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29th April
Brentwood 1st XI - 252 for 2 dec.
Leigh-on-Sea 1st XI - 210 all out
Brentwood won by 42 runs
Shepherd Neame Essex League Cup 1st Round
Report by Richard Whitehall
Three wickets in one over from Captain Richard Whitehall eased Brentwood's fears and took them to victory over Leigh-On-Sea at The Old County Ground on Saturday in their first competitive game of the season.
With the wicket at the OCG looking magnificent it was a slight surprise when Neil Goodman won the toss for Leigh and decided to bowl. Brentwood opening pair Jonathan Walford and Ben Debenham continued where they had left off last week against Hutton quickly amassing a fifty partnership. Leigh opening bowlers Giles and Wallace bowled accurately but without menace. Walford played the more dominant role in the partnership and when the opening bowlers were rested he began to score boundaries with ease. He went to his half-century quickly and soon reached 65 before trying to hit Elliott for six over mid-wicket only to find that his middle stump was knocked back after he had failed to connect with the ball. Damian Brandy batted at number 3 and also looked in good form. Both Debenham and Brandy were able to keep the scoring rate high. Debenham received due reward for his superb batting and he too reached 50 before an expansive drive found him caught at cover having scored 60. New recruit Chris Sains batted at 4. The hard-hitting middle order batsman has joined Brentwood from Division 1 Hornchurch and if his innings on Saturday is any guide, Brentwood can expect fireworks whenever he is at the crease. He immediately took the attack to the bowlers and boundaries flowed. For a period of his innings Sains seemed only to deal in sixes, most notably one six off Wallace bounced off the pavilion roof! Sains scored 71 in only 52 balls as the Brentwood total raced passed 200 before finishing at 252 off their allotted 45 overs. Brandy was somewhat over-shadowed by his batting partner, but his innings of 46 not out was also scored at nearly a run-a-ball.
Whilst Brentwood realised they had batted well it was also clear that on such a good wicket Leigh would have a decent chance of chasing the total. Whitehall opened the bowling with himself and new boy Paul Degg. Neither bowled with fluency and Leigh were able to score a boundary an over. It was Degg who was able to make the breakthrough when Liston tried to play a straight ball through his favoured off-side only to find he was clean bowled. Walford then executed a good run out from the leg-side boundary to leave Leigh on 56-2 off 12 overs. This brought Dean Waller in to partner Clarke in what was to prove the crucial partnership for Leigh. Both batsmen made aggressive contributions hitting boundaries regularly. Their clean hitting was impressive as the Brentwood bowlers struggled to control the scoring rate. Joe Fryd, Brandy and spin duo Paul Sutherland and Ian Belchamber all felt the weight of Waller and Clarke's aggressive batting. With 20 overs to go Leigh needed 132 to win with 8 wickets in hand. Whitehall introduced Gulfraz Muwas an all-rounder who has joined Brentwood this season. However it was not to be a successful first over for Muwas as Waller took him for 17 runs off the over. With 15 overs to go Whitehall returned to the attack. He immediately broke the partnership when Clarke was caught at long-off by Fryd for 52. The very next ball Waller was trapped in front of his stumps leg before wicket having scored 86. With the penultimate ball of the over Goodman played on to his stumps, Leigh were now 5 wickets down and with hindsight their chase was over. Ian Belchamber then discovered his line and length taking the wickets of Elliott and Wallace, Sutherland removed Giles and when Muwas took the wickets of Elliott and Attwood, Leigh were all out for 210.
Brentwood will look back on the victory with satisfaction; however in elements of their bowling and fielding they know they must improve in time for the start of the Premier League in two weeks time.
Brentwood have been drawn to play either Epping or South Woodford in the Second Round of the League Cup. The two sides failed to fulfil their fixture on Saturday and who, if anybody, Brentwood will play in the next round is unclear. On Sunday local rivals Hutton visit the OCG in the first round of the Evening Standard Trophy.
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13th May
Brentwood 1st XI - 251 for 8 dec.
Hainault & Clayhall 1st XI - 147 for 8
Match Drawn
Report by Damian Brandy
If ever there was any question as to the value of being thrown in at the deep end then Brentwood cricket club's first game in the premier league would provide the basis for arguments in support of that opinion. The premier league's newcomers are due to face the full force of top level local cricket in the opening weeks of the season and began their campaign with a visit last years County Cup champions and Premiership brides' maids Hainault and Clayhall.
Brentwood captain Richard Whitehall lost the toss and was predictably asked to bat first on a wicket exposed to the previous evening's showers and in less than ideal batting conditions.
The familiar left-handed coalition of Walford and Debenham played watchfully against Hainault's slightly rusty opening bowlers for the best part of an hour. The pair put on 59 in 17 overs helped by 8 no-balls from the Clayhall seamers and one or two loose deliveries from the spinners.
Walford was first out. Attempting a clip through mid-wicket the slow damp surface held the ball up bringing about a leading edge that was spectacularly caught at mid-on by captain Shah for 29. No sooner had Walford made it back to the dressing room, Brandy soon followed having been adjudged stumped down the leg-side from his second ball, both wickets to the medium pace of Ahmed. At 59 for 2 it was the experience of Debenham upon which Brentwood were able to build an innings of substance. The dogged left-hander weathered the early storm but made hay while the sun shone later in the innings with some trade mark cuts and extra cover drives. He eventually fell 5 short of a well deserved hundred, bowled by off-spinner Shah for 95 to become one of 4 victims for the former Hampshire bowler, but not before posting partnerships of 52 for the 3rd wicket with new recruit Gul Muwas who scored 32 and 35 in 7 overs for the 7th wicket mainly thanks to 24 in 19 deliveries from Australian spin bowler Paul Sutherland. Brentwood's eventual total of 251 for 8 in 66 overs was a fine effort and meant Hainault would need to maintain very nearly 5 an over to overhaul it.
It made for an interesting battle. Brentwood needed to maintain discipline with the ball and in the field if they were to have a chance of victory in the knowledge that the Hainault upper order is among the strongest in the division. Brandy struck the first blow, trapping Shah lbw for 11 with the score on 27. The home side then lost their way. A smart stumping by Keeper Ben Cocklin whilst standing up to swing bowler Degg - Ismail having dragged his back leg out of the crease - triggered a mini collapse. 27-1 soon became 45-3, Rollins caught at mid-wicket of the bowling of Belchamber on the stroke of tea. The wickets continued to tumble after the break, Belchamber picked up 2 wickets in the over after tea leaving Hainault reeling at 47-5.
Zoheb Sharif was the man to thwart a victory challenge for the visitors. He used his feet to good effect against the spin of Belchamber and Sutherland and continued to look positive in the face of impending defeat. When Sharif fell for 65, with the score at 123-6, deceived by a beautifully flighted delivery from Sutherland that spun past the edge and the faultless Cocklin completing the stumping Hainault found themselves holding on for a draw in the closing overs. Brentwood battled hard for those final wickets, Belchamber and Sutherland combining well to grab a wicket more a piece but with time running out it became increasingly less likely they would get the two wickets needed to claim a well deserved victory.
Brentwood will take heart from this performance. They were the better on the day without being at full strength and should carry this confidence through into future encounters.
Brentwood welcome Wansted to the OCG next weekend.
Brentwood 10 points - Hainault 7 points
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3rd June
Brentwood 1st XI - 110 all out
Saffron Walden 1st XI - 111 for 7
Saffron Walden won by 7 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood's excellent start to the season came to a grinding halt when they were bowled out for only 110 runs and consequently well beaten by Premier League champions Saffron Walden on Saturday.
Brentwood made only one change from the side that had been selected for last week's abandoned game against Wickford. They gave a debut to 15 year-old South of England batsman Aaron West. The youngster found life difficult against the excellent opening attack of Ireland international Adrian McCoubrey and Devon Weekes. West was the first wicket to fall when McCoubrey removed his off stump with the youngster having scored one run and the score on 10. Ryan Sparrow replaced McCoubrey with Australian Steve George in the 11th over and the Antipodean quickly justified his captain's decision. George induced Damian Brandy into edging to a catch to first slip, found the edge of Gulfraz Muwas' bat to have him caught-behind by Price and then clean bowled Chris Sains. Brentwood were now deep in trouble at 30-4 before George struck once more when Jonathan Walford was adjudged lbw having scored 29. Richard Walford and Paul Sutherland set about rescuing the Brentwood innings. For a while both batsmen looked comfortable as the score passed the 70 mark. Sutherland's confidence at scoring some boundaries seemed that it might be his undoing when he presented 2 catchable chances, although fortunately for Brentwood the Walden fielders were unable to complete the dismissals. Both batsmen progressed into the 20s before falling victim to the left-arm wrist spin of Simon Parmenter. Walford was bowled by the 'wrong-un' for 23 before Sutherland tried to pull his quicker ball and was clean-bowled for 28. With Benjamin Cocklin dismissed by Sparrow, at lunch Brentwood had only scored 100 off 40 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. McCoubrey was recalled to the attack after the interval and six overs later removed Richard Whitehall and Paul Degg in consecutive balls to close Brentwood's innings for the paltry score of 110.
Whilst given the scores in the game it may seem that the wicket was a poor one, this was not the case. It had been used the previous Sunday and offered some seam and spin movement but was a wicket where many more runs should have been scored. Consequently Brentwood faced a very difficult task to get anything from the game. Whitehall opened the bowling with himself and Paul Degg and the captain made the first breakthrough when Tom Westly edged a catch behind to Cocklin having scored 9. Whitehall then introduced his two spinners Sutherland and Ian Belchamber. This was shown to be the correct move as wickets fell and Belchamber in particular gained a good response from the wicket. The left-arm spinner clean-bowled Sparrow, trapped George lbw and then dismissed both Anthony Brown and Joe Holland in identical fashion thanks to catches behind the wicket from Cocklin. At 50-5 what had seemed a cake walk for Walden was now an evenly balanced game. Ray Mordini batting at number 7 provided some much needed stability to Walden's chase with the only innings of substance in the game. Mordini found support from Jack Ford and, despite 2 wickets from Sutherland, combined with the wicket-keeper Tom Price to put on 30 runs for the eigth wicket to see the home side to victory. Mordini finished 40 not out.
Despite a highly creditable bowling and fielding display this was a poor result for Brentwood. They only batted 47 out of their maximum of 66 overs and that single failing meant they had little chance of gaining victory. That said the first six weeks of the season have been successful and they will look to return to winning ways when travelling to Ilford in the Premier League on Saturday and welcoming South Woodford to The Old County Ground for a League Cup game on Sunday.
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10th June
Ilford 1st XI - 193-9 dec.
Brentwood 1st XI - 194 for 8
Brentwood won by 2 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood returned to form on Saturday and registered their first Premier League victory thanks to an unbeaten 74 from Chris Sains and some superb spin bowling from Paul Sutherland and Ian Belchamber.
Ilford won the toss and surprisingly decided to bat first. Initially this looked an excellent decision as Freddie Butt set about the Brentwood opening bowlers with gay abandon. Richard Whitehall bore the full force of his attack and after only 5 overs Ilford had scored 42 runs. Joe Fryd who had been recalled to the side was bowling with more control at the other end and combined with the introduction of Sutherland's off-spin the two began to slow down the home-side's batsmen. Butt seemed to be frustrated by this and took a wild swipe at a Sutherland off-break only to find himself well stumped by keeper Benjamin Cocklin having scored 46. Brentwood proceeded to deny Ilford many scoring chances. Brandy replaced Fryd and Belchamber took over from Sutherland and both continued the good work. Kandola was caught by Phil Ayres at first slip off Belchamber, although the way the ball bounced extravagantly alerted Brentwood that any run chance would not be easy. The turgid Dar was next out when involved in a run out mix-up with his captain Muneeb Diwan. With 10 overs to go until lunch Ilford seemed to decide the time was right to gamble on some attacking strokes. They found the Brentwood bowlers alive to the challenge as Belchamber accounted for Diwan and Whiting and Sutherland took the wicket of Syeed to leave Ilford 116-6 off 40 overs. Brentwood found Karn Sohal and number 8 Lall a difficult proposition after lunch and the two youngsters batted very sensibly to consolidate the home side's innings. It took 10 overs to make the breakthrough only to find Roy continued the good work and the tailenders Ali and Tavarasa added 15 runs in the final overs slog. Eventually the Ilford innings was closed on 193-9 off 66 overs. Belchamber finished with figures of 4-55 and Sutherland 3-46.
The Brentwood reply got off to an excellent start as Jonathan Walford took advantage of some loose bowling from Ali and Roy to hit a flurry of boundaries. Walford seemed in imperious form and capable of hitting even good balls to the boundary. The score moved quickly passed 50 as the opening batsman brought up his own half-century. The Ilford wicket however had not changed in nature and when Sohal got a ball to lift and move away from Walford, the batsman moved out of his crease and was well stumped by Butt. Phil Ayres on his 1st XI debut joined Ben Debenham at the crease but neither player looked comfortable on the surface. Ayres was bowled by Sohal before Debenham was caught by Whiting off the off-spinner Tavarasa, to leave the Brentwood reply teetering at 75-3. Damian Brandy hit a quick fire 24 before being caught and bowled by Ali and Muwas was out lbw to the same bowler. Sains was batting with confidence at the other end but the worry for Brentwood was that he would lack sufficient support. However the lower middle order of Sutherland, Cocklin and Whitehall hung around to help Sains although the run scoring was left to the senior partner. Sains hit a number of boundaries early in the innings to spread out the Ilford field and then milked the bowling for 1s and 2s to take Brentwood towards victory. When Whitehall was clean bowled by Ali, Brentwood still remained 20 runs short and had only 2 wickets in hand. Ian Belchamber batted stoically and Sains continued to hit the balls into the many gaps in the field and Brentwood reached their target with 4 overs to spare.
Brentwood well deserved this victory having gone close in both of their previous games. They will hope to build on this in the upcoming games as they aim to move up the Premier League table, staring with a home game against South Woodford on Saturday.
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17th June
South Woodford 1st XI - 228 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 230 for 6
Brentwood won by 4 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
A majestic 94 from Jonathan Walford and a nerveless 44 not out from Benjamin Cocklin saw Brentwood to their second successive victory and 3rd position in the Essex Premier League.
Following last Sunday's defeat to South Woodford in the League Cup Brentwood entered Saturday's game at the Old County Ground thirsty for revenge. The toss augured well when Captain Richard Whitehall won the toss and elected to bowl on an excellent wicket. For the first time this season the Brentwood opening attack bowled accurately from the first ball of the day. This tight bowling put enormous pressure on Riz Akram and Kevin Smith opening the batting for South Woodford. After 12 overs the visitors had only scored 26 runs. Damian Brandy and Ian Belchamber took over the bowling from Whitehall and Joe Fryd and neither batsman allowed the Woodford batsmen off the leash although a breakthrough was not forthcoming. Only when Paul Sutherland was brought into the attack did wickets start to fall. The batsmen felt under pressure to take risks and Akram was trapped lbw before Whitehall caught Smith both from the Australians bowling. With spinners Belchamber and Sutherland bowling in tandem South Woodford found runs difficult to come by and at lunch after 43 overs the score was 128-3. Damian Brandy removed Mo Akhtar in the first over after lunch thanks to an excellent catch by Phil Ayres at first slip. Whilst all of South Woodford's top 6 batsmen made a good start to their innings none were able to score a fifty and as such they never looked like reaching an imposing total. Whitehall cam back into the attack as Woodford tried valiantly to push towards 250, but he clean bowled both Qureshi and Sarwar. Belchamber accounted for Akbar and Sutherland picked up 2 other wickets. When Shazand pranced down the wicket to Belchamber in the penultimate over only to be stumped by Cocklin South Woodford were all out for 228.
Brentwood set about the chase with aggression. Jon Walford was timing the ball superbly and both opening bowlers Akbar and Sarwar felt the force of his strokes. With Ben Debenham playing a more watchful role at the other end the score quickly moved towards 50. Woodford were forced to move to spin very early when leg-spinner Akhtar was introduced into the attack. Debenham was bowled by following exaggerated turn from Akhtar. The leg-spinner began to slow down Walford and Ayres who was batting at number 3 also found it difficult to score runs. Although Walford was moving ever closer to a hundred he was being shepherded from the strike by Woodford and this meant that the required run-rate rose towards 5 an over. The introduction of the medium pace of Harry Shirt turned the game in the visitors favour. He had Walford and Sains caught behind in his successive overs. Walford had fallen 6 short of a hundred. Shirt then removed Sutherland for 4 to leave Brentwood 5 wickets down and requiring 110 off the last 20 overs. Damian Brandy was now batting with Cocklin and the two took back the initiative by taking singles and running well between the wickets to score easily at over 5 an over. The game took another twist when having scored 41 and with only 8 overs left Brandy tried to slog-sweep Akhtar and was caught off the top-edge by Shazand. Muwas batting lower than normal due to illness joined Cocklin who took on the role as senior partner. He placed the ball with immense skill and hit away the bad ball to the boundary. Brentwood needed only 5 off the last over and when Cocklin cut Akbar to the boundary with 4 balls left the game was won.
With 3 games left in the first-half of the season Brentwood will be looking to continue this good form against Ardleigh Green, Loughton and firstly Gidea Park who are the visitors to the OCG next Saturday.
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24th June
Brentwood 1st XI - 296-4 dec.
Gidea Park & Romford 1st XI - 171-7
Match Drawn
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood produced another excellent team performance on Saturday but were denied victory as Gidea Park & Romford batted out for a draw.
Captain Richard Whitehall continued his poor record at the toss and Brentwood were put in to bat first by the visiting captain Russell Collard. Jonathan Walford looked to be in the same superb form as last Saturday as he set about the Gidea Park opening bowlers. Sammons and Filmater found bowling to the left-hander to be a difficult task on an excellent wicket and boundaries flowed on both sides of the wicket. Collard was forced to bowl himself earlier than he may have liked and in the 13th over he made the breakthrough when Ben Debenham was caught by Andy Churchill at first slip. Walford seemed unperturbed by this and he soon reached his half-century. Over confidence may have cost Walford his wicket when he tried to hit Churchill's left-arm spin through the leg-side only to find himself bowled for 55. With 2 relatively new batsmen at the crease in the shape of Phil Ayres and Damian Brandy the visitors began to regain some control and the run-rate fell below 4 an over. Once the new batsmen had played themselves in the boundaries soon began to flow again and a large total seemed likely. Both Churchill and fellow spinner Goldstone found it difficult to stem the runs as lunch approached and Gidea Park were forced to turn to the occasional leg-spin of Chris Swainland. At the interval Brentwood had scored 179-2 off 41 overs. On resumption both batsmen achieved half-centuries and seemed to be honing in on three figure scores. Brandy looked effortless and back in form after a slow start to the season whilst Ayres was determined to post a large score against his former club. The bowling improved in the afternoon session and the pair found it more difficult to score, although Gidea Park couldn't stop the score going passed 250 and giving full batting points to Brentwood. Brandy was eventually dismissed by Sammons for 93 before Ayres fell to the same bowler for 89 and when Chris Sains hit a quick-fire 18, Brentwood declared on 296, 2 overs short of their full complement of overs.
With the visitors required to score at 5.3 an over Brentwood knew they could attack with some confidence, although they were also aware that scores in excess of 300 had been chased in the Premier League already this season. Whitehall opened the bowling himself and was partnered by Joe Fryd. The two seamers bowled accurately and it was clear that Gidea Park were intent on not taking any risks and looked to have decided the target was out of their reach. Fryd removed Klyber with an excellent delivery that nipped back and clipped the top of the bails to give Brentwood a superb start. Whitehall obviously felt that spin was his most potent weapon and quickly turned to Paul Sutherland and Ian Belchamber. Whilst the two bowled well and neither Swainland nor Churchill looked comfortable another wicket didn't come before tea to leave the score on 43-1 off 18 overs. Brentwood needed 9 wickets off a minimum of 38 overs in the evening session to force victory. Belchamber gave them hope when Swainland was stumped by James Reilly, before the introduction of Brandy accounted for Churchill. Greg Churchill and New Zealander Allen then held up the home-sides push for victory for over 16 overs, before Sutherland struck twice clean-bowling Churchill and catching Allen off his own bowling. In the most strange and interesting passage of play of the innings Rudi Filmater now seemed to decide the visitors should attack for victory. A most bizarre decision given the stonewall batting that had preceded him. He was initially successful hitting Sutherland for a number of boundaries before he was well caught by Chris Sains off the bowling of Belchamber for 42. With 2 overs to go Brandy returned to take the wicket of Toogood but Collard and Goldstone saw their side to safety and a total of 171-7 off 60 overs.
Having played 6 games in the Premier League, Brentwood must be confident of their ability to compete at this level. Apart from a poor batting display against Saffron Walden they have outplayed the opposition in every other innings, However they lie 4th in the table because they have not managed to turn enough of the good performances in to victories. On Saturday they travel to local rivals Ardleigh Green with whom they have had many tight and competitive games with over the last 3 years.
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1st July
Brentwood 1st XI - 214-9 dec.
Ardleigh Green 1st XI - 215-7
Ardleigh Green won by 3 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood paid the price for a poor all-round display when being well beaten by local rivals Ardleigh Green on Saturday at Central Park.
For the 5th time in 6 games Richard Whitehall lost the toss and Green skipper Roy Smith decided to bowl first. Brentwood got off to a solid start with a fifty partnership as they have done in most games this season. Once more it was Jonathan Walford who led the way, ably supported by his partner Ben Debenham. The Brentwood openers saw off the opening attack of Hopper and Wyatt, but when medium-pacer Krishnan was brought in to the attack the visitor's problems began. He induced Walford to edge-behind to Liam Fearns and with his very next ball trapped Phil Ayres lbw. Debenham and Damian Brandy set about trying to rebuild the innings, but the former was Krishnan's third victim when hitting a cover drive in to the hands of Chris Cooke having scored 17. A brief flurry of shots from Chris Sains took Brentwood towards 100 before he holed out to Horne on the mid-on boundary off Clarke and then Brandy missed a straight ball from Horne himself. Paul Sutherland was out quickly when he played-on to a ball from Jayasuria to leave Brentwood in deep trouble on 111-6 off only 36 overs. Whitehall joined Gulfraz Muwas and the pair batted stoically with the aim of using the 30 overs which were at their disposal. The two looked in little trouble as the home side were forced to rotate their bowlers to look for a breakthrough. The solidity provided Brentwood with a platform to push for a respectable score until Whitehall was given out lbw having scored 37 following the return of Hopper to the attack. The score stood on 172-7 but still over 16 overs remained. Ian Belchamber supported Muwas well until the number 6 tried to hit Horne out of the ground only to be caught by Clarke at long-on having scored 37. Joe Fryd soon followed when he was clean bowled, but sensible batting from Belchamber and James Reilly took Brentwood to a 3rd batting point and a declaration on 214.
Whilst Brentwood were happy to have reached respectability they were also aware that this was a low target for Green even given that the pitch was unpredictable in nature. The bowlers got off to the perfect start as first Whitehall induced Jayasuria into top-edging a catch off the 2nd ball of the innings and the Joe Fryd produced a superb delivery that nipped back off the seam and bowled Cooke to leave Green on 1-2. This brought Smith to the crease for what proved to be the crucial innings of the game. He showed little sign of nerves as along with his partner Ian Russell they played watchfully until the tea interval. The two then began to bat with more flair despite off-spinner Sutherland extracting prodigious turn and bounce from the wicket. Russell paid the price for this aggression when he was bowled by Sutherland trying to sweep against the spin. Fearns soon followed when mis-reading Damian Brandy's slower ball and being trapped lbw in front of middle stump. With new batsman Rob Glassberg having to join Smith Brentwood eyed a victory. A crucial moment of the match soon followed when left-arm spinner Ian Belchamber dropped a return catch off Smith and in the process broke a bone in his hand and was unable to bowl again in the match. With Brentwood down to one spinner the two Green batsmen took charge, mixed solid defence with some more risky attacking shots and moved swiftly towards their target. Brentwood were unable to respond as their fielding became sloppy. Although a wicket always seemed likely the partnership continued until only 45 was required off 12 overs. Smith then took one risk too many and was caught by Fryd at deep-mid wicket having scored 82. Aussie Chris Hopper took up the attack where his captain had left off, most notably hitting a huge slogged six off his compatriot Sutherland. The victory target was in sight when Green's nerves almost gave way. Fryd returned to bowl Glassberg for 58 and then Brandy had Hopper caught at slip for 19, although Krishnan and Wyatt saw the home-side to victory with 5 overs to spare.
This was a disappointing performance from Brentwood. Their top order batsmen had performed well below expectations and in the field the team were lackadaisical. They remain in 4th place, but many of the sides below them are now much closer. They face bottom of the league Loughton on Saturday in the last game of the first half of the season.
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8th July
Brentwood 1st XI - 283-5 dec.
Loughton 1st XI - 274-9
Match Drawn
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
A magnificent 130 from Jonathan Walford and a masterful 5 wickets from Australian Paul Sutherland weren't enough to secure Brentwood victory on Saturday as their clash with bottom of the table Loughton ended in a draw.
Captain Richard Whitehall maintained his reputation as the most inept tosser in the Essex Premier League when losing the call for the 6th time in 7th matches and it was left to home team skipper Colin Greenhill to put Brentwood in to bat first. It was clear from the first over that the wicket was lifeless with little bounce and Brentwood would have their work cut out to secure the victory they desired. Walford and Ben Debenham accumulated another fifty partnership quickly as neither seemed troubled by Harris Afridi or Stuart Greenhill. Both seamers were bowling accurately and the Brentwood opening pair had to work hard for their runs. Loughton predictably, given the lack of pace in the wicket, turned to spin early in the match. Both Brentwood batsmen coped well with the change of pace, but it was Walford who was the more dominant of the two and midway through the session he brought up his half-century. With Debenham on 37 an excellent piece of fielding from Afridi ran out the Brentwood opener and made the first breakthrough for Loughton. A swift cameo from Phil Ayres followed before he was caught at cover by Nick Carlier off the bowling of Jan to leave Brentwood 144-2 off 43 overs at the luncheon interval. Walford picked up where he left off straight after the resumption and moved serenely towards three figures. Damian Brandy offered support until he was caught on the long-on boundary by Afridi off the bowling of slow left-armer Terry Laird. Walford was not to be denied and when an exquisite straight drive went to the boundary his century was reached. Eventually he was clean bowled by Afridi for 130 off 201 balls. A late flurry from Gulfraz Muwas and Paul Sutherland saw Brentwood passed maximum batting points and onto an eventual declaration at 283-5 off 66 overs.
Brentwood's attempt to bowl out Loughton and secure maximum points got off to an excellent start when Richard Whitehall drew an edge from the bat of Colin Greenhill and Brandy completed the catch at second slip. Afridi joined Carlier and the two put together a useful partnership until, in the last over before tea, Paul Sutherland got an off-spinner to grip and bounce of the pitch to hit Carlier's glove where upon Whitehall took the catch at forward short-leg. This meant that as the evening session started Brentwood looked the favourite of the two teams to secure victory. Afridi and Jan were intent on chasing the target and attacked both Sutherland and fellow off-spinner Tim Barbone, until Jan hit in the air once too often and was well caught by Brandy at mid-wicket off Barbone. Sutherland then accounted for Abeysinghege and Shah quickly to leave Brentwood seemingly in control. Afridi had other ideas and along with Rob Wilden continued to score boundaries and keep the target within their sights. He had scored 71 when Barbone took a superb catch at mid-wicket off Sutherland to dismiss him. Once more the pendulum had swung Brentwood's way, but again Loughton fought back as Wilden and Ahmed hit successfully towards the short straight boundary. So well did the two bat that with 8 overs to go it was now the home-side who looked most likely to win. Sutherland struck once again this time having Ahmed stumped down the leg-side by James Reilly and then Whitehall dismissed Wilden who was caught by Muwas at long-on for 58. With two overs to go Loughton needed only 16 but had only 2 wickets left. In the penultimate over Stuart Greenhill offered a return catch to Whitehall who dropped the easy chance but then picked up the ball and dived back to the stumps at the bowlers end to run out Drew who had advance down the wicket looking to steal a run. Loughton's last pair were left requiring 12 off the last over. They were kept to only singles by Sutherland, until with 3 balls to go Greenhill skied towards cover, but Brentwood's fielders were too deep and the ball landed safe. Laird saw out the last 2 balls and the match was drawn.
Brentwood were disappointed not to have been able to force victory in the game, yet were pleased at an excellent all-round performance which was a big step up on the previous week. At the halfway stage in the season they lie in mid-table in the division and will look to push for more victories in the return fixtures.
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15th July
Hainault & Clayhall 1st XI - 259-9 dec.
Brentwood 1st XI - 260-3
Brentwood won by 7 wickets
Report by Damian Brandy
A second magnificent hundred in as many games from Jonathon Walford saw Brentwood cruise home by 7 wickets against premier league leaders Hainault and Clayhall at the Old County Ground.
Brentwood put the disappointment of the previous two weeks performances behind them to notch their third win of the season and revive their hopes of a top of the table finish.
Captain Whitehall overcame his bad form at the toss and inserted the visitors on a sun-baked Old County Ground wicket. Fryd struck the first blow when Ahmed edged a leg-cutter to wicket-keeper Cocklin, on his return from injury, in the second over. Captain Shah and number three Ismail then began to restore momentum to the Hainault innings though Brentwood's discipline with both the ball and in the field made the going tough for the batting side. Their partnership of 64 in 15 overs was broken when Brandy, who had been plundered for an enormous straight six and a clipped four the previous two balls, delivered a beauty to Shah who edged for 38, Cocklin once again doing the honours.
Brentwood then tightened their grip. Sharif went leg before, attempting a paddle sweep to Sutherland for 16, Ismail lost patience and was caught at extra cover for 48 and when McEwan was caught at bat-pad for 0 the visitors had lost 3 wickets in 5 overs without a run being scored, and, albeit with a little help from nelson (all three wickets having fallen on 111) Brentwood found themselves in a strong position at lunch.
Evans and Patel then set about adding some respectability to the score, their partnership of 61 in little over an hour was built mainly on good alertness between the wickets and the odd well-calculated boundary. The partnership was broken when Patel mistimed a pull shot and was caught by Debenham at mid-off off the returning Brandy. They had however provided a platform that allowed the lower order - who all scored at a run a ball or better - to propel the score from 172 for 6 to 259 for 9 in the space of 14 overs. Brandy finishing with four for 89 and Fryd two for 53. A score Shah and his team would have settled for at 111 for 5 though the sun-baked out-field and flat wicket suggested more runs should have been scored.
Walford, it seems, felt likewise. He and Debenham set about the Hainault score with relish. Their early pace was maintained after Debenham fell, caught behind for 15. The key to any run chase is the ability of a top order batsman to bat through to the end and in Walford, Brentwood had their man. His 119 made from 134 balls included 18 crunching fours and was punctuated beautifully by singles and deftly struck two's. It was Walford's second hundred in as many games for the Shenfield Road club and confirmed his status as one of the leading batsman of this division. Walford duly found allies in his quest glory, Ayres struck the ball as crisply as any but confidence got the better of him when he swatted a Ali bouncer straight to the deep backwards square fielder but not before he and Walford had plundered the Hainault attack for 90 in 16 overs, Ayres' contribution 40.
Clayhall however are not top of the premier league without good reason and at 130 for 2, only half way home, the game lay delicately poised. Brandy began uneasily, he survived a thunderous leg before appeal from Sharif and played and missed countless times against the spinners early in his innings. Indeed for a period Brentwood seemed not to know where their next run was to come from, 20 runs scored from overs 38 to 43 inclusive. Brandy though showed resilience and partnered Walford bravely. When Walford departed with an uncharacteristically tentative nudge to a wide one from Shillingford for 119 the game was all but won. Brandy saw it through, eventually finishing unbeaten on 60 to wrap up the 7 wicket win with 8 overs to spare.
Brentwood now have the somewhat confusing record of having beaten the top side and lost to the bottom. Whitehall will hope his team can find some middle ground as their season promises much. Their third place placing at the half way stage is testimony to that.
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22nd July
Brentwood 1st XI - 80-8 dec.
Wanstead 1st XI - 58 all out
Brentwood won by 22 runs
Report by Damian Brandy
Brentwood continued their roller coaster season when they snatched victory form the jaws of defeat away to Wanstead this weekend. The Shenfield Road giant killers could be accused of nothing if determination when their never-say-die attitude triumphed in a low scoring encounter against one of the divisions more fancied sides.
Whitehall, on this occasion, may thank his lucky stars the toss went against him again. It is customary, having won the toss, to insert the opposition and therefore to a large extent look to control the game. Wanstead however had suffered over-night vandalism to their prepared wicket rendering it unfit for play. The result being a well-used pitch would replace it, in that lie Whitehall's retribution.
Walford's recent run glut was interrupted by a delivery that bounced and left him from Chambers in the first over and he was caught for two. In the overs that followed it became apparent runs were going to be at a premium on this pitch. Debenham and Ayres' partnership of six was scored in seven overs, broken when another lifter this time accounted for Debenham, dismissed in identical fashion to his opening partner, and when Brandy and Sains where both out in the same over - though both could count themselves a little unlucky, Brandy having been bowled by a ball that ricochet off his thigh pad only to dribble down onto his leg stump, and Sains given out to a somewhat questionable caught behind - Brentwood were in disarray at 20 for 4.
It was Ayers who adjusted best. He defended watchfully but seldom missed an opportunity to score, though he may have been forgiven for doing so on such a wretched surface, and slowly brought about order to the proceedings. When he fell, knocking across one that clipped his off-stump to Baldwin in his first over Ayres had added 38 out of a team total of 47 in the 27th over. 47, incidentally, was where the total was to remain for the next 9 overs Morgan and Muwas finding the going tough. Muwas though eventually broke free scoring what could loosely be described as 'with freedom' towards the later half of his innings and when he was the 8th man out having ground out 26 from 96 deliveries with the team score on 80 on the stroke of lunch the visitors had more or less given up hope of posting what they would have considered a competitive total.
Brentwood though are a team high on confidence and spirit. It was clear they were not a team about to be beaten without throwing a few punches of their own.
Wanstead appeared eager to wrap things up in double time, the demons in the pitch playing on their minds but their start was not what the doctor ordered. The experienced Chambers was smartly caught at second slip in the second over to the slippery Fryd. A wicket also looked likely to fall at any point at the other end, captain Akram throwing the bat with abandon at anything in his half. His streaky 22 came to an end when he flicked Sutherlands first ball to Morgan at mid-wicket, it was at this point there was a realisation from both teams there could be a real fight on. Wanstead though had no answer to Brentwood's accuracy and pressure. With such a low score to overhaul it would only need one man to grab the game by the horns for half a dozen overs and they would be home. But that man never came and Brandy and Sutherland who shared eight wickets for 36 runs in 20 match winning overs took full advantage of the bowler friendly conditions. When Whitehall wrapped things up, clean bowling Baldwin the number ten who in fact, showed more resilience than most of his team mates had done before him, Brentwood had sealed victory by the relatively comfortable margin of 22 runs. Sutherland finishing with four for 17 and Brandy four for 19.
We wait with bated breath to see which Brentwood step out at Wickford next weekend. On the evidence of the previous two weeks they should be too strong for the home side but dare to look back on the two weeks before and the result is anybodies guess.
Wanstead 4 Points; Brentwood 25 Points
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29th July
Brentwood 1st XI - 279-9 dec.
Wickford 1st XI - 214-6
Match Drawn
Report by Joe Fryd
Scorecard
Brentwood, were keen to maintain their winning form having beaten Wanstead the previous weekend in dramatic fashion. Wickford was the setting for this week's fixture and because of the absence of usual captain Richard Whitehall it was Jon Walford who took over the reigns. On what looked like fast outfield and a slow track Wickford won the toss and put Brentwood into bat.
Openers Jon Walford and Ben Debenham started well on a pitch that was playing very slowly and displaying inconsistent bounce. Walford and Debenham were picking their shots well dispatching some quality boundaries in the initial stages of the innings. Walford became the first victim of the innings when he played the ball onto his stumps and was bowled by Wickford opener Naveed for 17.
Phil Ayres joined Debenham at the crease and got off to a positive start with some impressive shots through the off and leg side. Both batsmen picked off the short length deliveries well, picking up quick boundaries and both went onto get there 50's in quick succession. Ayres continued on his way displaying some imperious shots until he was bowled by Bate for 77. Damian Brandy was next to join Debenham and he too started quickly finding the middle of the bat. He hit some well-directed shots through the covers and dispatched a Bate long hop over the deep mid wicket boundary for 6. Brandy and Debenham continued well until Smith caught Brandy, off the bowling of Bate for 29.
Chris Sains then came to the crease and quickly, but with optimum control and timing, set about increasing Brentwood's total. Debenham continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over well and Sains complimented this by smashing the ball hard and straight down the ground and over the heads of the despairing Wickford fielders. He quickly went onto a well-deserved 50 just before Naveed bowled Debenham for 58.
Brentwood continued to bat well down the order until declaring on 279 for 9 from 64 overs.
Wickford opened their innings with Bate and White who got off to an uncertain start although Bate hit boundaries well in the first 5 overs. White struggled against the opening attack of Paul Degg and Joe Fryd and it was Fryd who made the first breakthrough trapping White leg before for 7. Batch then joined Bate at the crease and the two set about trying to chase down Brentwood's total. Bate looked in good form as he placed some well-timed shots around the ground and the pair were going well. Paul Sutherland came into the bowling attack displaying a high quality of control and turn as he cramped the Wickford pair. Batch was next to fall at the hands of Sutherland hitting one straight back to him, which was caught well at speed. Naveed then came in and the style of batting changed considerably. At 120-2 Wickford seemed to decide that they did not fancy a runs chase and decided to merely accept that a draw was inevitable. Despite this very defensive attitude Brentwood continued to bowl well and Sutherland picked up his second wicket of Bate who hit a sharp catch to short leg and was well caught by Ayres. Despite only needing around 5 runs an over Naveed maintained his defensive style and did not look like trying to win the game for his side, despite only being 140-3 with about 20 overs to go. Naveed eventually came out of his shell striking the ball well at the very late stages of the game. This for Wickford was all too little too late as they finally ended up on 215 for 6 with Sutherland picking up an impressive 5 wickets for 55 in his 21 overs.
Brentwood play host to 2nd placed Saffron Walden on Saturday in what is an eagerly anticipated game.
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5th August
Saffron Walden 1st XI - 237 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 239-4
Brentwood won by 6 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
A superb unbeaten 118 from star-batsman Jonathan Walford and an impressive team bowling performance took Brentwood to a crucial victory over title-holders Saffron Walden at the Old County Ground on Saturday.
Captain Richard Whitehall returned to the side at the expense of Paul Degg and having won the toss made the positive move to bowl first on what looked another very good wicket. Whitehall and Joe Fryd who have bowled well as an opening pair this season faced league top run scorer Tom Westley and his captain Ryan Sparrow. Honours were even in the battle as the batsmen survived but were unable to score runs too freely. Damian Brandy and Ian Belchamber took over from the openers and the two continued to try to put pressure on the visitor's batsmen. Westley was quick to take advantage of any deliveries which were not in exactly the right position, in particular using his feet with success against Belchamber. Australian off-spinner Paul Sutherland was introduced into the attack and he managed to put further pressure on the batsmen with his noted variations of flight and guile. With the score approaching 100 and the run-rate at 4 an over the game was at a critical point. Walden had built a solid foundation without being able to impose themselves on the home side, the question that hung in the air was whether they could take advantage of their wickets in hand to post a 300+ total. Damian Brandy began to provide the answer when he forced Sparrow to play-on for 39 and induced Westley into hitting a catch to Sutherland at extra-cover having scored 79. Walden had recovered to 160-2 off 39 overs at lunch thanks to George and Knightly, yet again failed to capitalise as Whitehall caught and bowled George for 30, Brandy dismissed number 6 Joe Holland and Sutherland picked up a brace of wickets soon after the resumption. Parmenter and Knightly batted sensibly to again suggest the visitors may post a formidable total, but once more Brentwood took wickets, this time thanks to Ian Belchamber, and their innings faltered. Eventually Saffron were bowled out for 237 off only 62 overs. Brandy finished with figures of 4-53, whilst Sutherland had toiled away for 2-61 off 19 overs.
As Brentwood had bowled out Saffron Walden before they received their maximum allocation of overs they were set to face 58 overs in their innings. Jon Walford and Ben Debenham went out to bat to face the strongest opening attack in the league in the shape of Adrian McCoubrey and Devon Weekes. Walford didn't seem fazed by this and after a watchful start began to hit boundaries when the two provided some loose deliveries. Debenham lost his wicket when edging McCoubrey to wicket-keeper Price. Aaron West came to the wicket at number 3 and the diminutive 15 year old overcame a vociferous reception from the visitors to play his part in a fifty partnership with Walford. Walden seemed to be questioning whether West was old enough to be playing against them. Two trips to the boundary by their fielders to retrieve boundaries hit by West seemed to allay their fears. With Walford continuing in his rich vein of form and West batting confidently Brentwood were moving confidently to the target, until West was caught by McCoubrey off Nick Batchelor having scored 21. Damian Brandy replaced West yet there was little for Brentwood to worry about. Walford moved past the 50 mark and was seemingly unstoppable, in particular when punishing bowling short of a good length. Sparrow tried to mix up his bowlers using off-spinner Westly, his own leg-spin, Georges medium pace, but none were able to slow down Brandy or Walford. Only when left-arm wrist spinner Parmenter came in to the attack did the batsmen look to have any concerns. Indeed it was Parmenter who took the wicket of Brandy who was lbw for 61 and clean bowled Chris Sains for 7. Gulfraz Muwas batted at 6 and provided Walford with the necessary support to take Brentwood to victory with 4 overs to spare. Walford finished on 118 not out which had been scored off 170 balls.
Brentwood remain in 3rd place, but move closer to Saffron Walden who are in 2nd. In the second half of the season Brentwood have won 3 out of 4 games and will look to continue this form against Gidea Park & Romford at Gallows Corner on Saturday.
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12th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 241-7 dec.
Gidea Park & Romford 1st XI - 143-5
Match Drawn
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
A rainy day, reducing the match to only 83 overs, meant that a positive result was never likely from the local derby played at Gallows Corner on Saturday.
With the toss assuming even greater importance given the weather conditions, Brentwood were once again disappointed when Richard Whitehall lost the toss and Russell Collard decided his GPR side would bowl first. With a shortened innings likely, Brentwood knew they would have to bat with greater urgency than normal at the top of the order. This they did, but Jonathan Walford (19) and Ben Debenham (10) paid the price when chasing wide deliveries from Matt Sutton only to be caught in the slips. Phil Ayres returning from a back injury and Damian Brandy batted at 3 and 4 respectively and contributed an excellent partnership of 73 runs. Brandy, as with last year, seems to have found form in the second-half of the season and scored runs with ease. Most notably was a back-foot cover drive which scorched past the boundary fielder and drew loud applause from those watching in the pavilion. Ayres too batted fluently and raced to 30 before a straight delivery from Andrew Berry kept low and hit his middle stump. Chris Sains moved the score along quickly before being run out for 18. Brandy remained dominant over the home side's bowling until having scored 65 he tried to hit Berry over long-on only to be caught by Jason Toogood. This left Gulfraz Muwas batting with Paul Sutherland. Muwas batted well given the scenario scoring at a run a ball. However it was Sutherland's innings that stood out. The all-rounder has struggled for runs this season yet rose to the challenge on Saturday hitting an excellent 57 not out with 3 superb sixes hit over long-on off Berry. The late flurry from Sutherland took Brentwood to 241 off their allotted 51 overs.
Given no further rain Gidea Park were to receive 41 overs. The innings started in the perfect way for Brentwood when Ian Belchamber skipped in from square-leg to run out Sibby Shah with a direct hit on middle stump off the first ball. Andy Churchill came to the crease to partner Chris Swainland and the two obviously had intentions to chase the Brentwood total as both Joe Fryd and Brandy conceded boundaries from the two batsmen. Swainland and Churchill found runs more difficult to come-by off Whitehall and Sutherland meaning that they could not score at the run-rate required to win. Whitehall brought Belchamber's left-arm spin on to replace Brandy and the pressure soon told as Swainland tried a slog-sweep only to drag his back foot out of the crease and Benjamin Cocklin completed the smart stumping. Barry Hyam took up the attack for GPR but after 4 boundaries through mid-wicket he was bowled by Belchamber trying to repeat the stroke for 16. Sutherland as he has throughout the season bowled tightly and was rewarded with the wickets of Churchill (47) and the ever attacking Rudi Filmater (17). With only 10 overs left GPR looked unlikely to score the necessary 100 runs and it was Brentwood pushing for victory but the gathering dark clouds finally burst and a downpour ended the game prematurely.
Brentwood remain in 3rd place with four games left, some 23 points behind Saffron Walden in 2nd place. They will be looking to further close the gap on Saturday at the Old County Ground when they aim to gain revenge on Ardleigh Green who defeated them in the away game in June.
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19th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 165 all out
Ardleigh Green 1st XI - 166-2
Ardleigh Green won by 8 wickets
Report by Damian Brandy
Scorecard
Brentwood suffered their worst defeat of the season at home to Ardleigh Green and in turn jeopardised their chances of a top three finish.
Who would deny Brentwood deserve to be amongst the top spots when the curtain falls on this premier league season? Currently the only team to have beaten top placed Hainault and having crushed second placed Saffron Walden both within the space of three weeks captain Richard Whitehall would be forgiven for a somewhat premature sense of contentment. "I'm really proud of what the team has achieved so far. Many would have considered us as relegation contenders at the beginning of the season having just been promoted so to be third with 3 games to go is a real achievement."
That said, the home side's performance this week was more akin to that of a team desperately trying to stay afloat. It is not without substance that claims have been made alluding to the fact that had Whitehall been a better 'tosser', of a coin that is, then Brentwood may well be harbouring genuine title hopes by now, having so far won every game in which he has won the toss. Excuses, though, are not synonymous with champions. "The toss has been a contentious issue for much of the season for us, mainly because I just can't win one, the importance of which was plain to see for the first 20 overs during our innings. But that doesn't excuse our poor performance today, we were thoroughly outplayed from start to finish."
The Old County Ground wicket, though covered at the start of the game, appeared to have a dampness to it that suggested the early week's rain had penetrated it. Ardleigh Green's seamers knuckled down to take full advantage. Brentwood's meagre 165, built on a consummate 56 from Brandy, was their lowest score at home this season and proved, in the ever improving conditions some way short of being competitive.
Wyatt did the early damage removing Debenham and Walford inside the first 8 overs. At 11 for 2 the hard work was left to Ayres and Brandy, both of who are in good form. Their partnership of 63 in 16 overs was an indication not only of their own assurance but that the pitch, harbouring gremlins for the first hour or so, was beginning to flatten out. Ayres fell next, contentiously given out LBW to Krishnan for 25, though you may say his luck had run dry having been dropped 3 times before getting there. After which Brentwood failed to muster any partnerships significant enough to instil even a modicum of competitiveness to the score. Brandy, having been watchful from the outset seemed to cruise almost without incident past 50, his third in as many weeks but was similarly unable to make his contribution count, undone by a beauty from Hopper that removed his middle stump. Hopper then settled into a delightful rhythm from which he produced a fine spell of 13 continuous overs, he eventually finished with 4 for 37.
Ardleigh Green in reply were typically bullish. Brandy was the only man to take a wicket for the home side in 34.3 lacklustre overs in which neither bowler nor fielder appeared whole-hearted in their approach.
Opener Glasberg inside edged one to keeper Cocklin for 30 and Jayasuria mis-timed a pull shot and was caught at midwicket for 24 but at 61 for 2 any glimmer of hope for Brentwood was dashed in a swashbuckling and unbeaten 77 in 52 balls from captain Smith. His unorthodox manner makes him difficult to defend against and so Brentwood have found not for the first time this season. Particularly brutal on the left arm spin of Belchamber the force of Smith's power was felt by all the bowlers and indeed fielders as he cut and drove his side to an emphatic second win over Brentwood this season and helped ease his sides relegation worries.
If there are such a thing as bogey teams then Ardleigh Green are certainly that for Brentwood. A return to normality at home to Ilford next week cannot be too much to ask. One can only wonder whether the law of averages intervenes next week and grants a successful call at the toss for Whitehall, his players I'm sure will have their fingers crossed.
Brentwood 2 points; Ardleigh Green 20
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26th August
Ilford 1st XI - 240 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 212-6
Match Drawn
Report by Damian Brandy
Scorecard
Brentwood failed to maintain their 100% record of winning whilst batting second despite a fourth league hundred from Walford at home to Ilford this week, having instead to settle for a draw.
Whitehall could be said to have done his part, imparting the correct number of revolutions on the coin so as to fool his opposing captain seemed to do the trick, his teams collective sigh of relief was palpable.
Brentwood seem to have things worked out pretty well when it comes to chasing scores, especially on home soil. Their recipe of a Walford hundred, sixty from Damian Brandy and a finishing touch from one of their lower order if so required has worked wonders and, for the most part at least, it appeared as though someone had simply re-wound a tape recorder, exchanged the opposition and pressed play, such was Whitehall's feeling of deja vous. "We have been extremely efficient when chasing down scores this year. Jon Walford has been outstanding for us again and Damo has also been crucial to that success. It's a shame we didn't quite have the killer instinct to finish this game off today, it would have been a great response after last week's fiasco."
Their strong position was made possible by a spirited bowling performance, if elements of the fielding still need attention. Joe Fryd, always wholehearted and not without pace, turned in his best his figures for Brentwood this season capturing 4-70 from 17 action packed overs. Fryd is an interesting character, he approaches the wicket as though auditioning for David Hasselhoff's part on Bay watch, then bowls off completely the wrong foot and persists on berating the opposition batsman with a barrage of hisses, groans and giggles often without justification, tirelessly. That said he is capable of upsetting even the most accomplished of league batsmen, and this time I mean with his bowling as opposed to his emotional disintegration tactics. His early spell of 11 overs yielded three wickets, the best of which was an away-swinging off cutter that proved too good for the dangerous Butt, bowled for 18. It was the dogged Dar upon whom Ilford began to rebuild their innings. He featured in important partnerships of 41 with Kandola (22) and Gill, both of whom fell to Belchamber, whose breezy 17 added impetus to a hitherto slightly serene innings. But it was captain Diwan who provided his team with a competitive total. Curiously coming in at number 7 he survived a dropped caught behind chance when barely in his teens but quickly found his timing, hitting 3 sixes in his unbeaten 49-ball 65 to take his side to 240 before Sutherland picked up the final wicket. Belchamber also recorded impressive figures of four for 41 to put last week's disappointment behind him.
Brentwood in response may have been surprised with the vigour with which Ilford attacked them in the opening overs. Overseas quick bowler Ali bowled, at times, with genuine pace. His early gusto was rewarded when he lured Debenham into a tentative dab at a wide one, third slip clinging on to the torpedo that threatened his teeth had he not. With Ayres missing, keeper Cocklin was promoted to the number three position but when he top edged a paddle sweep onto his helmet and was caught at slip for seven the game was intriguingly poised.
Brandy and Walford set about their challenge with clinical proficiency. Walford cut and pulled with customary power and Brandy gracefully drove in a partnership of 152 in 24 overs. The understanding between the two players evident in their running between the wickets, as they deftly manoeuvred their team into a winning position. With 68 needed from the last ten overs and wickets in hand Brentwood were in the driving seat. However, when Walford was out, bowled by the persevering Ali for yet another hundred and Brandy was lbw the following over for 67 they had blown the proverbial head gasket and with it hopes of another successful run-chase. Sutherland and debutant Willis seeing out the final overs to secure shared honours. Fast bowler Ali and leg spinner Gill each picking up three wickets.
Brentwood travel to the battling South Woodford for the penultimate game of the season next week. Be sure the home side will be fighting like cornered rats as they desperately cling on to premier league cricket.
Brentwood 10 points; Ilford 9 points
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2nd September
Brentwood 1st XI - 306-3
South Woodford 1st XI - 249-8
Match Drawn
Report by Damian Brandy
Scorecard
Yet another excellent Jon Walford hundred, yet another lost toss and yet another drawn game for Brentwood as their fixture on Saturday against South Woodford proved to be deja-vu all over again.
The game also proved an opportunity for Chris Sains to score his maiden hundred for Brentwood and Ian Belchamber to take season best figures of 6 wickets for 105 runs. But despite these individual performances a weak fielding display meant that Brentwood were unable to kill off the relegation threatened South Woodford and now a 4th placed finish is in doubt.
Having been inserted in to bat by Richard Browne, Brentwood immediately took the game to the home side. Jon Walford took the lead to the extent that Shahzad lasted only 3 overs before being taken out of the attack. Given that the wicket was very green and the overhead conditions heavily overcast the flow of runs was even more surprising.
Woodford were forced to introduce left-arm spinner Gary Neicho and it was the veteran who took the first wicket when Ben Debenham was trapped lbw for 15. Damian Brandy batted 3 and continued the excellent form in which he has found himself in the second half of the season. He matched Walford's strike rate as both batsmen continued to score boundaries quickly. However only 3 overs before lunch Brandy fell to the guile of leg-spinner Mo Akhtar who produced a deftly concealed googly which sneaked between Brandy's bat and pad to hit middle stump. Brandy was 4 runs shy of his half-century.
The total moved past 150 soon after lunch as Walford continued to play serenely taking advantage of any waywardness from the bowling attack. For the fifth time in 15 Premier League innings he scored a century before holing out to mid-on off the bowling of Neicho. Walford has now scored 915 league runs and will be targeting the 1000 milestone next Saturday, a feat that has only been achieved once before. Chris Sains was left to carry the Brentwood batting attack supported by Gulfraz Muwas. Muwas allowed Sains as much strike as possible and the big-hitting middle order batsmen took full advantage.
300 now looked the target for Brentwood and Sains had his sights set on a personal 100. However going in to the last over he was 13 runs short and not on strike. The odds on him reaching 3 figures must have been close to 150/1! But Muwas got Sains on strike, he took 6 runs of 3 balls and then hit a 6 over mid-wicket to allow him the luxury of being able to steal a single off the last ball to reach the landmark.
Joe Fryd took the first wicket, when bowling Akram, as South Woodford tried to chase the total to gain a crucial victory in their relegation fight. Kevin Smith and Mo Akhtar put on a 50 partnership for the 2nd wicket helped by dropped catches from Brentwood. Ian Belchamber always looked like he would take wickets and so it proved when Paul Sutherland caught Smith and then Akhtar was drawn down the wicket with Benjamin Cocklin executing the stumping.
South Woodford continued to try to maintain the necessary scoring rate and although wickets fell only slowly no single batsman was able to dominate Belchamber or his spin bowling partner Sutherland. It was Belchamber who proved to be the wicket taker as Nico, Browne, Qureshi and Janjua all fell to catches. However this masks the problems in the field for Brentwood who missed 7 chances and regularly failed to field the ball cleanly giving away plenty of runs.
As news filtered through to Woodford that other relegation rivals had lost they abandoned their push for victory and settled on achieving a draw with high bonus points. Muwas was introduced in to the attack and induced Shirt to provide a catch for Brandy having scored 59 to leave the home side 8 wickets down. But due to bad light Richard Whitehall was unable to bowl his pace bowlers and the last over had to be bowled by Brandy with his version of off-breaks and the game ended in a draw.
Brentwood finish their season on Saturday by entertaining Loughton. Brentwood will be looking to win to ensure they hold on to 4th place and Jon Walford will be looking for his 6th century to reach the 1000 run landmark.
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9th September
Brentwood 1st XI - 137-3
Loughton 1st XI - 133 all out
Brentwood won by 7 wickets
Report by Damian Brandy
Scorecard
When stumps were called at 10 minutes to four on the final day of the 2006 cricket season and Brentwood had claimed victory by 7 wickets over the relegated Loughton to secure 4th place, players and ardent supporters alike would be forgiven for a slight feeling of 'if only' though pride I'm sure would have been the overriding emotion. The real news though came after the game when captain Whitehall announced his decision to step down as first team captain.
Having led the side to two league titles and promotion to the top flight from the depths of division two in the space of four years Whitehall felt his time had come to allow the team to further develop under a new captain. "It was my driving ambition to do what I could to get this side playing premier league cricket and I have done that. We have worked hard to bring in the type of players we need to not only enhance the team but also buy into our culture as a club. We do have the nucleus of a strong team and feel we can plan seriously for a challenge for the title next season. I wish the incoming captain all the very best."
His side have served him well. At a time for reflection and introspection for many clubs Brentwood must ultimately take heart that no post mortems are required. To finish 4th, behind historically 3 of the strongest sides in Essex over the last decade or more and, having beaten all three is without question something to be proud of. Brentwood's problem this year has been more their inability to deal with the weaker opposition than compete with the strongest. On the final day of the year, they overcame their biggest hurdle.
On a glorious late summers day the cricketers were made to feel almost like trespassers such was the fervour with which the eager hockey players gathered for a pre-season training session. Politely the cricketers made light work of an already relegated and under-strength Loughton team, so as not to keep the hockey ladies waiting too long.
Loughton, asked to bat first, lost opener Carlier in the second over to a lovely out-swinger from Whitehall that removed the middle stump. From then on, on what was a beautiful batting surface Loughton never really put up much of a fight. Only Jan batting at number 5 put together any form of resistance scoring 37 but his rally was cut short when he was defeated by a ball from Sutherland that spun back prodigiously from outside off-stump and trapped him on the back foot plum in-front.
Belchamber shone once again. The left arm spinner has had a stop start season. Beginning strongly before injury to his spinning finger forced him to miss 2 games then deal with having to feel his way back into form after a long lay-off. Here though he showed the form that bought him early season success, though it appeared as though he and the Loughton batsmen had struck some form of deal judging by several of the dismissals. He finished with 6-49 to take his season's tally of wickets to 37, equalling that of spin partner Sutherland to underline their importance to unit.
In pursuit of 134, Walford, denied 1000 runs in last seasons campaign by a wash out on the final day was within touching distance of the magic milestone once again. Needing 85 of the 134 to pass the four figure mark - only the third time it would have been done since the premier league began - he appeared to be on target but ambition got the better of him and he drilled a length ball to mid-on for 25.
Thereafter Brentwood proceeded to cruise past Loughton's total with relative ease and clinch the 20 points needed to guarantee a fourth place finish. Debenham finished unbeaten on 37 to seal the 7-wicket win.
Whitehall's definitive style of leadership will be missed. His importance to the team goes beyond the fact that he is and has been the premier new ball bowler and captain for the last four years. He is in many ways someone players look up to, calm when under pressure and never afraid to make tough decisions for the good of the side. It could be said that he has forfeited the chance of glory after four years of hard toil. The icing on the cake for a captain who has had to drag his side from the doldrums would have been to see it through to a genuine challenge at the premier league title. Then again Whitehall never has been one to be too wrapped up in his own personal agenda. The club will hope its next first team captain can achieve half of what he has.
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