COLCHESTER and East Essex will face an unpredictable force when they travel to play Ilford today, according to Ben Stephens.

The two sides, who both lie in the bottom three of the Shepherd Neame Essex League First XI premier division, meet in an important battle at Valentines Park, a former home of Essex first-class fixtures.

Ilford have three wins to their name this season – one more than Colchester – and lie 21 points above their visitors in the table.

It is a vital game for both sides, as they attempt to pull away from relegation danger.

Stephens, who claimed four wickets in Colchester’s draw with Upminster last weekend, admits Ilford are something of an unknown quantity.

He said: “Ilford are the kind of side who are a bit unpredictable, because you never really know who you’re going to come up against.

“Their overseas player has been playing IPL cricket but we don’t really know what sort of side we’ll face.

“Valentines Park, where Ilford play, has a difficult wicket and outfields.

“We’ll have to adapt our game accordingly to deal with that but we know what we have to do.”

Colchester’s form has improved over the last fortnight, following a disastrous run of eight successive defeats.

They followed up their win over Buckhurst Hill with a draw against Upminster, last weekend.

Colchester remain in danger of relegation but they now have key players available for the run-in, something that bowler Stephens believes will help them.

“Over the last two or three weeks, we’ve had a settled side and that’s been important,” said Stephens.

“We’ve managed to get a win and a draw in our last two games and a couple more wins will put us in with a shout.”