Well, the anticipated rain did come eventually but 3 of the 4 teams managed to get full games in. Only the 1XI succumbed to the weather and that may have been a blessing. The 2XI couldn’t quite hold off Walthamstow but the 3XI and 4XI both secured crucial wins.
The 1XI were put in by Westcliff and were thankful to Adam Knight for a hard fought fifty. Contributions from Tom Willats and Michael Edwards saw the team post a total of 153. In reply, Westcliff had made 105-3 before the heavens opened. No time-wasting tactics were deployed before the umpires made the decision to abandon the game.
In the 2XI, Jack Carter continued his welcome return scoring 35 in an opening partnership with Alex Ellis of 48. Good back up from Dave De Jong’s jug avoiding 47 and Michael Gray’s 27 saw the team post a reasonable total of 206-8. In reply Walthamstow had the better of the batting conditions and were able to win by 5 wickets. Jack Carter the pick of the bowlers with 3-53.
The 3XI had a comfortable win over Loughton taking the game by 149 runs. Posting 247-8 with good contributions from Freddie Hales (89), Jono Edwards (48*) and Matt Lewis (39), the total was always out of reach of the opposition. The home team were never in the chase and 3 wickets apiece for Freddie Hales and Chay Hedges saw the team take the big 20 points.
The 4XI also batted first making it 4/4 for our teams. Jack Cable top scored with 48, Geoff Lake (40) and George Church (34*) also played a part in an impressive total of 212-9 in the 40 overs. The bowlers then did a fine job in bowling Westcliff out for 150, catching the eye was Dan Copp with 4-21 and Shanmuganand Selveraj taking 3-14.
The fantasy league saw some great scores this week, with Manager of the Week, Michael Edwards scoring 807 points mainly due to having Freddie Hales as captain. Indeed, Freddie was the player of the week with 194. Top work fellas.
Some more jostling in the team standings as Kya Ladd ends Dan Copp’s 3-week reign at the top. There is then a gap to 2nd placed Michael Edwards of 166 points with last seasons runner up Harry Robinson sitting in 3rd place ready and waiting to pounce.
That’s the review done then, maybe a few names have caught your fancy for next week. I’ll be back Friday for the weekly preview; it may be late though as I’m on a scouting mission at cricket HQ during the day. I may have a change of format this week so stay tuned. Enjoy your week, until we meet again.