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24th April
Brentwood 1st XI - 310-3
Fives & Heronians 1st XI - 201 all out
Brentwood won by 109 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood returned to competitive cricket action with a comfortable League Cup win against Shepherd Neame Essex League Division One side Fives and Heronians.
Brentwood, having won the toss, got off to an absolute flier, bringing the fifty up in just the 7th over, with Captain Jon Walford in particular punishing any loose delivery bringing up his personal fifty off just 35 deliveries; although fellow opener Aaron West had to retire with a slight niggle, the scoring rate never really let up as new overseas player, Nuwan Shiroman came to the crease.
Jon Walford
The first wicket fell in the eighteenth over when Walford was unfortunate to be caught down the legside for 68. That brought James Redwood to join his new Sri Lankan team mate to put on the first hundred partnership of the season. Redwood was watchful to start with but once he hit his first boundary he was finding the boundary on a regular basis, finishing unbeaten on 83 at over a run a ball.
Shiroman had fallen for 80 off just 65 balls as he was trapped leg before by Apps to be replaced at the crease by Richard Walford. With a target in excess of 350 looking possible and given the flat wicket and an outfield that could have made the greens at Augusta seem a little sluggish, Brentwood would have been disappointed to end up only just getting past 300. Nevertheless, it was a total Brentwood would have been confident of defending.
Terry Ballard attempted to put Fives into a good position, but despite finding the boundary regularly in his cameo he fell for 21 off just 16 deliveries, with Essex's new signing Max Osborne deceiving him with a well disguised slower ball.
Gary Edwards and Neil Braithwaite put on just shy of 100 to put Fives into a decent position, but with Shiroman, Gulfraz Muwas and Ian Belchamber proving hard to get away, the run rate required was ever rising.
It was not until the introduction of young spinners Harri Jones and Sam Pountney that Brentwood were able to make the breakthrough, with Jones picking up the wickets of both Braithwaite and Edwards, as well as Dan Stevens. Pountney quickly followed up with three wickets himself to help reduce Fives from 148-2 to 201 all out.
Harri Jones
Captain Walford was happy with the performance after the game. "It was not just good to get the victory, but also pleasing to see everyone contributing to the win with every player either in the runs or wickets."
Next week Brentwood face newly promoted Ilford in the Second Round of the League Cup at the Brentwood's Old County Ground.
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8th May
Brentwood 1st XI - 285-8
Woodford Wells 1st XI - 171 all out
Brentwood won by 114 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood's first Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League game as defending Champions ended with a comfortable win against one of the early season favourites, Woodford Wells. A superb 156 from captain Jon Walford was arguably overshadowed by new Essex recruit Max Osborne who shone with both bat and ball.
In conditions more akin to a wintry February afternoon than suited to cricket, Brentwood's large total was built around Walford's innings. However, at 18-2 and with Aaron West and Nuwan Shiroman both having fallen to James Lever, Brentwood's opening batsman required some solid rebuilding work, which came initially in the form of James Redwood, who's 25 crucially saw off the challenges of the opening spell of Lever and Australian overseas player Nathan Price as well as playing out the majority of the overs from the dangerous Rory Ellison.
Walford and Redwood put on 80 together, with the former scoring the majority of those runs, most notably cutting with complete authority. Once Redwood fell to a quick stumping from Essex wicket keeper Adam Wheater, the junior Walford was joined by his older brother, Richard in a partnership that started to move Brentwood into command of the game.
Their 134 partnership came in just 22 overs and shifted the momentum of the game entirely in Brentwood's favour. When Richard Walford was out in the 46th over, falling just five runs short of a deserved fifty, it allowed Osborne to stride to the wicket.
Renowned for some big hitting last season, Osborne got off the mark with one of the biggest sixes in club cricket in memory, easily clearing the 60 foot trees lining the ground. That hit was arguably to be bettered two overs laters when the trees were not just cleared, but the roof tiles the other side of the road were peppered. Lever received the brunt of Osborne's attack, which was harsh given the work of his opening spell; he did however finish up with four wickets.
All this unfairly overshadowed Walford who was still going about his business, bringing up his 150 in just 144 balls, with his third 50 coming from just 28 balls finally falling for 156 from only 147 balls.
Brentwood's ability to keep wickets in hand ensured they could really through bat to ball in the final ten overs; 107 runs was the result from those overs with Osborne scoring 27 off just 13 balls.
With momentum on their side, it was important Brentwood maintained that, and opening bowlers Osborne and Shiroman did just that. Only 24 runs came from the first ten overs although Brentwood managed just the one wicket.
However, it was Osborne's sixth over that transformed the innings. He picked up the wicket of Dan Majeed first ball, and followed that up with Wheater third ball. Price was his third victim the very next ball with a delivery that just skimmed the off bail. Osborne's hat-trick ball was kept out by Will Rogers, but he could do nothing with the final ball of the over to complete a quadruple wicket maiden.
To ensure Osborne did not hog all the glory, Shiroman picked up the wicket of the dangerous Rob Leiper next over. Woodford Wells had been reduced from 22-0 to 27-6 and effectively ending the game as a contest.
The remainder of the game seemingly went through the motions and despite the efforts of the Woodford Wells tail, Brentwood's target was never in serious doubt.
Osborne was unquestionably the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 5-19 off his allotted 10 overs. He did find good support from Shiroman whose ten straight overs went for just 25 runs, picking up two wickets in the process. The pick of the spinners was Sam Pountney, who snaffled two wickets.
Next weekend Brentwood have a double header against 2006 League Champions, Hainault and Clayhall. First up will be the league game on the Saturday, followed by the National Cup on the Sunday. Both games are at the Old County Ground, Brentwood.
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15th May
Hainault & Clayhall 1st XI - 232-9
Brentwood 1st XI - 233-7
Brentwood won by 3 wickets with 2 overs remaining
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood crept over the winning line in their second Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League tie to maintain their 100% record in 2010.
With a bowling attack missing Max Osborne, who was taking 5 wickets against the Bangladesh Test team on his First Class debut, it was left to Nuwan Shiroman and Gulfraz Muwas to take the new ball. Shiroman was at his economic best, with openers Irfan Shah and Imran Qadir unable to manoeuvre him at all.
However it was not until the introduction of part time seamer Aaron West that Brentwood managed to make a crucial breakthrough. Shah was just starting to look dangerous when West induced a false shot with Shiroman making the catch look easier than it actually was.
This led to a 72 run partnership between Qadir and Mouhssin Ismail that was only broken up with a direct hit run out, but still leaving Hainault in a very good position at 126-2 and with 20 overs remaining. However, spinners Harri Jones and Sam Pountney really changed the face of the game. Jones was extremely unlucky to end with only one wicket in his ten over spell, but his economy rate of just three runs per over thanks to the large turn and bounce he obtained put huge pressure on the Hainault batsmen.
At the other end Pountney was also putting pressure onto the Hainault batsmen, and picking up wickets at regular intervals, including the crucial wicket of Qadir for 86. Between the two young spinners, their 20 overs went for just 79 runs, as well as picking up four wickets.
Shiroman returned for his final four overs and mixed in some excellent slower balls to pick up three wickets himself to finish with the excellent return of 3-24 from his allocation of ten overs. Despite a last over blitz, Hainault finished on a slightly below par 232.
Brentwood's innings began in aggressive style with Aaron West taking 11 from Bilal Makodia's first over. He was quickly replaced with off spinner Irfan Shah who managed to pick up the wicket of West with a little extra bounce.
Shiroman began aggressively but played one big shot too many and was out for 16. Walford meanwhile was looking in top form, but he top edged a pull shot to fall for 32.
Brentwood were 78-3 and teetering somewhat. However, the aggressive start had got the League Champions well ahead of the run rate, which removed a lot of pressure from James Redwood and Pountney as they started to get the innings back on track. They had put on 78 and really got some momentum back into the innings when Pountney pulled a long hop straight down the mid-wickets throat for 41. This triggered a mini collapse as Brentwood fell from 156-3 to 194-7, with Hainault moving into control of the game. Redwood was very unfortunate to have been run out for 49 with a direct hit from the boundary.
It was left to the seasoned campaigners, Ben Rocklin and Gulfraz Muwas to steady the ship with 39 runs required. Combining some clever running between the wicket with the odd big hit, the pair moved Brentwood back to a favourites position, helped when Muwas hit consecutive balls for six and four.
Gulfraz Muwas
In the end Brentwood won relatively easily with two overs and three wickets to spare, and it was a game the home side would undoubtedly have lost just a couple of seasons ago.
Winning is a habit though, and Brentwood will attempt to maintain that next week when they take on newly promoted Ilford next Saturday at Brentwood's Old County Ground. They did have a rain ruined encounter in the League Cup three weeks ago, and with the match abandoned with the game in the balance, Brentwood will not be underestimating their opponents.
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22nd May
Brentwood 1st XI - 323-2
Ilford 1st XI - 134 all out
Brentwood won by 189 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood, current Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League Champions, produced a thoroughly convincing defeat of newly promoted Ilford at Brentwood's Old County Ground, with the win being set up by a superb unbeaten 137 from Aaron West and another fine allround performance from Max Osborne.
Batting first, Brentwood's opening batsmen Jon Walford and Aaron West produced their first century partnership of the season with the pair bringing up their fifties in 70 and 71 deliveries respectively. Both were particularly punishing on anything loose, with the final over of the fielding restrictions going for 19.
Following the end of those restrictions though Ilford, with the spin pairing of Theeban Tavarasa and Adeel Malik managed to get the scoring rate under control and put a squeeze onto Brentwood's batsmen. The pressure paid dividends when Malik bowled Walford for 55.
The wicket brought Nuwan Shiroman to the crease. He was quickly into his stride and the partnership added some momentum to the innings. Shiroman and West put on 69 in just 11 overs, with Shiroman scoring 33 at over a run a ball before a mix up cost him his wicket as he was run out going for a sharp single.
That wicket though brought Max Osborne to the crease having been promoted by captain Walford. It was obvious from ball one what his role was as he put his very first delivery for a maximum. West's innings was being perfectly paced as he raced towards his first League hundred of the season, with his second fifty coming in 57 balls and his final 37 coming in just 22 deliveries.
Osborne also raced to his first fifty of the season in just 27 balls, with the pair ruining the previous impressive figures of Tavarasa and Malik. The formers final five overs cost 46; while the latter's final three overs went for 28.
Their unbeaten partnership was worth a huge 135 in only thirteen overs to take the game away from Ilford and take Brentwood to a mammoth 323 from their 50 overs, essentially built around West's chanceless innings, a very impressive feat of concentration in the hot conditions.
If Ilford were to get close to Brentwood's total they needed to get off to a good start. However Osborne set the tone immediately by picking up a wicket with the very first delivery of the innings before following up with the wicket of Gurdeep Kandola in his second over.
Not to be outdone, fellow new ball bowler Shiroman picked up the wicket of Modasser Ibrahim the next over and then Usman Rana in his fourth. Osborne then picked up his third wicket to leave Ilford on 20-5 and the game was effectively over before the end of Brentwood's fielding restrictions.
Offspinner Harri Jones came on to continue his impressive recent form and got the crucial wicket of Malik thanks to an excellent catch by West at square leg.
As the game drifted, Walford switched around his bowling attack; the spin pairing of Jones and Sam Pountney picking up a further three wickets.
The final wicket proved tricky to get as a partnership of 20 developed over the course of ten overs, even fending off a final burst from Osborne. It was not until the introduction of West that Brentwood wrapped things up when he bowled Tavarasa with his first and only delivery.
Brentwood now sit in joint first place in the Shepherd Neame Premier division alongside the only other unbeaten side, Chelmsford.
On Tuesday 25th May, Brentwood Buccaneers are back in Twenty20 action as they take on Billericay at the Old County Ground, Brentwood, with the match starting at 6pm, before returning to League action on Saturday, when they take on the other newly promoted side, Loughton.
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29th May
Brentwood 1st XI - 270 all out
Loughton 1st XI - 150-7
Brentwood won on run rate by 15 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood managed to avoid the British summer weather enough to maintain their 100% winning record in 2010 with a close fought win over Loughton thanks in large to a superb all round performance by overseas star Nuwan Shiroman.
Upon being asked to bat, Jonathan Walford faced just three balls before the heavens opened. Once play resumed an hour and a half later, those three balls ensured that Brentwood still had 41 overs to face, whilst Loughton would get the minimum 20 overs back.
Upon resumption Brentwood lost Aaron West to the first ball of Gareth James's spell, when a delivery just short of a length reared up and West gloved a delivery to second slip that a lesser batsman would have not got close to.
That brought Shiroman to the wicket to join Walford. The pair manoeuvred the ball without having to resort to many big shots but still finding the boundary when loose balls were bowled.
Despite the presence of Essex seamer Tony Palladino, whose opening four overs cost 16 runs, and a pitch that extracted considerable bounce, the pair still managed to pile on a century partnership in just fifteen overs.
But they were not done there and the partnership continued unabated with both batsmen bringing up their chanceless centuries - Walford from just 97 balls and Shiroman from a mere 72.
Nuwan Shiroman
Although Brentwood lost Walford in the 35th over, having put on 235 with Shiroman, Brentwood were undoubtedly in a strong position, despite the shorter chase for their visitors.
When Brentwood reached 270-4 after 38.3 overs, the clock ticked to 6.10, the cutoff time for the overs to be bowled. Having lost a couple of balls through the innings, and having the left and right hand combinations in bat for the vast majority of the innings, Loughton were only slightly behind the clock. If the innings had gone past the cutoff it was decided that the game would be considered over. With no option to declare due to the limited over competition, and with Loughton, Brentwood and the umpires all keen for a contest to take place, the only option available to Brentwood was to retire all their remaining batsman out en masse. That left Shiroman undefeated on 124.
The Brentwood innings therefore concluded with Brentwood being bowled out for 270 in 38.3 overs.
That left Loughton a very gettable target of 165 from 20 overs and the game was very much on for both sides.
Opener and Loughton captain Ritchie Bann put Loughton firmly on the front foot, taking 13 from Max Osborne's first over. However, Osborne got his revenge picking up his wicket in the third over, when Shiroman took an outstanding, steepling catch over his shoulder. Bann had made 21 from just 14 balls. Shiroman then continued his outstanding performance with the wicket of Usman Jan next over.
Once the fielding restrictions had been lifted after 6 overs, Lougton were 46-2 and the game very much in the balance.
However, Brentwood's change bowlers had other ideas and outstanding spells from Tom Moore and West put Brentwood firmly into the driving seat. Moore, the eighteen year old, showed considerable composure as his four overs cost a mere 21 runs. By the time Moore had finished his spell the newly promoted Loughton side needed 84 from eight overs, and requiring something special.
Although James and Palladino found regular boundaries for impressive all-round personal performances, they were unable to up the ante sufficiently to get close, in the end falling fifteen runs light.
That win leaves Brentwood alone at the top of the table and the only side in the Shepherd Neame Premier League with 100% winning records. However, Brentwood need to be at the very top of their game when they visit title rivals Wanstead next Saturday if they wish to maintain that.
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12th June
Brentwood 1st XI - 276-9
Colchester & East Essex 1st XI - 146-9
Match Drawn
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood's return to all-day cricket proved to be a frustrating one as Colchester hung on for a draw as the last pair batted for over 7 overs to deny Brentwood a win.
Due to the overcast conditions and a pitch with plenty of grass on it, both sides were looking to have first use of the ball, but Brentwood were out of luck at the toss and were asked to bat.
That lost toss was looking ominous as Brentwood were reduced to 21-3 and barely able to lay bat on ball as the ball hooped about both in the air and off the seam.
Brentwood then staged something of a recovery ass Nuwan Shiroman and Richard Walford put on 59 runs, but probably more crucially took time out of the game and ensured the ball aged and moved around far less dangerously.
Once Walford was out to a peach from Nick Gibbs, Brentwood put together another partnership with Sam Pountney joining Shiroman. A 58 run partnership was only ended just before lunch when Bernie Stephens picked up his second of four wickets on the day but with Shiroman still going strong unbeaten on 69 at the interval, Brentwood felt confident of posting a big score.
However, that was not looking quite so promising when Shiroman fell to the third ball after lunch bringing together renowned big hitter Max Osborne with youngster Ronnie Saunders and the innings very much in trouble at 153-6. However both batted intelligently manoeuvring the ball for singles and taking few risks until the final few overs by which time the pair had taken the score to relative safety of 225.
At this point Osborne started playing his more natural game hitting two huge sixes to score a critical 57 and with strong cameos from Ben Cocklin and Gulfraz Muwas Brentwood were able to declare on 276, certainly an above par score given the conditions.
However given the sun making a welcome appearance (for the Colchester batsmen and the supporters at least) Brentwood needed to ensure they carried the momentum from their innings. With a new ball in their hand Brentwood picked up three quick wickets to put Colchester in firm trouble at 21-3 - the exact same score Brentwood had been reduced to.
Like the hosts, Colchester staged a recovery with overseas player Atamad ul Haq and Andrew Kennedy seeing off the hostile opening spells of Osborne and Shiroman. After tea, the recovery moved up a gear with ul Haq freeing himself up and playing a number of memorable pull shots.
However once Shiroman managed to get ul Haq with a slower ball things started to turn in Brentwood's favour four further quick wickets to move the score from 114-3 to 123-8. When Shiroman removed Stephens Brentwood must have felt the final wicket would follow soon after.
But Nick Gibbs and Kennedy had other ideas with Kennedy taking all the deliveries from Osborne's final hostile efforts in his 132 ball marathon scoring just 30 runs in the process.
That meant Brentwood only managed 11 points and fell behind leaders Wanstead. Their next match against Upminster is a must win to ensure the gap does not extend too far.
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19th June
Upminster 1st XI - 280-7
Brentwood 1st XI - 282-5
Brentwood won by 5 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
A superb unbeaten century from James Redwood put Brentwood's title challenge back on track after a period of two weeks without a victory.
James Redwood
Chasing down a total of 280, Brentwood crossed the finish line with just seven balls to spare as the unsettled British summer continued, with sixteen overs being lost throughout the day.
Captain Jonathan Walford won an important toss and asked Upminster to bat. Brentwoods' opening bowlers were almost unplayable initially exemplified by Michael Rath's solitary run coming from 23 deliveries. However, there were worrying signs for any large chase from Brentwood when Nuwan Shiroman's very first delivery barely got above ankle height.
After the ponderous start, first Shafiq Rahman and then Alan Ison added some impetus to the innings. Ison, who must want to play against Brentwood every week given his form in recent games against them, was once again in bullish mood, striking the ball cleanly all day.
His 60 runs came in just 47 balls, but just as the rain started to fall for an impending delay, Gulfraz Muwas managed to snare him leg before to the obvious frustration of Upminsters' players.
Meanwhile opener Andrew D'Cruz was holding the innings together, forming partnerships with Akbar Jabar and Bussey to move Upminster into a reasonable position, the former's innings only ended with a superb direct hit run out from Ronnie Saunders.
Ronnie Saunders
The home side required some acceleration at the end of the innings to move into a strong position though, and they achieved this through Nick O'Dell and Olly Peck. Peck in particular batted in somewhat unconventional fashion, but importantly regularly made contact between bat and ball. Their 50 partnership came in just six overs and put Upminster into a very strong position.
For once, it was Brentwood who were up against the momentum, and as is usually the case in such situations, an early wicket fell with Aaron West getting a good delivery from Sutha Kailasapillai.
However, captain Walford and Redwood quickly set about changing that momentum. With Upminster clearly trying to seize their opportunity with attacking fields, the two batsmen counter-attacked with aplomb.
Walford brought up his fifty first, followed soon after by Redwood. When Walford fell for 63, Brentwood were looking good, although requiring 7 an over for the last 20 overs. Cameos from Shiroman and Richard Walford followed, and with Redwood seemingly set in for the anchor role, a further cameo was required.
In strode Ben Rocklin to the wicket. Combining his usual clever running between the wickets with some cleaning striking, Rocklin made 38 from just 22 balls to ensure Brentwood ran out relatively easy victors, when the game seemed poised to go right to the very last delivery.
Ben Rocklin
However, it was Redwood's maiden century for Brentwood that was the major reason for Brentwood's first victory of the season in the 120 over format.
With a top four seemingly breaking away from the rest at the top of the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League, the next few games may determine whether any sides are going to break away from that particular mini-cluster. Next up for Brentwood is an away trip to Gidea Park and Romford.
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26th June
Gidea Park & Romford 1st XI - 199-7
Brentwood 1st XI - 200-7
Brentwood won by 3 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood scraped over the line with a three wicket win over bottom of the league Gidea Park to move into the joint top position of the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier Division alongside Wanstead.
It was a win Brentwood really had to fight for and one that looked in much doubt when Brentwood were reduced to 80-5, but they were brought out of trouble with a 90 run partnership between Richard Walford and Max Osborne to demonstrate the depth to Brentwood's batting line up.
Max Osborne
Brentwood started the day well. Upon asking Gidea Park to bat, Brentwood restricted their opponents to such an extent that by lunch they were barely scoring at two runs per over. The main beneficiary of this low run rate was Ian Belchamber's figures, whose 21 over spell went for just 24 runs in addition to picking up three wickets.
However, none of the bowlers were proving easy to get away, and a steady flow of wickets was not helping Gidea Park. It was down to their captain, Andy Churchill to hold the innings together. His unbeaten 65 was by far the highest score of the innings, and he received little support until partnerships with Sharif Al-Mamun, Rudi Filmater and Ejaz Khan moved the score from 106-6 to 199-7.
Although Gidea Park took the momentum into the second innings, Brentwood were confident of chasing down what they believed to be a below par target, given the extremely quick outfield and flat but slightly slow wicket.
That confidence was looking good after the first two balls of the innings were hit for four by Jonathan Walford, but he was the first of four batsmen adjudged leg before on the third ball of the innings.
Brentwood's innings started to fall apart as they were firstly 38-4 and then following some spirited resistance from Sam Pountney 80-5 before a mix up led to his dismissal just as he had shifted momentum towards the visiting side.
Richard Walford
However, that brought together the elder Walford brother and Osborne, whose sound batting slowly moved the game back into Brentwood's favour, never allowing the rate to increase beyond five runs per over. Walford reached his fifty first, by his own admission a turgid innings, even if that is exactly what Brentwood required. Osborne followed to his landmark soon after, but then fell almost immediately as he tried to finish the game quickly.
Walford's innings didn't last much longer either as he top edged a sweep shot, but Ben Rocklin and Gulfraz Muwas were able to see Brentwood home in relative comfort, with nearly three overs to spare.
Although Brentwood go into the penultimate game of the first half of the season in pole position, with just fifteen points separating the top four teams there is still no room for error. Next week may end up being a defining one in the Shepherd Neame Premier League season with the top four all facing each other, Brentwood taking on Chelmsford at the Old County Ground.
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3rd July
Chelmsford 1st XI - 270-6
Brentwood 1st XI - 204-8
Match Drawn
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood's indifferent form of late continued as they could only scrape through to a draw against Chelmsford; in the end it was a good result for Brentwood as Chelmsford will certainly be fighting it out at the end of the season for the Shepherd Neame League Championship.
Things started going to plan, when having won the toss, Brentwood quickly reduced their opposition to 30-3, mainly thanks to a hostile opening spell from the teenage pairing of Max Osborne and Tom Moore.
After their compulsory seven over spells had been completed, captain Jon Walford turned to the spin of Harri Jones who immediately extracted turn and bounce from the wicket.
Osborne returned to the attack and got rewards either side of the lunch interval with what looked like the crucial wickets of Rob Hayto and Matt Thurston to reduce their visitors to 105-5 and seemingly in a lot of trouble.
However the pairing of Chris Prowting and Neil Fergus counter attacked with aplomb and thanks to some tiring Brentwood limbs in the field, they were able to gain the momentum of the innings.
Prowting fell for 76 to a deserved second wicket for Tom Moore, but Fergus continued to an unbeaten 63.
The pick of Brentwood's bowlers were their openers Osborne and Moore whose respective returns of 3-49 and 2-23 probably was not an accurate reflection of how well they actually bowled.
The home side still felt it to be an under par total given that the outfield was rapid and the wicket was flat, even if it did offer support to those bowlers wishing to attack. However, for Brentwood to be successful they required a good start.
In reply Aaron West fell in unfortunate manner second ball as he played on, and then Jon Walford, although looking fluent, fell having made 17.
Brentwood were now looking for significant contributions from either James Redwood or Nuwan Shiroman, but Shiroman, having made a rapid 31 fell to let Mark Drain get his third wicket.
Redwood, whose form this season has been impressive made a start to his innings, but on this occasion could not carry it through to the end of the innings as he fell trying to get on top of the spinners.
With wickets continuing to fall Brentwood found themselves firmly on the back foot and only Chelmsford held a realistic chance of victory.
Max Osborne, who is more known for his attacking intentions with the bat than his rear guard efforts defied those who thought he might be a one trick pony as he valiantly reared in his big hitting for the good of the side.
His 50 was undoubtedly his slowest for the club, coming at almost a run every other ball, but it arguably was one of his most important.
He received more than valuable support from Harri Jones, who recorded his highest score in the Premier League with 27. The pair of them had survived almost 30 overs when Osborne fell.
Chelmsford had one further chance to win the game, when Ross DiBartolo, who had made two sharp slip catches already, dropped Ian Belchamber with three overs of the game left, but the tricky slip catch went begging.
In the end there were no further troubles as Jones and Belchamber held on to secure the draw.
Brentwood will need to up their performance quite considerably next week when they take on Ilford in the first game of the repeat fixtures.
Brentwood are also in League Cup action on Sunday when they take on Hadleigh and Thundersley of Division One.
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10th July
Ilford 1st XI - 159 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 160-3
Brentwood won by 7 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood's second half of the season started in more impressive fashion than the first half finished as they completed an easy win over Ilford in the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League.
On what turned out to be an unresponsive wicket for the seamers, opening bowlers Max Osborne and Tom Moore found wickets hard to come by, but they ensured they tied the opening batsmen down, going along at just two runs per over. Only Moore was able to make a solitary breakthrough in what was an otherwise excellent spell.
Nuwan Shiroman continued the fine work of the opening bowlers and along with the spin of Harri Jones Ilford were never able to push the score along as they would have liked.
Shiroman combined a tight opening spell with two wickets, first getting the stubborn Gagan Bhogal and then the wicket of Modassar Ibrahim soon after. Jones was keeping things tight but it was proving to be an unlucky day in terms of wickets for the young spinner.
Just prior to lunch proved to be a critical period in the game. Adeel Malik looked very comfortable at the crease and eased to 29. However, with just five minutes until the interval, he tried to heave Ian Belchamber, who had replaced Shiroman after a tight ten over spell, across the line and against the spin, proceeding to chip the ball up to Moore at mid-wicket.
Aided with some generous turn the spin pair of Jones and Belchamber continued after lunch and soon found success. First the left arm spin of Belchamber removed Hameed Gul and then Jones came to the party with three quick fire and deserved wickets. Belchamber then finished off the innings with the wickets of Ahmed Nawaz and Muhammad Haroon.
Ilford had collapsed from 119-3 to 159 all out. Belchamber finished with 4-34 and Jones 3-60 from 19 overs to prove his recovery from a recent dislocated shoulder is complete.
Brentwood's reply began with the early loss of Aaron West, but Jon Walford was looking in top form until he top edged a full toss straight to deep backward square leg.
That brought Nuwan Shiroman to the crease, who as usual immediately set about attacking the Ilford spinners. It paid dividends as he regularly found the boundary to take Brentwood within sight of victory. Even the wicket of keeper James Redwood could not hold Brentwood back as Shiroman saw Brentwood over the line with a minimum of 37 overs left to use.
With the whole top four all winning little has changed at the top of the Premier League. Brentwood must therefore ensure they keep to the winning habit when they take on Hainault and Clayhall next Saturday.
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17th July
Brentwood 1st XI - 208 all out
Hainault & Clayhall 1st XI - 209-4
Hainault & Clayhall won by 6 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood, undefeated in all day cricket in 23 months, came crashing to earth with a mighty bump as they were thumped by Hainault in the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League.
Having not batted nor bowled particularly well, with a couple of exceptions, Brentwood still missed probably four slight chances, which if taken could have turned the game in a different direction altogether.
Having been asked to bat, Brentwood lost both openers for single figures, with captain Jon Walford falling to a superb low gully catch by Ryan Hurst.
Worse was to come when, Nuwan Shiroman, looking comfortable at the crease hammered a long hop towards the ground. Yassin Patel at short leg dived for cover, only for the ball to loop in the air off his shin pad into the grateful hands of Paul Raghavan behind the stumps. If ever there was a sign this was not to be Brentwood's day, this was it.
Brentwood, not for the first time this season, were indebted to a recovery from James Redwood and Richard Walford. Although progress was not easy and slow, it at least set Brentwood up for a potential onslaught after lunch.
Redwood was unfortunate to fall one short of a deserved fifty, but Walford did manage to convert his innings to a half century.
Ronnie Saunders, once again, impressed batting at six, but fell to Suleman Qadir's arm ball; Max Osborne struck some mighty blows but hit another half tracker seemingly into space, only for Irfan Shah to pull off another excellent catch in the deep. It was left for Gulfraz Muwas to martial the tail, but Brentwood could not quite make it to a third batting point, falling just two runs short.
Hainault seemed intent on setting the tone to the innings from the start with Atif Zafar and Dominic Hurst crashing the ball to all parts. Tom Moore, who bowled consistent good areas bore the brunt of the attack.
Osborne got things under control by removing the two openers, but then Shah launched an extra-ordinary pre-tea attack on Harri Jones, who in the very final over of the session had two probably quarter chances missed, but the over still went for 20. On another day Jones may have picked up four wickets, but in the end his eighteen overs were wicketless.
When Shah was removed straight after lunch, Qadir took over playing some outrageous shots. He had clearly taken exception to Osborne's hitting and decided he wanted revenge. However, after a large straight six, Osborne got the better of him when he looked for another.
The game was potentially poised either way at 130-4, but Mousshin Ismail had looked extremely steady in comparison to the other batsmen. He received support from Basil Akram and in the end Hainault comfortably crossed the winning line with some seven overs to spare.
Brentwood move into third place in the League, and with a crucial fixture against fourth placed Woodford Wells, Brentwood will need to severely up their game on Saturday.
Meanwhile, on Sunday Brentwood have a League Cup quarter final away to Buckhurst Hill.
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24th July
Woodford Wells 1st XI - 250 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 251-5
Brentwood won by 5 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Although the end result will read as a fairly comfortable 5 wicket victory, it was anything but comfortable for the numerous Life Vice President's who had accepted the invitation to join their President for High Tea.
In fact it was only thanks to Max Osborne's hard hitting and a extraordinary cameo from Gulfraz Muwas that pulled Brentwood over the line and back into top place of the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League.
Woodford Wells, having opted to bat at the toss, started the brighter of the two. Tom Moore though, having settled after a scratchy first couple of overs, settled down nicely and was extremely unlucky to end up wicketless from his seven overs. After five overs the visitors were comfortably going along at more than a run a ball.
It was not until the introduction of Nuwan Shiroman and Harri Jones that Brentwood were able to exercise some control.
Pressure from these two bowlers was the key and Jones deservedly picked up the wicket of young Essex prodigy Rishabh Shah with an outstanding short leg catch from Richard Walford.
The Wells were then reduced from 75-0 to 81-3 with Jones picking up the wicket of Leiper and Shiroman trapping Rob Marhsall in front of all three stumps.
This arguably turned out to be a crucial period of the game, with Shiroman's thirteen overs before lunch costing a meagre ten runs as Brentwood cranked up the pressure. However Woodford Wells survived through to lunch without further damage, allowing an onslaught to come after lunch.
That came in the main from Australian Nathan Price who comfortably found the boundary on regular occasions, thanks in part to the rapid outfield. He found some support from Will Rogers, but that was finished with a superb direct hit run out from Aaron West.
With Price well set it appeared Brentwood might be chasing down something in the order of 270 or 280 but when Price fell 6th wicket down to Ian Belchamber, taking a diving catch off his own bowling, Brentwood knew that target would come down considerably.
In the end, Shiroman and Belchamber combined to wrap up the remaining four wickets for just 19 runs, allowing Woodford Wells to just get into the maximum bonus point region, but certainly a below par target.
Belchamber finished with the best statistical analysis of 4-30 but was certainly aided by Shiroman's marathon stint of 21 overs in which he picked up 3-53.
Brentwood's reply started brightly, with Jon Walford and West able to start making inroads to the Woodford Wells total, and they managed to go into the tea break with all ten wickets still in tact.
West, looking in form, was unfortunate to get an unplayable delivery from Aaron West that came off his bat handle to the grateful hands of Leiper in the slips.
James Redwood and Walford were then able to put on a further 42 runs to take Brentwood to 123-1 and in a very strong position. However, Walford fell to Ellison for 60 and Shiroman received a brute of a delivery from Luke O'Reilly that clean up his off stump and Brentwood were suddenly 136-3.
Redwood and Richard Walford managed to redress some of the balance with a 56 run partnership, albeit one behind the run rate. The wicket of Walford allowed Brentwood to promote Osborne up the order and he duly delivered the goods, despite the defensive fields Woodford Wells were forced to set.
When Muwas joined Osborne at the crease after Redwood had made 61, Brentwood needed 36 from just 18 deliveries. Of the 16 deliveries that needed to be bowled, Muwas faced just five, but in that time he hit 2 sixes and scored a total of 16 runs.
Not to be outdone Osborne hit one six and three fours, scoring 33 in his 19 deliveries and to take Brentwood over the line incredibly with two balls to spare.
With no team seemingly set to run away with the Premier League this season, such a victory against title rivals could turn out to be crucial in the grand scheme of things. However, Brentwood will need to get over their problems of inconsistency when they take on Loughton next week. Their opposition currently lie tied for fourth place and a victory could prove to be vital.
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31st July
Brentwood 1st XI - 313-9 declared
Loughton 1st XI - 227 all out
Brentwood won by 86 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood secured a vital 25 point victory that moves Brentwood to 17 points ahead at the top of the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League thanks to a maiden league seven wicket haul for Ian Belchamber.
The win moves Brentwood into a good position in the League, but with a huge game against second placed Wanstead next week there is a great deal still up for grabs.
The match did not get off to a great start with Jon Walford losing the toss and then losing his wicket for just 9. However Aaron West led the recovery to move Brentwood to 98-1 at just about a run a ball just before the drinks interval. The ball before the squash entered the field, West was adjudged leg before to spinner Taqi Abbass for a well constructed 60.
Nuwan Shiroman and the in-form James Redwood carried on where West left off and at lunch Brentwood were in the excellent position of 183-2 from 38 overs.
However, just as Brentwood were looking towards a very attacking declaration after 55 overs the momentum of the innings was shifted with the wickets of Redwood and Shiroman within two overs of each other, both to the bowling of Stuart Greenhill. They had made 63 and 50 respectively.
Max Osborne followed soon after and it was left to Richard Walford and Ronnie Saunders to rebuild the innings towards the 300 mark. Together the pair put on 50 to ensure Brentwood had at the very least a competitive total.
Cameos from Sam Pountney, Greg Holmes and Gul Muwas ensured Brentwood went past the 300 mark and with Muwas scoring 22 from just 9 balls, Brentwood were able to declare two overs early on 313.
The reply from Loughton could not have got off to a worse start with Max Osborne picking up the wicket of Faisal Shah after just three balls, the first of five leg befores in the innings.
Ian Belchamber
Just as tea was coming, Walford introduced Belchamber into the attack, and he removed Gareth James with a snorting delivery that just flicked the batsman's glove.
After lunch Brentwood attacked with spin from each end and it paid dividends when Pountney trapped the dangerous Usman Jan leg before.
At this stage it looked like only two results were possible, with Loughton needing an extraordinary innings to get close to Brentwood's total. Brentwood increased the number of catchers around the bat and the pressure accounted for the wickets of Gareth James Jnr and Shaun Gymer, both to the bowling of Belchamber.
All the time Loughton captain Richie Bann was going strong with a number of big shots making up the 61 leading some more defensive fields.
With one ball left of Belchamber's over, captain Walford brought all the boundary riders up close to the bat and the tactical switch worked as Bann tried a big shot off a good length ball that landed straight in Osborne's hands.
That left Loughton in severe trouble at 127-6, and with Bilal Butt barely able to walk having retired hurt earlier in the innings. He came back with a runner, but the pain was obvious every time he played a shot. It seemed only a matter of time before he fell and so it proved as he also fell to Belchamber's spin.
Meanwhile at the other end Greenhill led a counter attack, using the attacking fields to score freely and not looking in real trouble. However, he could not find enough support and wickets were falling at the other end.
Brentwood had a full eleven overs at the final pair, and wanted to ensure they did not waste the opportunity as had passed against Colchester earlier in the season.
It was left to Shiroman to wrap things up as he picked up the final wicket of Greenhill, who had made an impressive 64.
With Wanstead unable to pick up the final wicket and only finishing with a draw, that final wicket may prove crucial in the final reckoning. However, next week could be a defining one in the Premier League title run in.
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7th August
Wanstead 1st XI - 133 all out
Brentwood 1st XI - 138-6
Brentwood won by 4 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood beat one of their main title rivals, Wanstead, and all-but make it a two horse title race for the Shepherd Neame Premier League, thanks in main to teenage pair Tom Moore and Aaron West.
In a game that neither side could really afford to lose Brentwood were hoping to see a typical Brentwood flat track. What they found after the long overdue rain was a lively green top that looked a definite result track.
It was therefore, arguably, the most important toss of the season and for once Jon Walford was successful and immediately asked to bowl first. It paid dividends when Arfan Akram, a member of the Unicorns squad in the Pro40 fell to Max Osborne's third ball.
Incoming batsman, Milan Patel got off to an immediate flier, hitting any delivery slightly back of a length for four. Tom Moore, who received most of the Patel punishment, got his revenge when he pitched one up, only to find a leading edge. The shot appeared to find the perfect gappage, only for Ian Belchamber to dive backwards and catch the ball in an outstretched right arm. Patel fell for 21 from just 13 balls.
This wicket seemed to inspire Moore who regularly found movement off the seam. Adnan Akram, Mervyn Westfield and Kishan Velani all fell to the 18 year old for a combined 3 runs, and all caught by keeper James Redwood.
This left Wanstead in all kinds of trouble at 37-5 and all their big guns back in the pavilion.
Brentwood were then forced to change their opening attack and replacements Nuwan Shiroman and Gul Muwas carried on where the openers left off. Their first twelve overs went for a mere 17 runs as the two bowled barely a bad ball between them. That took Wanstead to 59-7 and in real trouble with opener Rehan Hassan the only one to offer resistance with 22 off 72 balls.
Arif Saeed then immediately counter attacked, striking ten off Muwas's final over, and whilst the sun flattened out the wicket, Brentwood found it increasingly frustrating as the Wanstead tail definitely wagged.
Moore came back to deservedly get a maiden Premier League five-for when he got the wicket of Shahzad. However, Saeed, along with support from Mo Fayyaz and Joe Ellis-Grewal helped push Wanstead along to a total where Wanstead at least had something to bowl to. Saeed top scored with 54 at exactly a run a ball.
Aaron West
Despite the lively nature of the pitch, Brentwood felt it had flattened out and were confident it was still a below par score.
However, Wanstead quickly picked up the wickets of Jon Walford and Sam Pountney to leave Brentwood 21-2, as the new ball regularly rapped the batsmen on the gloves. Opening bat Aaron West, however, looked the only batsman of the day who looked truely comfortable on the wicket and he quickly moved the score beyond the 50-mark.
Brentwood still looked in control when Shiroman fell and moved the score onto 94-3, but Brentwood lost three wickets for just one run, including the huge wicket of West for 63 from just 58 balls, as Westfield bowled a hostile spell.
That left Wanstead arguably in control with all-rounder Osborne and the injured Redwood, who had earlier had to leave the field to nurse a bruised thumb, at the crease and with only Muwas as the recognised batsmen left.
After seeing off Westfield's hostility, Redwood in particular stamped his authority, taking a massive 14 off one Fayyaz over. As Brentwood closed on Wanstead's score confidence clearly rose and Osborne started hitting his trade-mark boundaries.
It was left to Osborne to hit the winning runs as he hit a trade-mark six and leave Brentwood in ecstasy, leaving the brave Redwood unbeaten on 22 and Osborne on 19.
However the next two weeks with probably determine Brentwood's end league position as they take on first Colchester at Castle Park and then a top of the table clash with Chelmsford at Chelmer Park. These two weeks may determine where the trophy ends up.
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14th August
Colchester 1st XI - 247-5
Brentwood 1st XI - 215 all out
Colchester won by 32 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Brentwood's title hopes took a slight dent when they were defeated by Colchester, however with other results working in their favour they actually ended the day in a better position than at the start of the day.
The game will most be remembered for Brentwood having to field for 25 overs with ten men after an injury to Aaron West during the warm up. Nevertheless Brentwood's ten men bowled and fielded admirably despite the slightly unusual fields being set, restricting the Colchester batsmen as best they could.
However Colchester's Omar Ahmed was in fine form regularly finding the boundary, particularly during the fielding restrictions. He was joined by Atamad Ul Haq, nephew of Pakistan legend Inzimam, and together the pair put on 92 runs with Ul Haq being particularly dismissive of Brentwood's spinners.
Even when the pair were dismissed within the space of five runs of one another, Colchester's middle order continued the momentum.
In the circumstances the six runs per over was probably the best Brentwood could have hoped for, with Sam Pountney the pick of the bowlers, getting 2-37 from his 7 overs.
Sam Pountney
Brentwood's reply got off to the best possible start with Jon Walford looking in imperious form, racing to 21 from just two overs.
All of Brentwood's batsmen managed to get themselves in, but other than Walford's 66, no-one was able to convert to beyond a half century as the run rate continued to increase.
As the rate increased up towards the ten runs per over mark Brentwood continued to lose wickets, although when Max Osborne and West, who had to bat at seven due to the time off the field, were at the wicket together they quickly put on 50 and set Brentwood up with a possible victory, only for Nick Gibbs to end that with a spectacular catch to dismiss West.
In the end the target was just too much for Brentwood and they fell well short of the total.
Brentwood though managed to increase their lead at the top of the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League to 26 points, thanks to Hainault's victory over closest rivals Chelmsford.
Next week is a crucial one in the Premier League with the top two facing one another. A convincing Brentwood victory could bring the title to the Old County Ground, but a defeat would bring Chelmsford right back into the hunt with two further games to be played.
Brentwood also travel to Wanstead in the semi final of the League Cup on Sunday, making it a huge weekend in Brentwood's fortunes for the season.
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21st August
Chelmsford 1st XI - 195 all out (44 overs)
Brentwood 1st XI - 199-6 (48.4 overs)
Brentwood won by 4 wickets
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
Saturday was a day for reminiscing for Brentwood. Not only did they just about scrape over the winning line as they have done on so many occasions this season; but by beating Chelmsford at Chelmer Park, they all but mathematically won the Shepherd Neame Essex Premier League title as they had done at the same stage and place as 2009.
Perhaps the most notable difference in 2010 was that it was Scouting for Girls who could be heard from Hylands Park, rather than Dizzee Rascal sending everyone Bonkers.
Brentwood now require just four points from their remaining two fixtures to remove any mathematical possibility of not retaining the title - something no other club has been able to do since Saffron Walden did so in 2005.
It was Brentwood's talismanic captain, Jon Walford, along with elder brother Richard who ensured Brentwood were pulled over the winning line. At 28-3 on a tricky pitch and requiring a further 167 runs for victory, Chelmsford were in the driving seat. The brothers though, put on a superb 120 run partnership, with Jon finishing 2 runs shy of a century and Richard four short of his 50.
Both landmarks would have been more than deserved, but undoubtedly both were happy enough to have put their side into a winning position, even if they were clearly angry at not having finished the job themselves.
The younger Walford's innings was a top class innings with anything vaguely loose being dispatched to the boundary with some ferocious timing. However, it was only through the support he received from older brother that he was able to bat with fluency.
When both brothers fell without a run being scored, it was down to all rounders Max Osborne and Gulfraz Muwas to finish the game off and not for the first time this season they completed the job together, and typically with a boundary to finish the game.
Brentwood's day got off to a great start when Walford won the toss and inserted Chelmsford, and then Osborne picked up a wicket in his first over. However, Chelmsford counter attacked successfully with the two Nicks, Bailey and Prowting punishing anything particularly full.
It was Brentwood's change bowlers that brought Brentwood back into the game with Nuwan Shiroman and Ian Belchamber picking up 4-60 from their combined 20 overs to give Brentwood the momentum.
However Chris Prowting and Ross DiBartolo went about their batting in sensible fashion to give Chelmsford a slight window of opportunity. It was Sam Pountney who managed to break that particular partnership, with the wicket of Prowting.
DiBartolo found some support from Fahran Mahmood, but when Tom Moore picked up the wicket of Australian DiBartolo and Mark Drain in consecutive deliveries, it was only a matter of time before Brentwood picked up the final two wickets.
Osborne completed the job when he also picked up two wickets in two balls to ensure Chelmsford finished with a below par total of 195. It was then that Brentwood's supporters were put through the agony of watching another agonising chase.
Next week Brentwood will start by looking for the four points they require against Gidea Park. After that they will be looking for the 40 points from the final two games that would take Brentwood over the 300 point mark and a higher points total than their 2009 efforts.
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28th August
Brentwood 1st XI - 238-6 (50 overs)
Gidea Park & Romford 1st XI - 110 all out (32 overs)
Brentwood won by 128 runs
Report by Ian Belchamber
Scorecard
When Nuwan Shiroman bowled Greg Churchill for a golden duck and got Brentwood their fourth bonus point, it mathematically wrapped up the League title for the second consecutive year. Brentwood then followed up their success with a convincing win against bottom of the league Gidea Park.
The title Brentwood have won this season is arguably a greater effort than in 2009 as it is arguably defending a title is much harder work than getting a first. It certainly has been a far greater team effort, with no player averaging more than 45 and no bowler getting more than 35 wickets. However, when it has been needed someone has often provided a match winning performance.
Stuck in on what was a wet wicket, but given the amount of rain that had fallen in the previous week, the wicket was probably better than expected.
Jon Walford may not have thought that as he walked back after edging Carl Greenidge's third ball. However, Aaron West and James Redwood led a recovery, crucially seeing off the opening spell of Greenidge and Ejaz Khan.
Having put on 76 together, Brentwood then lost their numbers two and three in a short space of time just as the acceleration was beginning.
Shiroman went about another recovery quietly, ably supported by the elegance of Ronnie Saunders. Saunders though fell when he was through is shot too early and ended up with a leading edge that spooned into the air.
Shiroman was able to score off almost every ball he faced, without having to play many big shots and quickly moved into the 30s. Just when he was looking set, he misjudged a full toss and lobbed it up to extra cover. When Richard Walford fell in the same over, Brentwood were looking in a little trouble at 143-6.
However, Brentwood's strength in depth of their batting line-up paid dividends, and certainly not for the first time this season, as Brentwood's genuine all-rounders Max Osborne and Sam Pountney set about the Gidea Park bowling line up in aggressive fashion. Within the space of eight overs, the pair had put on the 67 needed to obtain a third batting point and a more than competitive total. There were still two overs left of the innings and Pountney in particular, managed to smash the side to a further 29 runs.
Osborne finished unbeaten on 40 from just 33 balls. It is not normal for him to be out scored, but in this instance, Pountney managed it, combining his usual dabby style with some big hits to move to an unbeaten 47 from 30 balls.
Brentwood had wrapped up the Legue and virtually the game within twelve balls of Gidea Park's innings. Max Osborne's final two deliveries of his first over picked up the wickets of Baber Choudhary and Matthew Tarr and Nuwan Shiroman the wicket of Greg Churchill with his final delivery to leave Gidea Park on 6-3.
Osborne picked up his third wicket when he ended the stubborn resistance of Ashu Dahbi. Only Hasibul Hoq was looking able to get on top of the bowling as he scored freely to get 41. He only found support from Jamal Francis, but the spin on Ian Belchamber put an end to both their innings when they were stumped by James Redwood.
Gidea Park then moved from 75-5 to 110 all out as Belchamber picked up a four wicket haul and Sam Pountney unlucky to only end with one wicket.
Next week, Brentwood face a crucial clash as Upminster look to ensure their Premier League survival, but the champions-elect will not be easing up as they look to move over and above the three hundred point mark and a higher points total than 2009.
Brentwood will also need to think about 2011 as a second defence of their title would be an incredible achievement if it could be done.
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