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28th April
Brentwood 1st XI - 348 for 3
Old Parkonians 1st XI - 98 all out
Brentwood won by 250 runs
Report by Richard Whitehall
Brentwood played their first competitive game on Saturday when travelling to 3rd division Old Parkonians for a league cup match. The team was led by new captain Jonathan Walford and included many of last years successful side, but was missing some notable players due to unavailability including Chris Sains and Phil Ayres.
The wicket at Old Parks was slightly damp, which was surprising given the recent weather conditions. The home side won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision which didn't seem to disappoint Walford. It was clear from the first 4 overs that the Old Parks bowling lacked the penetration that Brentwood are used to facing and the opening batsmen of Walford and Debenham quickly exerted control. The run-rate was above 5 an over, a level from which it never fell throughout the innings. With the score on 69 in the 12th over Debenham was dismissed for 26, when he went back to cut a short ball which scuttled underneath his bat. This brought Walford's vice-captain Damian Brandy to the crease. Brandy began watchfully as Walford eased past the 50 mark seemingly set on scoring his first century of the season. The home side's bowling had no answers to the questions posed by these classy players and their fielding also began to wilt in the hot conditions. Brandy swiftly achieved his 50 and then Walford, who was by now hitting boundaries at will, reached three figures. He looks as if he has maintained the form that enabled him to be last year's leading Premier League run scorer and only when he had reached 141 did he finally succumb when top edging a slog-sweep shot. Sonny Willis batted at 4 and continued from where Walford had left off, manoeuvring the ball in to the gaps to keep the runs flowing. Brandy also reached a century helped by some lusty blows, before he was runout after Willis called him through for a tight single. Willis and Gulfraz Muwas batted for the last 6 overs to take Brentwood to their final total of 348.
Any thoughts Old Parkonians had of winning the game were extinguished in the first 10 overs, when firstly Joe Fryd claimed 2 lbw decisions and then his opening partner Richard Whitehall found the edge of the bat for veteran wicket-keeper Benjamin Cocklin to take a catch. Old Parks seemingly settled for batting practice, but wickets still fell at regular intervals as Brandy and then Ian Belchamber took out the middle-order. Cocklin's quick thinking led to a run out and it was left to young off-spinner Harry Jones to claim the final wicket to finally dismiss Old Parks for 98.
This was a professional display from Brentwood who were in a ruthless mood. Greater challenges await them next week when they travel to local rivals and fellow Premier League side Gidea Park & Romford in the 2nd round of the League Cup on Saturday, before entertaining Cockfosters from Middlesex in the Evening Standard Trophy on Sunday.
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5th May
Gidea Park & Romford 1st XI - 257 for 7
Brentwood 1st XI - 196 all out
Gidea Park & Romford won by 61 runs
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
An inconsistent performance cost Brentwood dearly on Saturday as they were dumped out of the League Cup by local rivals Gidea Park & Romford.
On a slow and lifeless wicket Brentwood captain Jonathan Walford was disappointed to lose the toss and unsurprised when home team captain Russell Collard decided to bat first. Brentwood's opening bowlers Richard Whitehall and Joe Fryd bowled well at the start of the innings. It was Whitehall who made the breakthrough when trapping Luke Baker on the crease to dismiss him lbw for 11. Whitehall then had 3 strong appeals for lbw against Russell Collard turned down as Brentwood kept GPR on a tight leash. However as Collard and number 3 Aslam began to grow in confidence the runs began to flow. Teenage off-spinner Harri Jones bore the brunt of the attack and the run-rate moved quickly over 5 an over. Both Collard and Aslam achieved half-centuries and a likely total for GPR looked to be over 280. However left-arm spinner Ian Belchamber dismissed both Aslam for 65 when he was well stumped by Ben Cocklin and had Collard caught by Walford for 74. However Harris Afridi kept the attack going with a number of spectacular boundaries and only when he was dismissed following an excellent catch by Cocklin standing up to Fryd did Brentwood begin to regain some control. After 45 overs the innings ended on 257, with Brentwood feeling they had finished well and the total was one they could chase.
The Brentwood reply began in some style. Walford seemed to be carrying on from the 142 he scored last week. Boundaries were struck to all parts of the ground as Walford and Ben Debenham helped the score to 72 off the first 10 overs. Lee Davey then produced a superb delivery that moved away from the left-handed Walford and caught his edge before being caught by Chris Swainland who was standing up to the wicket. Debenham departed soon after having scored 38 and the Brentwood reply began to falter. Collard then introduced himself and Aslam to the attack and the two batting heroes soon became bowling heroes. Aslam dismissed Brentwood's middle order in quick succession with only Chris Sains (23) providing any resistance. At the other end Collard was bowling his medium pace with unerring accuracy and he accounted for Cocklin, Gulfraz Muwas and Whitehall to bring any lingering Brentwood hopes to an end. There was a late flurry from Belchamber and Fryd, but when Harri Jones was last man out Brentwood had only scored 196.
Whilst Brentwood bowled well at the start and end of the innings and the opening batting pair were successful, the rest of their performance was poor and they will need to be far more consistent next week when the league season starts, away to Ardleigh Green.
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12th May
Ardleigh Green 1st XI - 153-3
Brentwood 1st XI - 135-8
Match Drawn
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood threw away an excellent winning position on Saturday, eventually having to settle for a draw against local rivals Ardleigh Green.
Under leaden skies and with the weather forecast suggesting rain interruptions during the afternoon were likely Jonathan Walford won the toss and elected to field first. Unsurprisingly, given the wet nature of the wicket, Brentwood's opening bowlers Joe Fryd and Richard Whitehall had the best of the early exchanges against the Green batsmen. Fryd forced Jonathan Powell into an early mistake when he top-edged a pull- shot and the bowler positioned himself under the steepling catch only to drop the ball. It was a mistake that was to cost Brentwood dearly. Fryd made some recompense in the next over when he dismissed Rob Glassberg for 2. With the ball moving around prodigiously runs were hard to come by, but Powell did find the boundary with a number of pull shots. With support from Ian Russell, Powell led Green towards 100 scoring his own half-century in the process. Russell fell to Damian Brandy when being caught by Ian Belchamber having scored 15. Captain Royston Smith joined Powell, but the skipper took a back-seat as Powell unleashed a flurry of attacking shots, including consecutive straight sixes. Only when Brentwood's new overseas signing Alston Bobb was brought into the attack was Powell subdued and eventually he drove the ball into the covers in the air where he was caught by Walford off Bobb for 90. Bobb continued to bowl tightly and the left-arm spinner was ably supported by fellow spinner Belchamber. With the score on 153 off 44 overs the umpires took the players off the field due to heavy rain. The stoppage continued for over two hours, which was just long enough to end the Ardleigh Green innings.
On the resumption of play, Brentwood were allotted 38 overs to chase the home side's total. Walford and Ben Debenham started well in reply as for the second week running they shared a fifty partnership. However the introduction of Sri Lankan off-spinner Mudalige with Michael Clarke began to put pressure on the Brentwood batsmen. Walford was first out when he played-on to Clarke having scored 37. Bobb batted at 3 and the West Indian found the wet wicket difficult to score runs on before he too became one of Clarke's victims. Damian Brandy batted with confidence but the run-rate was increasing before Debenham also fell, this time to Mudalige having scored 25. Brandy was joined by Chris Sains, the two began to play aggressively and the boundaries began to flow. Both players successfully hit sixes and fours until Sains mis-timed a lofted on-drive off Mudalige and was caught by Ian Russell for 24. Following the quick dismissal of Andy Richardson, Ben Cocklin supported Brandy and with 6 overs left Brentwood needed only 36 runs to win with 5 wickets in hand. However Brandy was also caught by Russell at long-on and then Richard Walford was clean bowled by leg-spinner Kulbir Gill. With 2 overs left the target was still 19 runs. Cocklin tried to clear the straight boundary off Mudalige, but he too was caught, this time by James Wyatt. With only 2 wickets in hand Brentwood gave up the chase for victory with Whitehall and Belchamber seeing out the remaining balls to secure the draw.
The result felt like a loss for Brentwood, who had played well to get themselves into a winning position. They face a tough challenge next week when last year's champions Hainault & Clayhall are the visitors to the Old County Ground. On Sunday they travel to Hitchin for the delayed 2nd round of the Cockspur National Cup.
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19th May
Brentwood 1st XI - 197 all out
Hainault & Clayhall 1st XI - 124-9
Match Drawn
Report by Damian Brandy
Scorecard
For those who participated in Brentwood's first premier league home fixture of the season, and equally for the few who turned out to offer support to this year's fancied team, the expectation would have been for a fascinating game of cricket, as they played hosts to last year's champions Hainault and Clayhall. Instead, they were all treated to a magnificent game of Bobb; a derision of cricket played with a hint of West Indian exuberance, enthralling skill and no little passion of which, Bobb was the only winner.
At the risk of a slight injustice to the other 21 players who took part, in what had the potential to be highly entertaining and thrilling encounter at the OCG, they were no more than extras, adding a sense of reality to an otherwise extraordinary performance from the 23-year-old newly recruited West Indian who did everything he could to rescue this game from the mediocre depths from which threatened to sink. Concerns over the ability to replace a man like Paul Sutherland could, it's very safe to say, be shelved.
The hand over of the captaincy during the winter months from Whitehall to Walford doesn't appear to have addressed the recurring problem of coin tossing; Walford's record so far of one win (in competitive games) from four tosses suggests as much. Inevitably, therefore, Brentwood found themselves batting first on a wicket which despite having dried out remarkably in the 36 hours or so since the squad trained on Thursday evening, was still feeling the effects of the torrential downpours of early week rendering conditions far from batting friendly.
Captain Walford fell, caught low at second slip in the third over of the game and West, opening for the first time in premier league cricket was similarly undone by a moving ball, losing his off-stump to the same bowler (Ismail) with the side barely in double figures.
With a job of rebuilding the innings, Bobb and Brandy - who sound more like a crime investigation duo then batting partners - set about the task. Together they added 52 in 16 overs before Brandy was beaten by sharp spin from Vaja and adjudged LBW for 18, and when Ayres played on for 0 and Sweeney and Sains fell cheaply, Brentwood had every right to worry that this game could be a no contest, with the score at 72 for 6. Then for the remainder of the day, cricket took a back seat - or at least it seemed so. Alston Bobb, with the help of a nuggetty 25 from Ben Cocklin batting at 8, enabled the home side to post a score of reasonable competitiveness, with a faultless and unbeaten 122 in just his second premier league game; Brentwood eventually bowled out for 197.
To put Bobb's innings into perspective, the next highest score in the game was 26, with half the players in the game failing to get into double figures. But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of his innings was its simplicity. He was as calculated and clinical in attack, as he was assured in defence, which bore no resemblance to the way in which every other batsman had tackled the bowler friendly conditions thus far.
And it wasn't long before Bobb was displaying is penchant for total game domination. Brought on to bowl by Walford in the 9th over, he promptly removed Hurst's off-stump with a ball that pitch on middle with his fizzing left-arm spin. Another wicket from him and one a piece from Belchamber and Whitehall left Hainault with it all to do after the tea break, 59 for 4 after 27 overs.
Despite low scoring in the game hitherto, the longer it went on the easier it appeared to be for batting, or at least the harder it appeared to be able to get anyone out. Up stepped Bobb again, a slight mis-field at mid-off from him prompted a perilous single from the batsman desperate to grab every opportunity to rotate strike, but Bobb's flat throw was neatly gathered by Cocklin; the resulting run out of Evans for 26 dispelled any faint hopes of a win for Hainault at 109 for 7.
Patel and Vaja numbers 10 and 11 held on, in the end, rather comfortably for the draw. In fact, the number's eight, nine, 10 and 11 never really looked in danger of loosing their wickets were it not for a wicked faster ball from the leg-spinner Luke Sweeney, who showed excellent control for a wrist spinner making his debut for the club, and some outstanding cricket from Bobb, who garnered his fifth wicket of the innings when Bopara was neatly caught round the corner by Fryd.
A draw seemed a little unjust in the end. To assume a player who scored 122 not out and took 5 for 24 from 21 overs, finished on the winning side, would normally be a safe one. Then again, there is no I in team, or in Bobb for that matter. Brentwood would do well to take heed as they travel to Wickford next week.
Brentwood 9 points; Hainault & Clayhall 7 points.
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26th May
Wickford 1st XI - 167 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 117-7
Match Drawn
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood's game against Wickford on Saturday was one of a multitude of twists and turns, but it was the weather that eventually came out on top as the game had to be abandoned as a draw with 19 overs still to go.
Jonathan Walford had lost the toss earlier in the day, but was pleased when Wickford skipper Matt Bate chose to bat first in what promised to be bowler friendly conditions. However this was the cue for the weather to intervene for the first time as rain delayed the start for 40 minutes.
When the game finally started the ball did indeed dominate over the bat. Brentwood opening bowlers Richard Whitehall and Andy Richardson garnered significant swing and seam movement. Richardson, who had been brought in to replace Joe Fryd who was unavailable due to work commitments, made the breakthrough when Jamie White edged behind to wicket-keeper Ben Cocklin having scored 3. Richardson then dismissed both Paul Corps and Darren Batch in his next 5 overs to leave Wickford reeling at 30-3. Unfortunately for Brentwood the wet conditions had taken their toll on the ball which had to be changed and the bowlers found that the ball no longer moved around as significantly as it had. Damian Brandy was still able to dismiss Mullins and Desai trapping both batsmen lbw. Walford decided to introduce spin in to the attack in the shape of left-arm spinners Ian Belchamber and Alston Bobb. Belchamber took the prize wicket of Bate when the batsman decided to leave a ball which moved down the hill and hit off-stump. Only Jahid Ahmed was showing any resistance in the Wickford cause. The Essex player batted watchfully, but was also quickly on to the bad ball. It was a simple yet effective strategy which few batsmen were to use during the game. Ahmed took Wickford past 100 and despite losing their 8th wicket with the score on 103 the home side continued to add to their total and only when Bobb trapped Brendan Smith lbw was the innings finally closed with the score on 169. Ahmed was 60 not out, an innings which gave Brentwood a challenging total to chase.
Brentwood knew that Wickford had a strong seam attack and given the conditions realised that victory was not assured. With Ahmed from one end and South African Antonio Mullins from the other batting was difficult and Brentwood were soon reduced to 17-3 losing the wickets of Aaron West, Bobb and Walford. Brandy and Phil Ayres set about rescuing the innings. Both batted well and were given a stiff examination by the 2 opening bowlers who were bowling with good accuracy and no shortage of movement. With the score on 45 Brandy tried to take a second run to Mullins at fine leg only to be run out by a direct hit. Luke Sweeney was dismissed by change bowler Baker who produced a fine ball which hit the top of off stump. Ayres continued to bat well and was now ably supported by Chris Sains. The two took the opportunity to score runs off Wickford's support bowlers and Bate was forced to bring Ahmed and Mullins back in to the attack. However with the game evenly poised the weather began to have its effect as the light became a significant problem. Ayres and Sains were offered the opportunity go off the field, but declined only for Sains to be bowled a high full toss from Ahmed that he saw late and could only poke the ball to Bate at cover. Ahmed quickly dismissed Ben Cocklin with a full yorker but as conditions worsened the players left the field due to the bad light and the game was eventually abandoned.
For the third time in 3 games Brentwood find themselves ruing the fact that they had played themselves in to a winning position only to end up with a draw. They will need to find a cutting edge in the next few weeks if they are to begin to challenge for the title.
The weather was also the winner on Sunday when Brentwood had to cancel their Cockspur National Cup game against Letchworth.
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2nd June
Gidea Park & Romford 1st XI - 178 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 180-2
Brentwood won by 8 wickets
Report by Damian Brandy
Though captain Jon Walford would never admit it, the spectre of a season spent ruing missed opportunities must, at some point - in what is still only a fledgling season, have begun to cross his mind given his side's previous three performances. An eight-wicket win on Saturday at home to Gidea Park & Romford did wonders for both his peace of mind, and indeed that of his team's.
Walford; a mild mannered captain for the most part, confesses to being miffed by his team's half-hearted performances so far but remains steadfast about their chances this year. "I feel and have always felt that we are a team capable of winning this league, potentially, despite a hiccup or two in the first few games," he asserted.
"It was extremely frustrating but we have the character and skill to overcome those disappointments and we have done so today, quite convincingly. I hope we carry this energy throughout the season."
Until this game Brentwood had displayed a disturbing penchant for dominating proceedings until the half-way stage, before tamely avoiding the opportunity to seal a win with some decidedly spiritless cricket, thus on two occasions running the risk of losing a game they had initially worked so hard to win. Good side or bad, a team's character can very soon wear thin when golden opportunities go up in dust too often. Today Walford managed to sustain his team's jugular hold for long enough to stifle any GPR resistance, and walk away with full points.
Although there were two standout performances from Bobb - who tool 5-26 and scored 70 not out (confirmation, if it were needed that he has taken a liking to the OCG), and Aaron West a 16 year-old with the world at his feet - or in the middle of his bat - who calmly collected his first premier league half century, team Brentwood had a more coherent look about them this week, perhaps buoyed by a thumping victory over Herongate in the 20/20 competition earlier in the week (although it wasn't only 'Herongate' Brentwood were thumping that day, anything within a 70 yard radius of the postage stamp of a ground received its fair share).
A sound first half performance has become Brentwood's raison d'etre and today was no exception. New opening pair Brandy and Richardson (both Whitehall and Fryd missing through injury) bowled with patience and control, but without much luck for the first hour of the game and GPR's subsequent inability to inject any momentum into the innings became terminal. The first wicket fell at 69, when Collard chopped one onto his stumps from Bobb but 31 overs had passed by that stage and seemingly, so had GPR's stomach for a fight.
The spin trio of Bobb, Belchamber and Sweeney were the bringers of cheap wickets on a slow Brentwood pitch as GPR tamely collapsed from 161 - 4 to 178 all out. Only Churchill showed real resistance in the middle order with a nicely constructed 41 but when he and Zaem (36) were dismissed GPR's resistance was futile.
Then for the hard part of finishing what they had started. GPR decided to open with spin in an effort to upset Brentwood's opening batsmen but to no avail. Walford took it upon himself to get the innings off to a flyer and was successful in doing so until he was caught behind for 36, the score at 63. But there endeth GPR's hopes of upsetting the apple cart. West cut and drove with mature assertion and Bobb dominated with clinical majesty as the two combined in their pursuit of 179 to add 109 for the second wicket to all but seal a much needed win for the home side.
When West popped a simple catch to mid on for 59 it was far to late for any knee quivering for Brentwood, who would have excelled themselves by failing to seal it from there. Brandy completed the eight-wicket victory with a boundary leaving Bobb left unbeaten on 70.
What a difference a season makes. Last year, survival was the priority for a team in the process of finding its feet. This year, the prospect of a premier league title will never be far from their thoughts. The team sheet suggests they are capable; only time will decide whether they are ready.
Brentwood 20 points Gidea Park & Romford 2
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9th June
Wanstead 1st XI - 106 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 110-0
Brentwood won by 10 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood produced their best display of the season so far by defeating potential title challengers Wanstead by 10 wickets, with the game over before tea.
As the game at the Old County Ground started in extremely humid conditions, the toss would always be a vital one. New skipper Jonathan Walford managed to win his second successive toss of the coin, and so it was no surprise to see the visitors stuck into bat. However the hard work still had to be done, as Brentwood's opening bowlers needed to control the inevitable swing the conditions would give.
It was Richard Whitehall who managed to step up to the plate, as he gave one of his best spells since joining the club nearly ten years ago. Bowling hooping outswingers, he displayed an impressive level of control and made sure the Wanstead openers were forced to play a high percentage of the deliveries. He accounted for the first four wickets and five of the first six, completely dismantling the Wanstead top-order. He finished with the excellent figures of 10-4-15-5.
Whitehall was impressively supported throughout the side. Since remodelling his run-up Damien Brandy's bowling has been impressive and he managed to grab 3 wickets himself. There was also impressive catching behind the stumps, most notably by Walford and Alston Bobb.
Wanstead were then reeling at 56-9 with numbers ten and eleven at the wickets. Brentwood might have then taken their foot off the gas slightly, but Murray and Fayyaz undoubtedly batted well, scoring boundaries freely. They put on 50 for the final wicket, with Murray in particular playing some exquisite shots in his unbeaten 41, before Luke Sweeney's introduction into the attack forced a false shot from Fayyaz just before the luncheon interval.
Of the ten wickets taken, 6 were caught behind the wicket, three were leg before and one was bowled - a demonstration of the control and accuracy the Brentwood attack bowled with.
Brentwood's worry was that the final stand shifted momentum in Wanstead's favour. However, they needn't have worried, as the conditions were perfect for batting as the sun shone through.
Walford was reunited with his experienced batting partner Ben Debenham and the pair weathered the new ball partnership of Murray and Saeed. When Walford was dropped in the twenties, Wanstead looked like they knew the game was up. Despite trying a variety of tactics and options they could not force the breakthrough, and Brentwood passed the target in the 34th over, just before 4.15.
The win moves Brentwood ahead of Wanstead and joint top of the division. With the top four bunched close together, Brentwood know that they need to put together a run of results and maintain their current momentum.
Next week Brentwood take on Saffron Walden at the Old County Ground
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16th June
Brentwood 1st XI - 142 all out
Saffron Walden 1st XI - 143-5
Saffron Walden won by 5 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood suffered their first Premier League reversal of the season on Saturday. A poor performance coupled with an impressive all-round performance by Tim Phillips was enough to give Saffron Walden victory and topple Brentwood from their position at the top of the table.
Joe Holland won the toss for Walden and elected to bowl. Brentwood made a pleasing start with Jonathan Walford and Ben Debenham looking assured against the new ball attack of McCoubry and Coote. Walford was first out when McCoubry got the ball to move back off the seam and take the inside edge before Price completed an excellent tumbling catch. Alston Bobb batted at 3 and once more looked in good form continuing the good work that Walford had started. After 15 overs Holland decided that spin bowling needed to be introduced in the form of Phillips. The Essex left-arm spinner who has lost his place in the county side this season due to the presence of Danish Kaneria seemed intent on stamping his authority on the game. He immediately extracted both turn and bounce from the drying wicket. With Tom Westley's off-spin introduced from the other end runs began to dry up for Brentwood. Inevitably wickets followed with Phillips accounting for Debenham, Ayres and Sweeney in quick succession and with Westly dismissing Damian Brandy, Brentwood had quickly collapsed to 80-5. Bobb was still batting well as wickets fell at the other end, but he too succumbed to the wiles of Phillips when well caught by McCoubry at long-off for 44. Benjamin Cocklin provided some resistance the other end as Brentwood fought hard to gain batting points and extend their innings as long as possible. However Ian Belchamber was the last man out with Brentwood having scored 142, some 9 overs short of their full allocation of overs. Cocklin remained defiant on 26 not out.
For the first time this season Brentwood wasted the new ball as neither Whitehall nor Brandy could find accuracy and runs flowed comparatively easily on the difficult wicket. Despite Whitehall picking up the wicket of Ryan Sparrow, Walford turned to spin as early as the 9th over. Bobb and Belchamber bowled aggressively with attacking fields, but took time to exert pressure on Westly and the Walden overseas player George. When the runs were slowed the batsmen looked less comfortable and George was trapped lbw by Bobb for 19. This brought Phillips to the crease and he immediately took control of the innings, hitting Belchamber over mid-wicket for boundaries. Westly looked less confident and took one risk too many when advancing down the wicket only to be stumped by Cocklin off Luke Sweeney for 39. Phillips remained in control and looked a class above both the bowlers and his fellow batsmen, until with only 25 runs needed for victory he tried to hit Bobb over mid-wicket, found a leading edge and the bowler took an exceptional catch running 20 yards to execute the dismissal with the ball falling over his shoulder. Walden now looked far less secure and when Ian Belchamber hit the stumps with a direct hit from 60 yards to dismiss Holland, Brentwood's hopes were partially raised. Though with no further wickets lost it was Ray Mordini and Jack Ford saw the visitors to victory.
With one third of the league season gone, Brentwood sit in 5th place only 17 points off the leaders Ardleigh Green. They will reflect on Saturday's poor performance and look to the next 3 games against Colchester, Ilford and Chingford as opportunities to return to the top of the league by the halfway point of the season.
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7th July
Ilford 1st XI - 127 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 129-3
Brentwood won by 7 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Following a June of limited opportunities due to the weather, Brentwood returned to form as they comfortably beat Ilford at Valentines Park.
Brentwood won the crucial toss of the coin and captain Jon Walford invited the opposition to bat. Ilford opened with batting the Essex opener Varun Chopra and it was immediately obvious that Brentwood had to remove any signs of rustiness otherwise the talented England U19 captain would punish anything loose. However, Joe Fryd managed to get a yorker under Chopra's bat when he had made 12 to clean bowl him.
Fryd and fellow opening bowler Richard Whitehall were beating the bat on numerous occasions, but could not find the edge of the bat. To add to their frustration, their occasional loose delivery was punished over the quick outfield, often disappearing for four runs. Fryd then pulled up with a recurrence of his hamstring injury thereby curtailing his spell.
Walford changed things round in the fifteenth over with the introduction of Vincentian Alston Bobb and Damien Brandy. Both bowled with great accuracy and gradually exerted pressure onto Darr and the dangerous Qureshi. Their pressure eventually paid dividends as Bobb picked up Qureshi and Brandy bagged Darr. Brandy then followed this up with the wicket of Diwan and Bobb then got the wicket of Mendis to leave Ilford in trouble at 70-5.
Walford then replaced Brandy with Ian Belchamber just before lunch to bowl in tandem with Bobb and they carried on building pressure as Kandola and Malik tried to restore the Ilford innings. With not much loose bowling to hit, the Ilford batsmen could not get on top of the two left arm spinners.
After the luncheon interval, the Ilford batsman looked to start to get on top of the two spinners. However, Belchamber managed to trap Malik leg before, sweeping. The big hitting Sagoo then came to the wicket and hit some lusty blows, most notably a lusty six off Belchamber. Kandola had looked solid until this point, accumulating 24, but he then tried to copy in hitting Belchamber over long on, only to be caught by Sains at mid-on. The very next ball Sohal gloved Belchamber behind and Ben Cocklin took an impressive catch. Savanhu kept out the hat-trick delivery, but was bowled by Belchamber the very next ball. Bobb finished the innings off straight after this to complete four wickets in five deliveries.
Walford opened the Brentwood innings with Aaron West. The latter was the first wicket to fall as Savanhu nipped one back into the youngster. Bobb was then looking in control, pulling Savanhu in front of square. He fell playing no shot as Ilford's spinners of Qureshi and Tavarasa were quickly introduced. The wicket of Brandy brought Ilford back into the game with Brentwood on 60-3. However, Phil Ayres joined Walford and they comfortably played the Ilford off spinners, rarely looking in trouble and scoring all around the ground. They finished the job off with 32 overs to spare. Walford ended up 63 not out and Ayres 34 not out.
The win takes Brentwood into third place, one point behind next weeks opponents Ardleigh Green. With the league very tight still, and the weather hopefully set fair, Brentwood know this is coming into the crucial part of the season.
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14th July
Ardleigh Green 1st XI - 300-5
Brentwood 1st XI - 182-6
Match Drawn
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Despite spending the best part of 20 overs clinging on for the draw, Brentwood would have ended up happy that they finished the game with only a two-point deficit over local rivals Ardleigh Green.
In a poor all round performance, in which they did not perform well in any of the three disciplines, it was good to see that Brentwood still had enough resolve to hold out for the draw.
On losing the toss, captain Jon Walford was both surprised and pleased to be asked to field first, but it proved to be a good decision by captain Royston Smith, although with a bit more luck, things could have gone completely differently.
Joe Fryd managed to remove Jon Powell without scoring. Richard Whitehall managed to then get Freddy Butt to edge one to second slip only to see Damien Brandy put the chance down. Things were to only get worse when Brandy then had Ian Russell spectacularly caught off the bowling of Fryd, only for the delivery to be called a no-ball. That could have left Ardleigh Green struggling at 30-3. Instead Russell and Butt set about the Brentwood attack and both completed their fifties relatively untroubled, aided by some indifferent fielding.
The introduction of spin brought about the end of the partnership as Ian Belchamber had Butt caught athletically by Phil Ayres. This brought Smith to the wicket, and he rarely looked in trouble against Brentwood's triumvirate of spinners, although they were keeping a lid on the scoring rate.
With the score at 160-2 off 40 overs at lunch, Ardleigh Green certainly had had the better of the morning session, although if Brentwood were to get a few quick wickets the game could have swung back in their direction. A sharp piece of fielding from Aaron West accounted for the wicket of Russell and then Alstom Bobb had Liam Ferns caught and bowled. However Robin Glassberg and Chamikara Mudalige ably supported Smith as he looked to accelerate the scoring. Helped by a further four dropped catches, Ardleigh Green scored the final hundred off just twelve overs.
Brentwood knew that they would have to get off to a good start and openers Walford and West were going along very nicely when Walford managed to find time one straight into mid-wickets hands to fall for 33. West was the next one to fall. Looking comfortable throughout, West, was caught by Powell at bat-pad off the bowling of Mudalige.
Bobb was being extremely watchful as he played Mudalige and the score was ticking along at a decent tempo. But when Chris Sains fell, followed by Bobb, Ayres and Luke Sweeney, Brentwood knew they no longer had any chance to chase down the total. It was then left to Damien Brandy and Ben Cocklin to see out the remaining overs. Neither ever looked in much trouble, and Smith was forced to rotate his bowling in an effort to pick up the final four wickets. Brandy ended up unbeaten on 53.
Brentwood's performance will need to dramatically improve next week as they take on defending champions Hainault and Clayhall, who having struggled at the start of the season, have found some form in recent weeks.
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21st July
Brentwood 1st XI - 232-9
Hainault & Clayhall 1st XI - 185-6
Match Drawn
Report by Ian Belchamber
What could have been a very exciting game of cricket was spoiled once again by the alleged summer the country has been enjoying.
Although both sides were lucky in that rain skirted the ground for large parts of the afternoon, two rain breaks just after both the intervals ruined any chances of a positive result in either direction.
Brentwood, having been asked to bat at the toss, made very steady progress to be 143-2 at lunch and well set, with Ben Debenham and Alston Bobb being the men out, the latter making a quickfire 45.
The first of the rain delays took eight overs off the Brentwood innings, meaning a rapid acceleration was required. Damien Brandy and Jon Walford were looking as though they could set a large target before Brandy fell trying to push the score along a little further.
Brentwood continued to search for quickfire runs, meaning that wickets were inevitable. Ettinder Bopara, brother of England international Ravi, was the pick of the bowlers with 6-49 and he accounted for the wicket of Walford, albeit in very unusual circumstances. Having played and missed at a delivery while on 97, Walford, who had played gloriously all day, believed 'keeper Patel had missed the ball and set off for byes, only for the slightly bemused Patel to whip off the bails having taken the ball cleanly.
Having set Hainault 232 to win off 48 overs, Hainault made a circumspect start, watching very carefully Richard Whitehall and Andy Richardson's opening spell.
When tea came round and having lost no wickets, the game was very much in the balance. However, the second rain spell during the tea interval made Hainault's chase that much harder. Although it was only four overs, it probably provided the death knell for the game.
Hainault continued to search for runs, but were attempting to keep wickets in hand in order that they may open themselves up for a final push.
Brentwood's Bobb and Gulfraz Muwas ensured that Hainault lost wickets at regular intervals and Hainault then contented themselves with the search for points rather than the distant victory target.
The game was played in an exemplary spirit, as demonstrated by Phil Ayres, who, having taken a full whack in the jaw that missed his helmet at silly mid-off, returned not just to the field, but also to the same position only a few overs later.
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28th July
Wickford 1st XI - 172 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 134 all out
Wickford won by 38 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
This game was simply turned on its head in the space of a twenty minutes opening spell of bowling that cleaned out Brentwood's top order, reducing them to 14-4. Prior to that, Brentwood had seemed in complete control of the game chasing a below par 173 for victory.
The top order collapse was the last thing that the Brentwood side had expected on a wicket that, while offering some turn and bouce, had otherwise looked good for batting on. However Antonio Mullins took out Ben Debenham, Alston Bobb and Phil Ayres and Andy Baker got the prized wicket of Jon Walford.
With plenty of batting still in the pavilion, the game was far from over and Damien Brandy and 16-year-old Aaron West set about a recovery. Brandy played a brave, tenacious innings, having been hit on the head early on by a Baker bouncer. He was not, however at his fluent best.
West however was looking extremely comfortable, playing several memorable shots, including a classy pull shot in front of square with complete control. At 66-4, the game was anyone's for the taking, when Brandy fell to Mullins. Luke Sweeney joined West and they continued where the previous partnership and left off. Taking Brentwood to within 70 of their target the game started to head back towards Brentwood before both batsmen fell with the score on 103. A further partnership between Ben Cocklin and Andy Richardson tried to restore some hope, but the final three wickets all fell with the score on 134.
Several batsmen got out to injudicious shot selection, something that must be improved over the coming weeks. Five batsmen got starts, but no one converted that into a match winning innings of 60 or 70, West top scoring with 35. Given the pressure he was under, this was a top class knock, but he will know that he gave his wicket away, much like several of his more experienced counterparts. In comparison, Wickford managed only six starts, but Paul Corps managed to grab 59.
In comparison to their lacklustre batting performance, Brentwood were good in the field. Joe Fryd bowled a hostile opening spell and picked up two wickets, including the dangerous Matt Bate. The other eight wickets were spread amongst the spin triumvirate of Bobb, Ian Belchamber and Luke Sweeney. Belchamber finishing with 4-40 off his 15 overs. Cocklin was also his reliable self taking three sharp catches standing up to the stumps.
This defeat should wake Brentwood up to the fact that individuals need to take responsibility for their own performances. They are now as close to the bottom of the table as they are to the top, and the next few games could determine which direction the side head in.
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4th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 209-7
GP&R 1st XI - 137 all out
Brentwood won by 72 runs
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Following last week's disappointing loss to Wickford, Brentwood bounced back with a vengeance to beat local rivals Gidea Park for the second time in the season.
Brentwood were without Captain Jonathan Walford, wicket-keeper Benjamin Cocklin and opening bowler Joe Fryd for an encounter which given the close nature of the Premier League was of great significance. Damian Brandy stepped in to Walford's shoes and with Romford's wicketkeeper Chris Swainland replacing the absent captain Russell Collard it was an inexperienced duo which tossed up on a hot and sunny day at Gallows Corner. Swainland won the toss and decided to bowl first on a used wicket.
Luke Sweeney replaced Walford at the top of the order and in company with Ben Debenham provided a decent platform for the Brentwood innings until Sweeney was caught behind off the bowling of Zaim for 18. Debenham was joined by Alston Bobb and the two continued the good start against some tight bowling from Zaim and Afridi. After 14 overs spin was introduced in to the game and immediately it became more difficult for the batsmen. Debenham was soon caught by Swainland after edging behind Andrew Churchill's left-arm spin. Bobb and Brandy batted well against what was now the dual spin attack of Churchill and Aslam, taking Brentwood to lunch with the score on 142-2 off 40 overs. As Brentwood tried to raise the run-rate following the break they found it an increasingly difficult task. Bobb was given out for 65 when trying to sweep Churchill, which slowed the rate further. Brandy tried desperately to take Brentwood towards a target of 220, but he was caught by Afridi off the bowling of Zaim for 53 and Brentwood could only limp to a declaration total of 209 off their maximum complement of 66 overs.
Whilst this was someway short of the total Brentwood were aiming for, given the worn nature of the pitch they knew that if they bowled well Gidea Park would struggle to reach the target. Barry Hyam and Luke Baker seemed to have few worries as they set about chasing the target. Brentwood introduced spin in the 7th over and although the 2 batsmen kept the score moving along, the wicket was obviously difficult to bat on. It was Ian Belchamber who produced the breakthrough when a classic left-arm spinner's delivery turned and bounced to find the edge of Hyam's bat before being superbly caught by James Reilly having scored 33. Wickets now fell quickly as Belchamber and Bobb left the home side on 90-4, before Churchill and Swainland began to fightback. But as soon as GPR looked to be on top, Luke Sweeney accounted for Swainland and Belchamber removed Churchill who was again caught by Reilly. Brentwood were now the only side who looked likely to win the game and as the last hour was called they still needed 2 wickets. Sweeney almost immediately trapped Matthew Tarr lbw, but Brentwood had to wait 9 overs before Damian Brandy came in to the attack and took the vital wicket of Patterson off only his 3rd ball, again to a Reilly catch.
This victory leaves Brentwood only 16 points off first place with 5 games remaining. They now face 2 away games in succession to fellow title challengers Wanstead and Chingford.
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11th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 177-8 declared
Wanstead 1st XI - 178-4
Wanstead won by 6 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood's inconsistent season continued on Saturday when they followed up last week's win against Gidea Park & Romford with defeat at Wanstead.
Brentwood welcomed back Jon Walford to captain the side and Ben Cocklin returned as wicket-keeper. The wicket looked worn and Walford therefore decided to bat first having won the toss.
Walford may have been ruing this decision when in the 5th over he was caught behind off the bowling of Christopher Murray for 2. Brentwood were finding batting difficult on the wicket thanks to some excellent bowling from Wanstead seamers Murray, Chowdrey & Baldwin. Alston Bobb may have been frustrated by the tight bowling when he decided to pull Murray, only to top-edge and be caught by Baldwin at fine leg. When Debenham was trapped leg-before by Baldwin for 25 Brentwood were reeling. Given the nature of the wicket Brentwood hoped that a low score would be sufficient but with Faayez now bowling accurately any decent total looked difficult. Damian Brandy had been batting well until he played on off the bowling of Adnam Akram for 21 and then both Aaron West and Luke Sweeney were dismissed without scoring. Phil Ayres was providing the back-bone to the innings and was ably supported by Ben Cocklin who began to play aggressive shots. The two took Brentwood passed 140 before Ayres was bowled by Akram for 33. Cocklin continued to play superbly and reached his half-century in the penultimate over. With help from a late flurry by Richard Whitehall, Cocklin took Brentwood to a 2nd batting point and a final total of 177.
Given the conditions this looked like a competitive total and when first Whitehall and then Brandy took early wickets Brentwood were eyeing a victory. However even at this stage Wanstead were hitting boundaries from bad balls which was eventually to cost the visitors dearly. The introduction of Luke Sweeney and Alston Bobb slowed down the Wanstead batsmen. Sweeney in particular was bowling well, extracting prodigious turn and bounce from the wicket with few bad balls. His first 13 overs were only taken for 16 runs with many balls passing by the outside edge. At the other end Bobb was not quite as accurate and Chambers & Joslin batted well, avoiding the good balls yet still scoring at around 3 overs. Harri Jones replaced Bobb and the debutant bowled well, but he too couldn't breakthrough. With 20 overs to go Wanstead needed 80 and the two batsmen now successfully scored regular boundaries as Brentwood bowled at least one bad ball an over. Sweeney finally got just reward for his excellent spell, when Joslin was well caught by Aaron West at deep-backward square leg for 68. There was a hint of pressure on the Wanstead batsmen, which led to a run-out mix-up and the demise of Maurice Chambers for 49 following an excellent throw by Bobb. Adnam Akram provided the necessary calm and hit a quick fire 27 to take Wanstead to a well deserved victory.
With only 4 matches to go Brentwood's title hopes look forlorn as they are 40 points from top and they must now be looking over their shoulder as there is only 20 points back to the relegation places. Next week they visit Chingford.
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18th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 300-5 declared
Chingford 1st XI - 167 all out
Brentwood won by 133 runs
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood bounced back from their loss to Wanstead last week with a spectacular victory away to Chingford on Saturday.
The match was played on a green wicket that was eyed suspiciously by both sides before the start of play. This is likely to have been in Sam Kirnon's mind when he won the toss for Chingford and decided to bowl first.
Brentwood opened with Jonathan Walford and Ben Debenham and the two immediately dominated the Chingford opening attack of Lenny Daniels and Ryan Harris. Boundaries flowed quickly over the hard outfield and Brentwood were soon past 50, with Walford achieving his own half-century by the end of the 12th over. Chingford introduced spin quickly in the shape of overseas leg-spinner Denver Carolus and he eventually made the breakthrough when a ball only bounced at ankle height and scuttled underneath Ben Debenham's bat. This brought Alston Bobb to the crease, initially to bat watchfully and support Walford. The skipper was now in full throw and after only 95 minutes of play he reached his hundred. Bobb took this as his cue to bat more aggressively and the two Brentwood stars put Chingford to the sword. Only the lunch-break came to save them with the score on 229-1. Bobb was dismissed quickly after lunch following a fine catch by Hill for 54 and Walford too fell early in the afternoon for an exceptional score of 148 which reflected his dominance of the attack. Brentwood then moved towards 300 thanks to good innings from Damian Brandy and Aaron West allowing Walford to declare after 62 overs.
Chingford got off to a good start with 9 runs of Richard Whitehall's first over, but then their innings slowed down thanks to tight bowling. Andy Richardson was rewarded for an excellent opening spell when Shawyer hit in to the hands of Debenham at mid-off. Richardson's 8 overs cost only 11 runs. Walford then introduced the spinners and Bobb, Ian Belchamber and Luke Sweeney bowled such that Chingford never looked like reaching the target and were losing wicket regularly. James Runciman put up some resistance scoring 56, but he fell to an excellent return catch by Bobb. Sweeney was looking particularly dangerous as he dismissed Whitfield, Taylor & Carolus in quick succession to leave the home side 8 wickets down. Only the weather looked like saving Chingford, but the drizzle didn't get heavy enough to stop play before Ian Belchamber could take the last 2 wickets and secure the victory for Brentwood. Sweeney was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-21.
Brentwood now lie in 4th place 24 points off the leaders and a re-assuring 36 points from relegation. Next week they entertain a resurgent Colchester at The Old County Ground.
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25th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 100 all out
Colchester 1st XI - 101-2
Colchester won by 8 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood's season was effectively encapsulated by their last two performances as the followed up their magnificent 133 run victory against Chingford the previous week with a very disappointing 8-wicket defeat to second bottom, but in form Colchester.
Heavy rain throughout the week had soaked the Brentwood strip, which delayed the start by half an hour. It was therefore inevitable that when Colchester captain Andrew Kennedy called correctly at the toss that Brentwood would be asked to bat.
Openers Jon Walford and Ben Debenham got Brentwood off to a solid start, reaching forty without loss. Debenham was the first to fall, adjudged leg before to Alex Young, who followed up with the wicket of Alston Bobb.
Damien Brandy was the next to go, in what was a sign of things to come as Essex and England Academy star Graham Napier got one to pop off just short of length. The ball deflected off Brandy's glove to Joe Austin who took a sharp catch at short leg.
Aaron West and Walford set about repairing the damage and made it through to lunch without too many scares. At 79-3 Brentwood were looking forward to setting an imposing target. However, they had not accounted for an excellent spell of bowling by Colchester's Nick Gibbs. In a spell of nagging line and length bowling he picked up five wickets for just 16 runs off twelve overs, including a hat-trick as Brentwood capitulated to 100 all out, with in form Walford top scoring with 47. Only he, plus West and Debenham made it to double figures.
The Colchester reply did not start well as Bobb ran out Julian Russell with a sublime piece of fielding without a run on the board. His pick up and direct hit from backward point was unquestionably Brentwood's high point of the innings.
Brentwood had hoped that the pitch had not flattened out, but while it did appear that the light roller had done its job, the bowlers inability to bowl what Monty Panesar likes to describe as 'areas' was without a doubt Brentwood's undoing. Too many 'magic' deliveries were followed up with four balls, allowing Colchester's batsman freedom to score.
Napier top scored with 40 not out, but was well supported by Shane Maggs and Matt Austin.
Brentwood's record against the bottom three stands at played five, lost two, won one, one abandoned and limped to a draw in the other match. If, as they should have done, Brentwood had won two of those other games they would still be in the title hunt. As it is, they need to ensure they pick up sufficient points to ensure mathematically relegation is avoided.
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1st September
Brentwood 1st XI - 160 all out
Saffron Walden 1st XI - 161-2
Saffron Walden won by 8 wickets
Report by Richard Whitehall
Scorecard
Brentwood suffered their second crushing defeat in succession to leave them still 3 points away from definitely avoiding relegation from the Essex Premier League.
Jonathan Walford, as he had last week lost the toss on a wet wicket. Brentwood started slowly and found the nagging accuracy of Nick Batcheler difficult to score off. However Walford and Ben Debenham batted stoically and Brentwood reached 40 without loss. Ryan Sparrow introduced slow bowling from both ends in the shape of left-armers Tim Smith and Steve Atherton. Smith quickly accounted for Debenham who was caught at extra-cover by Jamie Sparrow. Alston Bobb batted at 3 and looked in good form. He had scored 20 when he tried to sweep a straight ball from Smith and was given out lbw. When Walford was caught by Parmenter also off Smith alarm bells rang for the visitors. Their worst fears were realised as Phil Ayres and Gulfras Muwas were also dismissed before lunch to leave Brentwood reeling on 124-5 off 46 overs. Aaron West was bowled by Batcheler in the first over after lunch and Ben Cocklin was run out soon after. Only a brief partnership between Ian Belchamber and Richard Whitehall offered Brentwood any hope, but they lost their last 3 wickets with the score on 160.
Having only scored a paltry total Brentwood knew tight bowling was to be crucial. This was not to be as Whitehall went for 3 boundaries in his first 2 overs and Joe Fryd for 2 leaving Walden 30 after 4 overs. Jack Stains was run out in the next over, but this brought Giles Ecclestone to the crease who looked in excellent form. Bobb replaced Fryd and bowled with good control, but his fellow left-arm spinner Belchamber was summarily dispatched by Ecclestone, conceding 25 runs in his 2 overs. The introduction of Muwas to partner Bobb slowed the scoring rate, but by this stage Walden needed only 70 runs. Bobb produced an excellent delivery to clean bowl Sparrow for 28, but number 4 Charlie Knightley provided Ecclestone with the support he required and after only 37 overs Walden had achieved victory. Ecclestone finished 85 not out.
Brentwood have gained only 1 point from their last two games and have gone from a side looking to win the league to now requiring 3 points from their last game against Ilford to ensure that they avoid relegation.
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8th September
Brentwood 1st XI - 252
Ilford 1st XI - 136 all out
Brentwood won by 116 wickets
Report by Damian Brandy
What the FA would do for their flagship Premier League, to experience a season of ebbs and flows of equal volatility to this season's Shepherd Neame cricket Premier League title, whose champions had to secure a maximum point win on the final day of the season to confirm their status.
The snakes and ladders like nature of a season that threatened to have the wind knocked out of it by inclement weather turned out to provide some of the most interesting cricket in recent times.
The season's fancied team, Brentwood, never threatened to knock the wind out of anything but their own chances of title glory, and they were tamely unconvincing at that. Their run in to the climax of the season yielded three wins and four losses from 8 games - was hardly the stuff of champions and new skipper Jonathon Walford, could only put his team's indifferent consistency - most notably with the bat - down to 'too much expectation'.
Ilford, lying eighth before Saturday's trip to the OCG, had it all to do if they were to avoid the drop along with Wickford whose relegation was already confirmed. The toss would dictate, even more so than normal, whether this game would surmount to a compelling contest - Brentwood oddly required 3 points from the game to secure premier league cricket next season, having clutched desperately to the chance of a top three finish only two weeks ago.
If Walford were to look back at the season and ponder, perhaps, his most crucial contribution to his side this year, he may not need to look much further back than 1030 am (the time of the toss) on the final week of the season; two resoundingly one-sided defeats from which his team garnered only 1 point in the previous two weeks suggested as much.
With the important work done (the toss being won), batting seemed altogether less important thereafter, as did the game, although if pride were of any significance to either team then it was all to play for.
Walford was bowled in the third over of the game, a miss-judged drive allowed the ball to sneak through bat and pad and onto his off-stump with his score only on 3. Ayres moved up the order to three, where he looked altogether more comfortable than his usual number five spot. Ayres drove with more conviction than his disappointing season would have you believe and looked well set before leaving a ball that hit the seam and took his off-stump without offering a shot for 26, the score on 39.
Brentwood, pictured at the Old County Ground, show off their new training kit
courtesy of a sponsorship deal with the White Horse pub
Brandy form has also been wholly disappointing. If Brentwood were to challenge for top spots then his performances must reflect his ability, not to mention his responsibility. Brandy put on 60 for the third wicket with Debenham, who could curse his luck when the off-spinner Tavarasa managed to get one to sneak along the turf and under his bat when well set on 30.
That bought Alston Bobb to the wicket, in his final league game before boarding a plane back to St Vincent, whose all-round performance this year has impressed all. "Alston Bobb has been great for us this year," agreed Walford. "His wickets and runs have been fantastic but he has also been a great team man. We'd love to have him back."
Having plundered 41 from 48 balls in a partnership of 76 with Brandy that propelled Brentwood's score to 175 with 22 overs remaining he was run out, an unsatisfactory way to end a commendable season indeed.
Brandy stayed firm, but in search of what has been an illusive century for him he knocked across one from the gentle spin of Hussain and was adjudged lbw for 85.
An eventual score of 252 was never threatened by the away team, who played with 10 men all day. Fryd produced a probing spell with the new ball was duly rewarded with two early wickets but the bulk of the damage was done by Belchamber, who extracted plentiful turn and bounce to finish with 4 for 27 from 13 overs. Only Akbar Jabar showed resistance with a defiant 50, but Ilford were never really in this contest. They looked entirely resigned to relegation even before they took the field.
In keeping with irregularity of the season, that win may well have propelled Brentwood to a fourth place finish, which ironically is exactly where they finished last season. That, however, is where the similarities between the two campaigns end. A good side may be fancied, but rarely do they accomplish more than that of a good team. Plenty for food for thought.
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Who's the shortest now Bobb?
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