First XI Division One

Loughton cast aside Fives and Heronians in a 39-run victory.

Fives won the toss and elected to bowl which looked like a good decision when Jamie Porter (four for 48) took early wickets to reduce Loughton to 47 for four.

A late rally though from Hafiz Yawar Afzal (61), Bilal Butt (40) and Naeem Ullah Amin (26) saw Loughton post 220.

Fives started poorly in reply and despite some late contributions from Christopher White (38), Stuart Knapman (26) and Jack Jerrom (32), the visitors came up short.

Arslan Shahid (three for 45) and Mohammad ali Syed-Zaidi Jnr (three for nine) were Loughton’s pick of the bowlers.

Loughton host Harlow on Saturday, while Fives are at home to Ardleigh Green.

Ardleigh Green suffered a two-wicket defeat at the hands of Woodford Wells.

Batting first, Ardleigh posted 189 as Donovan Miller picked up three for 54. Rory Ellison (two for 15), Rehan Iqbal (two for seven) and Peter McDermott (two for 32) also bowled well.

In reply, Wells were off to a solid start as Andrew Baars (21) and William Rogers (26) batted sensibly. Ellison was caught two short of a half-century but the victory was sealed.

Wells are away to Wickford on Saturday.

First XI Division Three

Epping slumped to a six-wicket defeat against Benfleet at Woodside Park.

After winning the toss, Epping opted to bat first but this move did not pay off as they were dismissed for 147 in 35.5 overs. Nathan Onojaife hit 20 but they had to rely on Jacob Ellis down the order to score 57 as they struggled against their opponents.

Benfleet were never really under pressure as they reached the target in just 31.3 overs for the loss of four wickets. William Beavers finished with figures of three for 38.

Woodford Green suffered an 89-run defeat to Basildon & Pitsea.

After winning the toss, Green opted to bowl but they struggled in the field as Basildon scored a total of 225 for nine. David Hawkes fared best with three for 48, while Jack Cossey took three for 54 in a difficult innings for the bowlers.

In reply, Woodford Green struggled as they were dismissed for 136 in 41.1 overs. Anthony Palmer hit 30 and Cossey scored 22 but there was precious little joy for the rest of the side.

Old Parkonians lost to Harlow Town by 51 runs.

Shubhang Mehta (two for 28) and Dilan Patel (three for 48) were the pick of the bowlers together with Jibram Azam (three for 30).

Harlow ended on 188 for eight thanks to Parks conceding 35 extras.

The batting started reasonably well at 70 for two off the first 20 overs, with Jibran Azam (38) looking very fluid.

The lower order were left with what turned out to be too much to do, needing 69 off the last ten overs with three wickets in hand. Parks ended on a disappointing 137 all out in 44.4 overs.

West Essex crashed to an 89-run defeat to Pegasus & Corringham.

The side won the toss and elected to bowl first as they restricted Pegasus to 190 for six. Azhar Ali returned the best figures of one for 28 for West Essex.

Their response with the bat never really got going as they crumbled to 101 all out. Ali managed 27 and Asif Iqbal scored 22 but there were little else to cheer for the defeated side.