Wanstead and Snaresbrook Thirds fell to a surprise defeat at home to bottom-of-the-league Brentwood Thirds

Wanstead and Snaresbrook Thirds fell to a surprise defeat as they were beaten by one wicket at home to bottom-of-the-league Brentwood Thirds.

Batting first, Wanstead put on a below-par 201 all out and were always likely to be left trying to defend that position with the ball.

But they were unable to do that and Brentwood batted their way to 204 for nine to seal the points in dramatic fashion.

Buckhurst Hill Thirds found their path to victory blocked at home to a resolute Harlow Thirds, who held out to pinch a draw.

A stuttering start by Buckhurst Hill was soon forgotten as Ash Mohammed, at three, put on 42. Solusan Thiru contributed 28, whilst Qaiser Khan 21 also made a reasonable score before Daniel Isaacs (55) reached a half-century.

Harlow also made an underwhelming start with the bat, aided largely by the bowling of Joe Murphy, who took three for 39.

Mohammed built on his display with the bat by finishing with figures of two for 21 and Luke Martin also took two at a cost of 25. But Buckhurst Hill could not clinch the all-important wickets and Harlow clung on to finish on 170 for eight to draw.

Third XI Division One

Barney and Danny Mead made 160 between them but Wanstead and Snaresbrook Fourths were roundly beaten by six wickets at Chelmsford Fourths.

Wanstead won the toss and chose to bat first. And that decision appeared vindicated as Danny (70) and Barney (90) made a bright start at the crease.

Toqeer Ahmad chipped in with 48 at number three but after he fell there was not another contribution of note and Wanstead declared on 257 for nine.

An enormous 152 not out from Phil Arnold provided the backbone of the Chelmsford reply, the hosts making it to 259 with six wickets still in hand.

Samir Mohammed took four for six as Loughton Thirds eased to an eight-wicket success at home to ten-man Hornchurch Thirds.

The visitors made a bad start with the bat and never recovered as Mohammed (four for six) enjoyed great success with the ball, finishing with three maidens from his five-over spell to boot.

Only Edward Smith (30), batting at eight, had any success at the crease and Hornchurch were all out for 89 in 35.5 overs.

Vidhyarthi Kantumuchbu (26) and Pavan Chesetty (33 not out) steered Loughton to a comfortable win after just 9.4 overs, a score of 91 for two enough.

South Woodford Thirds remain squarely in the promotion hunt after a four-wicket win at Chingford Thirds.

Chingford opted to make first use of the wicket after winning the toss and after losing opener Mark Campbell for a duck, began to put runs on the board via Ameetab Ashok (40), Paul Warren (30) and Jack Bassett (32).

Alfie Madden (five for 46) and Jonty Burah (four for 56) were both on form with the ball, combining to remove the home side for 168.

But the South Woodford reply got off to an inauspicious start as Imran Abrahim (13) and Mehul Parmar (1) were dismissed cheaply.

Umar Mirza (two for 31) and Sourabh Datar (two for 34) fared best with the ball but could not prevent South Woodford from hitting 171 for six to secure 20 points.

Three XI Division Two

Fives and Heronians Thirds were humbled at home to Gidea Park and Romford Thirds, going down by nine wickets.

Fives, batting first, made 204 for eight in 52 overs before the away side breezed to 205 for one to seal the points with minimal fuss thanks to a stunning batting display.

Third XI Division Three

Mitul Bhatt scored a half-century as Woodford Green Thirds enjoyed a six-wicket triumph over Loughton Fourths.

Hosts Loughton never got going after being inserted and following 26 from opener Preitam Kharva, were indebted to knocks of 38 and 37 from Mohammed Ali and Dominic Newlyn respectively as they put up 190 all out.

And Woodford Green made light work of chasing that total down as Barry Leigh (41) and Bhatt (54 not out) top scored in a reply which lasted just 34.3 overs.

Matt Trim (24) and Anthony Stewart (26) also chipped in as Green reached the requisite 191 with six wickets in hand to seal the points with minimal fuss.

South Woodford Fourths were left frustrated as a resolute Wanstead and Snaresbrook Fifths put on a dogged display to hold out for a draw.

Batting first, hosts South Woodford started slowly, with Shraven Sheth (25) and Sulaman Hussain (5) uninspiring before being dismissed by Peter Apps (two for 48).

But knocks of 47 from Nabil Shah and Qasim Shah got the innings back on track before Hamza Umer (41) got in on the act too.

Brandon Lord finished with three for 46 and Haider Ali Syed Zaidi snared three for 56 as Wanstead removed their hosts for 250.

And after losing both openers cheaply, Wanstead were always up against it in reply. Jonathan Mudhoo top-scored with an unbeaten 53, whilst Andrew Osborn (29) and Sriram Pathmarajah (29) weighed in with reasonable contributions.

But despite the best efforts of Sulosami Simela (three for 21) and Rohit Sohal (three for 54), Wanstead dug their heels in to finish on 187 for eight and seal a scarcely-deserved draw.

West Essex Thirds got lucky as they held out for a draw at home to Hainault and Clayhall Fourths.

Openers Farzan Shabir (58) and Hamzah Wajid (43) put on the key knocks in a total of 198 for nine which left the hosts vulnerable.

However, tight bowling enabled West Essex to at least claim some of the spoils as they frustrated their visitors, who finished on 196 for five.

Fourth XI Premier Division

Buckhurst Hill Fourths were battered at Harlow Fourths, coming up 124 runs short.

Harlow won the toss and elected to bat first but despite an early breakthrough which saw them at one for one, they recovered and put up an imposing total of 262 for eight before declaring.

Joseph Oxlade (three for 22) returned the best figures for the away side, who were left attempting to hold out for a draw.

But they were unable to salvage anything for the contest – despite David Rofe’s 47 – and were removed for 138 after 35.3 overs.

Chingford Fourths came up comfortably short in their run chase at Brentwood Fourths, going down by 56 runs.

Batting first, Brentwood put up a reasonable total of 226 all out but Chingford never got close to matching that target and were skittled out for 170.

Fourth XI Division One

Wanstead and Snaresbrook Sixths had a century from Ibrahim Aziz to thank for their seven-wicket win over Fives and Heronians Fourths.

Fives’ Paul Davis opened with a ton from 123 balls, which included 13 fours, to get the away side off to the ideal start.

Contributions from further down the order were minimal but the damage had been done and Fives declared on 211 for nine, with Ahmed Saeed taking three for 45.

Fives had their own centurion in Aziz, who battered his way to 104 from just 104 balls.

His efforts were supplemented by those around him as Saeed Mukhtar (44) and Mohammed Tariq Mohiuddin (38 not out) inspired the home side to 212 for three.

Oakfield Parkonians Thirds enjoyed a tremendous 202-run thrashing of nine-man Benfleet Thirds.

Parks opened the batting and showed no mercy in posting a total of 293 for just two before declaring.

The Benfleet innings was soon over as they were cleared out for just 91.

Fourth XI Division Three

Pirratheesh Vigneswarathasan’s five-for ensured Oakfield Parkonians Fourths collected an eight-wicket victory over Hutton Fifths.

Visiting Hutton stood little chance against Vigneswarathasan (five for 25) and could only muster a total of 117 all out.

Parks then cantered to 118 for two, with Shahid Khan (60) leading the way.