Colchester and East Essex Cricket Club are gearing up for one of the most important weekends of their season.

Ben Stephens’ side will be looking to reinforce their lead at the top of Shepherd Neame Essex League division one when they travel to play bottom club Ardleigh Green tomorrow.

And the following day, they take part in Twenty20 Essex Finals Day at Hutton where they will be aiming to keep their chances of playing in the National Finals on track.

He said: “We need to focus on the next game and it’s a case of taking one match at a time.

“It’s about us enjoying our cricket.

“We have a group of players who get on very well both on and off the pitch and that’s important.

“It’s important that you try and have fun when you’re playing and that’s what we try and do.”

For more on this story and a full preview of all of the local cricket action this weekend, see Friday's Daily Gazette.