runs)

A late batting rally by Ben Wathen and Dave Wilkins was not quite enough to save the day for Southend.

The seasiders went into the game at the top of Division Three with their visitors lying third from bottom.

Having bowled Epping out for 170 in 52 overs, the hosts knew a good performance with the bat would secure the win which would bolster their position.

But their reply faltered and at one point stood at 27-4 as the top four batsmen went cheaply.

Yet a rally between eighth and ninth pair Wathen and Wilkins gave Southend renewed hope as they put together a useful partnership.

Seasiders skipper Craig Porter admitted his side thought at one point that the duo might carry Southend to their target.

But Wathen eventually went for 36 and Wilkins for just two more before Southend were all out 33 runs short of victory.

"The win was more than obtainable,"added Porter.

"We were up for it but did not play when we were batting. We did well in the first half but not in the second."

Epping had earlier got their 170 total through the combined efforts of their opening eight batsmen, who spread the runs evenly between them. B Bickley top scored with 29 and John Lawnford (5-55) led the Southend attack.

Other results

WICKFORD IV 219-5

HORNDON IV 139

(Wickford won by 80 runs)

A convincing victory from Wickford's fourths saw them oust Horndon at the top of the table. The hosts made 219-5 from 50 overs thanks to a fine knock of 76 from Terry Jasper.

The innings was boosted by Colin Speller (55), Simon Fathers (33 not out) and Brian Vincent (32).

Jasper made sure of his man o the match title during Horndon's reply when he took 2-16 off three overs and also had two catches.

T Beane bowled nearly half the 49.3 overs against the visitors and cam away with 41-4 with eight maidens. D Windeatt added 2-16 from his six overs.

For more information about the Shepherd Neame Essex League, click here

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