Premier Division
Wanstead and Snaresbrook were at their scintillating best on Saturday as a huge 140 from Hassan Chowdhury guided them to a 140-run thrashing of Loughton.
Having won the toss, Wanstead elected to make first use of the batting track but could have been forgiven for thinking their luck was out when John Chambers (4) and Arfan Akram (15) were dismissed cheaply early.
But having found themselves ailing at 49 for three, Chowdhury came to the crease and put on a masterful 140 from just 111 deliveries – which included 11 fours and seven sixes – to lift his side to 329 for seven.
Kishen Velani (70) and skipper Joe Ellis-Grewal (46) also chipped in to steer the visitors to a monumental 396 for nine.
Zain Shahzad (two for 49) clinched the early wicket of Ubaid Ur Rehman Kiani (8), although opening partner Matthew Schubert (77) had better luck in the middle.
Kieran Scarlioli (45) made some inroads but Loughton were always chasing a draw at best and were ultimately removed for 256 to finish roundly beaten.
Ben MacGregor’s unbeaten 94 guided Chingford to a six-wicket home victory over Chelmsford.
Put into bat, the away side began well via Dan Hagen (74) and Jack Sterland (63) but fell away as Liam Lannen (four for 48) began to have some joy with the ball.
Chelmsford closed on 288 for nine, leaving Chingford with plenty of work to do. But the home side were impressive with the bat and made light work of chasing down that total.
Openers Alfie Taylor (46) and Jack Potticary (50) combined well before MacGregor (94 not out) got in on the act.
Daniel Lawrence managed to add 64 to the total at number five and Chingford secured the win by reaching 290 for four after 46.1 overs.
Max Shirt hit a crucial 84 to carry South Woodford to a 46-run success at Ilford.
Put into bat after losing the toss, South Woodford made a stuttering start and lost openers Dane Watson (5) and Ashley Leat (9) without making any real impression on the scoreboard, leaving the away team on 30 for three.
That all changed though, when Shirt – batting at four – came to the crease and made 84 from 103 deliveries. Richard Browne (28 not out) and Krishan Vadher (14 not out) then boosted South Woodford’s total to 223 for eight.
And the South Woodford pair then picked up the slack for their teammates with the ball as Ilford sought to chase down that total.
Vadher snared four for 34 and Browne claimed four for 40 to clear out the home side for 177.
Buckhurst Hill had the bowling form of Rob Petchey and Mohib Shah to thank for their six-wicket success over Colchester and East Essex.
Hosts Buckhurst Hill had Colchester at 14 for two at one stage after Petchey (four for 59) had twice struck to remove the wickets of Jack Hebron (8) and Harry Bush (0). Shah (three for 37) also chipped in with key dismissals in the middle order.
Daniel Platt picked up two wickets for 44 runs as the away side were eventually removed for 213 to leave Buckhurst Hill with an eminently achievable target.
Ian Russell (47) opened well in reply for Buckhurst Hull and a quick-fire 29 from Alexander Maskell was added to by Willem Scholtz (39) and Raymond Parkinson (52) as the home side reached 217 for four to secure the victory with 11 balls to spare.
Division Two
Gary Edwards hit an unbeaten ton in vain as Fives and Heronians were beaten by six wickets at Belhus.
Inserted, Fives had Edwards (116 not out) to thank for the bulk of their 267 total.
Fellow opener Terry Ballard made just 17 but Gary Norris (58) and Gamindu Kanishka (32) chipped in with decent knocks to help increased the visitors’ score.
Joe Joyce (143 not out) and Danny Joyce (98) then laid on the runs to seal the win for Belhus, who reached 270 for four from 46.4 overs.
Sarfaraz Ahmed (two for 38) and Jonny Kay (two for 43) returned the best figures with the ball for Fives.
Division Three
Second-placed Oakfield Parkonians remain well placed in the promotion hunt after beating bottom-of-the-league West Essex by three wickets.
Put into bat first, West Essex made an encouraging start through openers Mohammed Zahour (39) and Omar Afzal (62).
Further runs were laid on by Mubashir Javed (47) and Bilal Riaz (29) but from that point on the run-rate dropped and the visitors eventually closed on a strong 276 for nine.
Faisal Bhatti (78) and Glenn Sasikaren (28) had the Parks response off to a good start and their total was boosted by the scores of Paran Kalley (46) and Rana Muhammed Arslan (53 not out).
Zohair Jan took four for 49 but was unable to prevent Parks sealing the win with a total of 278 for seven.
Epping are perched precariously above the relegation zone after going down by 146 runs at Woodford Green.
The home side were put into bat and took full advantage by racing to a sizeable total of 307 all out from 48.1 overs.
Epping never threatened that tally and their hopes of a draw went up in smoke too when they were skittled out for 161 in 33.4 overs.
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