Third XI Premier Division

A five-wicket home win saw Wanstead and Snaresbrook Thirds beat Upminster Thirds to keep their slim title hopes alive.

Third with two games to go, Wanstead know they cannot afford to drop any points and made light work of their visitors, with Sahil Prabhakar taking six for 60 to remove the away side for 130.

A sluggish start with the bat saw the wickets of David Gibbs (4), Bilal Patel (7) and Josh Hutchings (3) fall early, before Adam Lord (62) came to the rescue, steering the hosts to 131 for five.

Buckhurst Hill Thirds pulled off a surprise 66-run win over league-leaders Chelmsford Thirds as Ali Azad claimed a five-for.

Making first use of the wicket, Hill opened well, with Aniket Patel (34), Ash Mohammed (60) and Joe Aylott (65) all putting on good scores.

The run rate slowed but the home side still reached a solid 209 for six.

Chelmsford belied their league position and never looked a threat, with Connor Cheverall (51) the exception in an innings which totalled 143.

Azad (five for 30) was assisted by Hossam Uddin (two for 14).

Woodford Wells Thirds enjoyed a three-wicket win at Brentwood Thirds, thanks to George Ellis’ six-wicket haul.

Batting first, Brentwood were never afforded the opportunity to get into a rhythm with the bat and stumbled to 104 all out.

Wells batted in a similarly disjointed manner but 38 from Chris Hamilton laid the foundation for victory, with Christian Hall (16) helping nudge the visitors to the required target of 105 for seven.

Omer Qureshi fell one short of his century as South Woodford Thirds lost by seven wickets at Shenfield Thirds.

The visitors opened well, with Larry Cant (45) adding to Qureshi’s knock of 99. However, those runs were accumulated slowly and the away side closed on 251 for six.

Shenfield were eased home by the partnership of Alex Saich (149) and Charlie Savill (46), who accounted for the majority of the South Woodford total.

Adam Overton took two wickets but they proved in vain as Shenfield finished on 254 for three.

Third XI Division One

Nine-man Chingford Thirds were thrashed by ten wickets at home to Southend-on-Sea EMT Fourths.

Electing to bat first, Chingford never got going and Chris Knightley (14) top-scored as the home side closed on 69 for eight.

Matt Ridgewell (three for eight) shone with the ball for Southend, before Baiju Solanki (48) and Conor Enderby (18) hit the winning runs.

Fives and Heronians Thirds were well beaten by Harlow Thirds following an underwhelming batting display.

Gurdeep Farma (44) and Abbas Mirza (14) were the only batsmen to hit double figures en route to a paltry total of 101, leaving Fives with plenty of work to be done with the ball.

The Harlow response was far more effective, with Gerry Linden (23) and Jack Sykes (28) leading the charge to 103 for five.

Adita Banerjee took three for 15 but Fives never looked like pulling off a win.

Wanstead and Snaresbrook Fourths swatted aside Upminster Fourths to win by nine wickets.

Having won the toss and opted to bat first, Upminster never got going at the crease and were dismissed for a paltry 92 as Raja Usman (two for six) and Barney Mead (two for 12) shone.

Forty-nine from Danny Mead and 30 from Adbul Gour guided Wanstead home with a total of 95 for one.

Third XI Division Two

Connor Sorrell returned figures of four for 17 to ease Loughton Thirds to a comprehensive eight-wicket win at Hadleigh and Thundersley Thirds.

Only two of the hosts’ batsmen reached double figures in a meagre total of 70, as Sorrell (four for 17) and Lewis Scott (three for ten) made light work of the home side’s line-up.

Naved Ali (46) and Niketh Shetty (13) then hit the runs which saw Loughton to the required 71 for the loss of just two wickets.

West Essex Thirds will almost certainly play Division Three cricket next season after a four-wicket home loss to Gidea Park and Romford Thirds.

The home side were bowled out for 200, with Hamzah Wajid (69) and Paul Griffiths (48) providing the backbone of the innings.

Gidea Park’s Richard Wall then smashed 96 in reply, including 13 fours and four sixes, enough to steer the visitors towards a winning total of 202 for six.

Rehan Shamim took four for 61 for West Essex.

Third XI Division Three

South Woodford Fourths were beaten by top-of-the-table Old Southendian and Southchurch Thirds by seven wickets.

Hosts South Woodford posted a competitive total of 224, which included three half-centuries, despite Dave Evans’ five for 77.

The visitors looked to be on their way to a disappointing reply before 71 not out from C. Punekar and 93 not out from Mo Hamza turned the match on its head, Southendian reaching 227 for three.

Fourth XI Premier Division

Nine-man Chingford Fourths were thrashed by Upminster Fifths by 122 after falling well short with the bat.

Upminster were well-restricted by the visitors, who saw Naveed Khan (five for 51) build a platform from which Chingford ought to have launched a successful run chase, removing the home side for 198.

A stubborn knock of 36 from Raja Farhan at the death was in vain as Chingford were all out for 76.

Buckhurst Hill Fourths ran out of time to beat Chelmsford Fifths, ultimately drawing after appearing on course for victory.

Barry Clayden was the star of the Chelmsford innings, hitting 20 fours in a knock of 125 as the home side posted 256 for five before declaring.

Seventy-six from Naomal Wijiesooriya had Buckhurst up-and-running and the runs continued to flow before time ran out with the visitors at 234 for six.

Fourth XI Division One

Fives and Heronians Fourths look destined for the drop after losing by seven wickets at home to Harlow Fourths.

Batting first, the home side could only muster a total of 100 all out, with Andre Byfield (29) leading the way.

Harlow’s reply was built around Rob Coldwell (23) and Callum Sykes (39), who led the visitors to 101 with seven wickets in hand.

Oakfield Parkonians Thirds beat Shenfield Fourths by 83, with Tapir Razaaq scoring a half-century.

Batting first, Parks reached 236 for six before removing their visitors for 153.

Fourth XI Division Two

 Epping Fourths beat Old Southendian and Southchurch Fourths by two wickets, with Sam Wilson taking four for 29.

Hosts Southendian never convinced and only Andrew Sanders (37) and Derek Climpson (32) made double figures as the home side made 125.

Visitors Epping made heavy work of reaching a winning total, eventually securing the points with 127 for eight.

Fourth XI Division Three

Oakfield Parkonians Fourths’ draw with Orsett Fifths leaves Parks needing a favour to win promotion.

Trailing Hornchurch in second by 28 points, fourth-place Parks know they must win their remaining games and hope the two sides above them lose both of theirs.

Choosing to bat first, Parks began steadily, with Teerath Dicoee hitting 55.

The runs slowed though, before a late flurry via Andrew Beaven (29), Abdul Usman (26) and Nav Kalley (24) boosted their total to 218 for nine before declaring.

Orsett scored slowly and Aidan Hudson’s 18 was the biggest score in a lowly total of 75 for five.