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8th May
Brentwood 5th XI - 63 all out
Walthamstow 4th XI - 64-6
Walthamstow won by 4 wickets
Report by Ash Patel
Scorecard
This game played at the lovely village ground of Great & Little Warley was spoilt by a bitterly cold, damp day. As Brentwood began their innings having lost the toss, it began to drizzle and continued to drizzle throughout the Brentwood innings. Walthamstow's Dew and Mohammed did the early damage as Olli walker was well caught at backward point and then Patil and Sethi having played very well for 8 overs succumbed to Walthamstow's accurate bowling. With captain Patel watching a further 4 batsmen get out quite quickly it was evident that Brentwood would be out for lowish score. Walthamstow change bowlers were just as good as the opening pair and provided no respite as Brentwood were skittled out for 63.
There was a chance for Brentwood to repeat Walthamstow bowling heroics however the youngsters of Brentwood did not have the same level of pace and accuracy of Walthamstow as they gave them too many loose balls and too many wides considering the playing conditions and the small total. Walthamstow's batsmen were not particularly skilful (except for Parkinson) but they just had the edge over the Brentwood bowlers as they coasted past the Brentwood total. There were tidy spells from Abbott, C Maxwell, Terry and Sethi and the wicket takers were the older more experienced Gunasakra and Patil.
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15th May
Brentwood 5th XI - 212-9
Hadleigh & Thundersley 4th XI - 213-2
Hadleigh & Thundersley won by 8 wickets
Report by Steve Bell
Scorecard
Brentwood won the toss and chose to bat first on a dry sloping track. The outfield had been used for football matches until the weekend before. The local council had levelled the outfield at one end, but due to lack of funds (come on coalition - you know cricket should be a funding priority!) had been unable to repair the other end, which had the consistency of broken concrete.
Conditions were generally overcast, and there was an extremely short boundary on one side as the pitch was on the extreme edge of the square.
Brentwood skipper Ash Patel won the toss and despite only posting 63 in the previous match was determined to set a respectable total.
The Brentwood innings was soon in trouble, Neel Sethi went for 5, and Rishi Patel went for 1, bowled by a spinning delivery reminiscent of Warne's ball of the last century, breaking around a good forward defence to take the top of off stump. This was Stuart Williams best ball of the match, by far, and after 5 overs he was pulled off and not seen again!
We then had the two most experienced batsmen, Andy Maxwell and Ash Patel compile a patient stand. Batting was never easy with very uneven bounce, and the harsh outfield was taking chunks from the ball larger than can be achieved by a certain test side with a bottle top! There were frequent appeals for lbw and a number of aerial shots falling between fielders. Hadleigh and Thundersley seemed to lose a little confidence and became very quiet in the field. There was a ragged cheer from the watching team-mates as the total went past 63. Ash posted his 50, and after a tortuous period, Andy began to get his timing working. However both fell LBW in quick succession (Ash 55, Maxwell 40).
This meant the young middle order was exposed. U12s Matthew Bell and Kieran Emmanuel strode out to bat. Matthew took control helping set the tone. An early pull shot for 4 to the longest boundary meant that the fielders gave them respect and a good stand developed. Matthew was out for 21 and Kieran had at that stage mainly contributed singles.
Emmanuel had clearly been watching Morgan at the 20-20. Gaining in confidence he started to play a more attacking role, playing shots around the ground to accelerate his innings. Junaka Gunasakara came and contributed a good 18 providing support to Emmanuel. Brentwood passed 200 for maximum bowling points and the only question remaining was whether Emmanuel could make his first 50. Emmanuel began to lose partners, Simon Wood following a long period waiting to bat came and went first ball, U12 Cameron Maxwell showed good guts playing defensively to their fastest bowler before departing for 2.
Then it was down to late call ups, Steve Bell (father of Matthew) and Mr Sethi (father of Neel). Bell went after 5 balls with attacking shots of good technique (for golf rather than cricket) failing to connect until the ball hit his stumps, somewhat to his surprise, leaving Mr Sethi to try to stay in with Kieran for the last 2 overs.
On 48 with 4 balls remaining Emmanuel scampered a single. Silly boy! More experienced cricketers will know that when a score beckons, in the last over batting with a number 11, turn down the single and hope for a boundary. So it proved as Sethi survived without being able to get Emmanuel back on strike. Stranded on 49 n.o. this was an excellent innings from one so young.
Brentwood started out with their only two fast bowlers, Bell and C Maxwell, but failed to make an impact, though at 8 an over Bell surprisingly turned out to be the most economical. Overs were expensive and Ash turned to spin. Simon Wood took out one of the openers bowled but only after he had got 24. Hadleigh were punishing anything wayward and used their feet well to target the short boundary for a number of sixes. The uneven ground made ground fielding hazardous, with the long barrier often being the wrong place! Newnham and Snelling both made their half centuries before Emmanuel (usually a wicket keeper) got a wicket. It wasn't enough though and Hadleigh accelerated passing the target comfortably in 22.5 overs.
A few chances had gone down, but the reflections on the match are that Brentwood batted well setting a decent target, but were a couple of experienced quality bowlers short.
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22nd May
Brentwood 5th XI - 249-7
Loughton 4th XI - 207 all out
Brentwood won by 42 runs
Report by Ash Patel
Scorecard
Brentwood in need to kick start their season fielded a very young team again so when Loughton skipper won the toss and elected to field on a very hot day and a good looking batting track skipper Patel was a happy bunny.
The opening pair Andy Maxwell and Anand Patil started watchfully but in the ninth over Maxwell could not keep out a straight ball that kept low and was bowled for 3. Neel Sethi and Anand Patil then put on over 100 runs as both batsmen began keep the score ticking along nicely.
Patil was out lbw for a well made 53 to one of the many balls that kept low and the i was replaced by an e and the scoring rate continued as Ash Patel and Neel Sethi ran well between the wickets to keep up the pressure on Loughton. When Ash Patel was out for 37 in the 40th over Brentwood had secured the maximum 8 batting points.
Then it was a case of can Neel Sethi get a 100 and can Brentwood get to 250-270 runs that skipper Patel asked the young batsmen to get. In the end neither happened as Neel Sethi now playing very aggressively just failed to get a well deserved chanceless 96 and the inning was ended in the 50th over.
In previous two league games the young Brentwood bowlers failed to bowl a good line and length but this was a pitch where bowing straight would bring rewards. Openers Cameron Maxwell and Ryan Beechano both bowled tidy spells with Maxwell bowling Barrett.
M Parry was hitting the ball straight and very, very hard and a brave caught and bowled effort by Maxwell to one that was drilled at him hurt Maxwell so much he was getting shooting pains in his bowling arm and had to retire from bowling for the rest of the game. Beechano was also suffering from a back pain so only managed 3 overs.
Replacements Jamie Baker and Simon Wood and subsequently James Coleman and Parth Patil all bowled good spells against the aggressive Laird and the steady Parry. Laird was hitting everything in the V and despite 6 fielders in that area he was still scoring boundaries. The run rate was being maintained at 5 per over but when Anand Patil came on even his experience did not help for the first few overs as he was regularly dispatched over his head for sixes.
But for once Laird missed a straight one by Patil and after that the rest of Loughton's batsmen could not cope with Patils bowling 5-40 and Brentwood wrapped up a very enjoyable game of cricket.
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29th May
Wanstead 5th XI - 213-4
Brentwood 5th XI - 214-8
Brentwood won by 2 wickets
Report by Joe Earley
Scorecard
On a damp and miserable afternoon, the game was always going to be affected by the weather and key decisions made by the captains.
Ash called tails, lost the toss and with Wansted batting on an average track, it seemed a high score was possible. Poor fielding dominated the game and the first wicket came from the opener Hilliard with an easy take in the covers. The dropped catches before and after this enabled a 50 to be made by one of the Wansted seniors. The game grew old with rain delays, high wind and banter, yet with several overs remaining before the 52 (moreover 20 or 30 runs short of what Brentwood had predicted), Wanstead declared and set Brentwood a target of 214 to win.
Brentwood's innings started off lively with Earley getting them off to an amazing start with a quick-fire innings of 38 in only 29 balls, this coming off the back of a 56* the game before. This steadied the order, let the other batsman play their shots and play themselves in. Lyne was eventually out on 38 also playing a good conservative innings for the team. Another high score was from youngster Sethi who reached his 50 in good style and getting out in the covers to a modest catch with a great 73.
The total looked bearable and Brentwood saw the finish line but a middle order collapse proved nerves were getting to the team. There was only around 5 overs left and Brentwood having 2 wickets in hand that an overthrow by Wanstead allowed Brentwood to run 3 and win the closely fought encounter.
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12th June
Stanford-le-Hope 3rd XI - 178-8
Brentwood 5th XI - 177 all out
Stanford-le-Hope won by 2 wickets
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
It was very much a case of the Brentwood CC young (with one notable exception) guns taking on a, by comparison, 'mature' looking Stanford-le-Hope 3rd XI, and a very exciting game it proved to be.
Stand-in captain, Merwyn Emmanuel, called wrong but that didn't matter since we were inserted anyway.
On a greenish wicket it looked as if the ball would be seaming - in the event it didn't do much at all off the track except that the slower the ball the higher the ball flew off a length, as became apparent, which made batting difficult. What accounted for our openers Addison Davis and the soon-to-follow Rishi Patel was some very quick bowling by Stanford's opening bowler. With two of our most potential 'run-getters' now in the pavilion after three overs and only a handful of runs, it was a case of patience and constructing a total that would give us a total to bowl at. My faith in the ability of our young guns was confirmed with patient knocks from Matthew Bell first, who although made 6 batted resiliently in the face of some intimidating bowling, helped to take the score to 35. Then it was the turn of Kieran Emmanuel, who in a father-and-son stand of 70-odd (it might have got into the 80s if Kieran didn't get in the way of a fiercely driven on-drive - and he still insists on talking about the bruise instead of the 4 runs that might have earned us a win!). Kieran batted superbly, with a great sense of responsibility (for one so young) for some 15 overs and contributed 17 most valuable runs. By now we were only just short of our first target of 125, and more crucially we had wickets in hand to build a respectable score and so it proved with Simon Wood helping Merwyn to take the score over 150 before falling having made a useful 20. Merwyn fell for 80 and it was left for the tail-enders to see us to our third (sixth) batting point with a late flourish, and we finished on 177 in the fifty-first over.
What followed confounded the opposition and they were soon scrambling to make the long trek to the Clubhouse to fetch the kits! We were treated to a great spell of opening bowling from Addison. He sent back three of the top 4 batsmen in a devastating spell of 'top-quality' off-spin bowling of 7-2-12-3. He was ably supported by Prem Pithia who might have picked more than the solitary wicket, with some fine swing bowling. Stanford were reeling at 40 for 4 from 15 overs. In comes batsman number six - what was to follow was fun if you were with the home team, but in a fashion more akin the American game of baseball (and remember England were due to play the USA in the World Cup later in the evening), Stanford were quickly back in the match and looked to be galloping away if this 'slogging' continued. Cue Ryan Beecheno and Ed Abbott, and Brentwood were back in control thanks to excellent spells of seam bowling from both, which saw another 4 wickets tumble in quick session, with Ryan and Ed taking 2 apiece in their 5 over spells for only 27 runs. However despite this the home side did not lose any further wickets and they scrambled themselves to victory..... a case of a game lost rather than game won.
A commendable performance by all the lads and I know they were disappointed, as indeed I was, but each and every one of them can hold their heads up high.
Finally can I say a big thank you in particular to Mark Beecheno for undertaking the thankless task of Umpiring....... at both ends..... for 48 overs, and to Nick Abbott for doing the scoring.
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19th June
Basildon & Pitsea 4th XI - 219-6
Brentwood 5th XI - 163-9
Match Drawn
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
Brentwood won the toss and skipper, Ash, asked Basildon & Pitsea to bat first, on the astroturf wicket at St Martins School. It was a decision that appeared to be the right one as the Brentwood bowling, particularly from Ryan Beecheno, was steady, making runs very difficult to come buy. Ryan made the first breakthrough with a 'peach' of a ball bringing the batsman's forward and beating his defence to clip the top of off-stump.
Basildon continued to find runs hard to come by after Anant Patil and Merwyn Emmanuel replaced the openers. Anant had the batsman swinging and missing with some good pacey bowling from a deceptively short run up. Anant's sustained burst was duly rewarded, assisted by a fine catch taken by Joe Early (at first slip) who nonchalantly plucked the ball high up above his head (there would not have been many volunteers for that one , I can tell you).
The batsmen found themselves having to take risks and it looked like that it was going to be a low scoring game. The next wicket to fall cannot go without mention; a sharp piece of fielding - if you ignore the grey hair on either side (I am not going to say anything about the bit in the middle even though I feel qualified to do so!) and the tan, you could have been forgiven for thinking you were watching Jonty Rhodes - in fact it was our very own Ash Patel who chased down the ball, and from about 20 yards away, in one movement scooped the ball, twisted and threw the ball, running out the batsman at the non-strikers with a direct hit.
The 'victim' looked bemused (on the other hand it might have one of admiration but no one dared ask) as he dusted himself down from the grass cuttings that covered his jumper after his forlorn lunge to get into the crease. He was pacified by the words "unlucky mate" from the other batsman! Alas that was to be our last piece of success in the wicket taking. The weather conditions contributed greatly to this as the strong wind, driving raining, and bitterly cold conditions made life difficult for our third change bowlers who found it had to grip the wet ball. The Basildon batsman started to accumulate runs to great effect without any risk and they regained the initiative, and very sensible batting saw Basildon post a total of 219 of 52 overs for the loss of 6 wickets.
Brentwood's innings couldn't have got off to a worse start, losing 3 wickets for seven runs inside 3 overs. Ash and Kieran Emmanuel stopped the 'rot', with Kieran playing the perfect back-up role whilst Ash played a watchful innings dispatching anything that was lose. These two put on 51 runs before we lost Kieran who made 10 runs. Soon we were 80 odd for 6 and 100 for 7, losing Ash after a gritty knock, falling just 3 short of his fifty.
Janaka Gunasekera (coming in at No. 8) soon began to dominate the bowling mixing some good defensive work with attack, thus keeping the score-board ticking over to earn us valuable bonus points. However, we lost another two wickets in quick succession.
Last man, Ryan, walked up to the wicket, and with 6 overs left, one could see that Basildon players rubbing their hands....not because it was cold, as by now the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was warmer.... but appearing to sense victory with the 'kid' there for the taking. If they did, how wrong they were, as Brentwood continue to show that they have an exceptional crop of youngsters; young Ryan was no push-over batting with great confidence, equal to all that the experienced Basildon side could throw including 'crowding' the bat.
Janaka and Ryan had ensured we earned our second batting point. Ryan was to face the last over.... and although Basildon huffed and they puffed, they could not blow the house down. And so the match ended in a draw with Brentwood finishing on 163 for 9 off 44 overs with Janaka making an exciting and very useful 43 n.o.
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26th June
Brentwood 5th XI - 171-9
Fives & Heronians 4th XI - 174-7
Fives & Heronians won by 3 wickets
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
It was a glorious hot summer's day. Skipper, Ash Patel, thankfully, won the toss, and had no hesitation in electing to bat.
Richard Horswill, opening with James Lyne, continued to show good form, quickly dispatching any loose ball to the boundary. Unfortunately he was out to a sharp catch at gully. The score at that stage was 31 of 9 overs. Thereafter the runs dried up and after 42 overs we were only 84 for the loss of 3 wickets. We needed to push on with the scoring rate but with a predominantly young side and some tight bowling this was always going to be a big ask.
James Lyne was out in the 48th over having made a dogged 66. We managed to muster 60 runs in the last 6 overs, to reach 171 at the 52 over mark for the loss of 9 wickets, thanks, once again, to another fine rear-guard knock of 28 not out by Janaka Gunasekera. Our total was never going to be enough and in the event we were at least 20 runs short of what might have been a defendable target.
Fives lost an early wicket thanks to a fine one-handed catch low off the ground by James Lyne fielding at silly mid-on, off the bowling of Ed Abbott; but for one other success Fives looked well set, scoring with consummate ease. By the start of the 20 overs Fives were cruising to victory requiring scoring at just over 2 an over, with 8 wickets in hand. However, Merwyn Emmanuel was brought on and with his second ball made a breakthrough in breaking the partnership that had been built.
A further two wickets by Merwyn together with some tight bowling by Janaka brought a glimmer of hope that Brentwood might be able to avoid defeat. Richard Horswill was brought back on to replace Janaka and this immediately brought success with two wickets in two balls. Fives now needed 15 off 5 overs. The next over bowled by Merwyn was maiden, and there was apparent panic in the Fives 'camp' who now needed about 15 off three overs. However, a couple of lusty slog shots by the No.9 finished the game with two overs to spare. Merwyn finished with figures of 9-3-18-3.
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3rd July
Benfleet 4th XI - 144 all out
Brentwood 5th XI - 147-4
Brentwood won by 6 wickets
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
On a yet another hot summers day skipper, Ash Patel, called wrong and the home team, Benfleet, unsurprisingly elected to bat first. The Thorpe-Apps brothers, Andrew and Matthew, were making their (welcomed) first appearances this season.
It did not take Andrew long to get into his stride, opening the bowling with good pace and swing, equally and ably supported by Jonathan Hilliard. Within the first two overs both these bowlers had removed Nos 2 and 3 batsmen. The Benfleet batsmen were plainly unable to cope with the prodigious swing and pace but they managed to weather the initial storm even if they still found runs difficult to come by. Andrew struck again, trapping the opening batsman lbw, when the score was around 20.
The Benfleet score had progressed a little quicker when the pace of the bowling eased up with the introduction of James Coleman and Ed Abbott - yet this was to bring more success, credit to young Jamie who remained unfazed despite being hit for boundaries. He was unafraid to give the bowl some air, often inducing the batsmen into false shots, and he was eventually rewarded with 5 wickets for 33 runs off 7.3 overs. Benfleet were all out for 144, 44 off which came from extras (33 of which were legs byes and wides!).
Anant Patil, opening with James Lyne, did not take long to get the Brentwoods inning to a brisk start. James on the other hand had settled into his obdurate mode, resilient to anything the bowlers (and at times the fielders too) could throw - even the piano, one was heard to say - at him. But it was James who had the last laugh, hitting the winning runs to finish on 52 (his second consecutive fifty) n.o. after 36.1 overs. In-between, Anant had gone for a quick-fire 36, and after losing another couple of wickets, Merwyn Emmanuel did not waste any time in helping to take Brentwood to the brink of victory falling when the score was 142, for 33 runs.
A welcome win for the Fifths.
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10th July
Brentwood 5th XI - 226-8
Loughton 4th XI - 229-3
Loughton won by 7 wickets
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
Brentwood welcomed a lowly positioned Loughton side who were still looking for their first win of a season which has almost reached the half-way stage. The Loughton skipper called wrong and Ash Patel did not hesitate to bat on a good batting track.
Brentwood's innings was built around some small partnerships without any of the early order batsmen getting going. The ever-dependable Janaka Gunasekera, batting at No.7, used the platform that had been built to accelerate the score with another good batting display. Janaka didn't waste any time in getting after the bowlers with an array of good shots, despatching the ball to all parts, with some good foot-work, before he was the last fall before the declaration came, for 68. There were useful contributions too from Kristin Ali (33), Conner Whetsone (20), and Matthew Thorpe-Apps (17), who all batted very well, affording Ash the opportunity to declare after 51.1 overs with the score on 226.
What followed belied Loughton's league position. After overcoming the initial hostile opening attack their openers set about the bowling, making light work helped by a lightning outfield and, at times some wayward bowling, reducing the target in quick time, the first wicket falling just under the 100 mark. James Coleman was, for the second week in succession, the pick of the Brentwood bowling attack, taking the only three Loughton wickets to fall, and finishing with figures off 13-1-59-3. Whilst a couple of dropped chances went a-begging Loughton reached their target with only one over to spare but it must be said, with plenty of wickets in hand, the outcome never seemed in doubt.
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17th July
Hadleigh & Thundersley 4th XI - 201 all out
Brentwood 5th XI - 168 all out
Hadleigh & Thundersley won by 33 runs
Report by Steve Bell
Scorecard
Brentwood welcomed a strong Hadleigh & Thundersley side who had lost only two matches in the league. They had comprehensively beaten Brentwood on home territory early in the season. Ash Patel won the toss and decided to bowl on a hit day, but with a few clouds scudding across the sky.
With holidays and absences, this was a young Brentwood team, containing many of the 6th XI.
12 year old Edward Abbott opened the bowling, and showing a disdain for ECB guidance seeking to stop the U12 age group playing men's league cricket took 3 wickets. Hadleigh batsmen's eyes lit up and they tried to teach the young seamer who was boss and all three fell to good catches as they found the ball was doing as little more than they thought. Limited to only 5 overs in a spell, Edward was 3-17 after 4 overs but in his last over of the spell was hit hard conceding nearly as many runs in his last over, leaving captain Ash Patel (doing a spectacular job in raising the average age of the team) with the difficult choice of whether to bring him back later in the innings. At the other end Merwyn Emmanuel started off a bowled an eight over spell taking two for 23, wickets coming late in his spell.
James Coleman was brought into the attack, but despite bowling well in an 11 over spell failed to take a wicket, though only 32 were scored off him, as Hadleigh consolidated. Kris Ali bowled medium pace to compensate for the lack of pace options available to the skipper, but though he bowled with good control also failed to make a breakthrough, though he contributed well in the field with three catches, showing a well hidden athletic ability. Simon Wood took a wicket clean bowled and Joe Early took the wicket of Phil Gilbert, who was building a big score for Hadleigh and holding the innings together, clean bowled on 90. Brentwood could sense an early end to the innings.
Ed Abbott was brought back into the attack and promptly struck, a fine overhead catch made to look easy by Rishi Patel, who having started as wicketkeeper had moved into mid off. The tension grew as Ed sought his first 5 wicket hall in men's cricket. Suddenly a ball looped over the infield and to the right of one of Ed's best pals, Matthew Bell. Bell made good ground to his right but the chance was spilled. Calamitous! Had the drop of this sharp chance deprived Ed of a five wicket haul?
No! Proving the best way to take wickets is to hit the stumps Ed Abbott completed his "Michelle" with an inside edge to finish with figure of 11-1-54-5. An excellent return. A late run out completed events with Hadleigh left on 201, with some good fielding by Brentwood. A gettable target on a good pitch.
Brentwood made good early progress with Kieran Emmanuel scoring well against the quicker opening bowler and moving quickly to 14 before being bowled. Star 6 XI batsman, Anand Patel was making good progress moving to 34, with good support by Matthew Bell. The Hadleigh bowling was very accurate with clever use of length to deceive the batsmen. Anand was using his feet well until he came storming down the pitch to play a big shot to a short pitched ball. He missed the ball and frantically turning dropped the bat over the crease as Newnham completed the first of three stumpings. Skipper Ash Patel joined Bell and a good stand developed, keeping Brentwood in touch with the run rate as Patel moved to 38 with some lusty blows. Batting was not easy, and both batsmen had to move their feet well to play the ball. Patel brought a moment of hilarity to the middle when he moved his feet to the leg spinner so much that he ended the delivery flat on his back following a twirl and two twists!
As we closed on drinks Bell called for a sharp single and then said no. Gazelle like Patel was left mid wicket and run out.
3 down at drinks and with just over 5 an over needed in the last 20 overs, Brentwood had a good chance of winning. With the return of pace, Bell and Rishi Patel both batted quickly. But, Bell was out stumped for 26 dancing down the pitch, and Joe Early fell in the same over without troubling the scorer. Rishi fell for 26 and Kris Ali for 14. Experienced Merwyn Emmanuel came in, the final adult with the experience to bat out the draw as Hadleigh scented blood. Merwyn fell for 4, as did James Coleman the third stumping of the innings by Newnham, also for 4.
Ed Abbott strode to the crease full of confidence that at number 11, having been a hero with the ball he could do a Cardiff and see out the final 4 overs. Sadly the young Hadleigh leg spinner had other ideas and Abbott gloved a chance gratefully taken on the second attempt by the wicketkeeper, leaving Simon Wood stranded on 6.
Brentwood had got themselves into an excellent position but despite good starts by many of the batsmen had been unable to prevail against excellent line and length bowling by Hadleigh.
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24th July
Walthamstow 4th XI - 208-3
Brentwood 5th XI - 135-7
Match Drawn
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
A superb diving catch, taken one-handed high in front of first slip by young wicket-keeper, Kieran Emmanuel, was the only highlight in an otherwise poor allround fielding performance by Brentwood. It is not surprising then that the hosts, Walthamstow, had very little difficulty in getting to 208 just inside 52 overs for the loss of only 3 wickets.
In contrast it didn't take Walthamstow long to get into the Brentwood early order, aided by two silly run outs. Brentwood were reduced to 65 for 5 when skipper Ash was out for 40 just before the last hour mark. Although Merwyn Emmanuel and Janaka Gunasekera steadied the ship, the objective by now was to muster as many batting points we could salvage.
However, Merwyn fell for 25, and with 10 overs left we were still looking our first batting point target of 125. In their endeavours to 'buy' a wicket Walthamstow made regular bowling changes which, in the event, helped Janaka (41) to steer us to 135 for 7 at the close, Andrew Thorp-Apps providing the perfect foil with some good solid defence at the other end.
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31st July
Brentwood 5th XI - 163 all out
Wanstead 5th XI - 161 all out
Brentwood won by 2 runs
Report by Merwyn Emmanuel
Scorecard
Brentwood played hosts to league leaders, Wanstead, this week. Riding on the back of an undefeated run for three months - indeed the last game they lost was in May..... to Brentwood, in a thrilling encounter - Wanstead were, understandably, brimming with confidence. Winning the toss they had no hesitation inserting Brentwood, who in contrast have suffered with very indifferent form.
It became apparent very quickly that the overnight rain had significantly affected an otherwise flat and good looking track. What was required was watchful patient batting to build a sizeable target to defend. However, wickets began to fall at regular intervals whilst runs flowed with equal regularity. Opener, Merwyn Emmanuel, fell for 42 at which point only 20 overs had been used with the loss of 4 wickets for around 90 runs.
Young Kris Ali was at the wicket, the last of the front line batters. Kris batted with great responsibility - influenced and inspired, I'm sure, by the 'melancholy tones' of support, and occasional piece of advice (you should have heard her when he was dropped!) from his vociferous Mum. Whatever it was that inspired him, Kris went on to make a fine 56 before being last out with the score on 164 after only 40 overs.
In his 'changing room' talk Ash called for a more disciplined approach from his team. The team responded. Matthew Thorpe-Apps, opening the bowling with Richard Horswill, bowled with good pace and a lot of venom, making good use of a spiteful pitch. Richard also bowling with good pace but adopting a fuller length allowing the bowl to swing. Hardly surprising then that they had Wanstead batmen in all kinds of trouble and sure enough they succumbed, Matthew making the first breakthrough in his second over. Richard took the second wicket with his second over sending back the No.3.
Meanwhile the No1 hung around and got 'peppered' by some well directed short bowling from Matthew, until he could take no more, and he got out to a lifter that he could only fend off to silly mid-on where James Lyne snapped up the chance gratefully. Wanstead No 4 figured that he would try and slog his way out of trouble - that didn't work and he was soon on his way back too, after receiving a quick straight delivery, this time from the other Thorpe-Apps, Andrew. 4 down and Brentwood were now beginning to sense that the game was theirs if they maintained the good work.
Wanstead managed to steady the ship after they had slumped to 60 for 6, taking the score to the 90s before they lost their seventh wicket. Wanstead's No 8 had other ideas and batted with great superiority (and anything but a No. 8) and looked set to wrest the initiative from Brentwood with some fine blows. The eighth wicket stand took them to within 30 runs of their target before skipper, Ash, who had throughout ringed the changes of the bowling around to good effect, introduced Andy Maxwell to the attack and this proved pivotal to Brentwood's eventual success - even if Andy couldn't see the stumps from the end he was bowling because of the sun!
With his sixth ball Andy had the No. 9 making his way back to the pavilion, cleaned bowled. At the other end Ash re-introduced Andrew and almost immediately brought success when he clean bowled the No. 8 who had seriously threatened to see Wanstead home single handedly. The tenth wicket were now at the wicket, 17 runs needed and 13 overs still left. These were anxious times as they slowly but surely nibbled away at the target until they got within 2 runs before Andy tempted him with a super slow delivery which had the Wanstead skipper playing too early and swinging across the line, miss and find his stumps displaced. Andy finished with figures of 5.4-1-11-2. A fine and well deserved victory Brentwood, it must be said.
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14th August
Brentwood 5th XI - 173-9 declared
Stanford-le-Hope 3rd XI - 135-9
Match Drawn
Report by Ash Patel
Scorecard
Heavy rain the previous evening had left the wicket damp and on an overcast day and with more rain forecast the toss was vitally important. Stanford won it and inserted Brentwood, and as expected, the Stanford opening bowlers made life difficult for the Brentwood top order as the ball was moving around in the air and off the seam.
Malcolm Horsewill departed for 2 in the 5th over and Ravi Rupal was bowled for a duck. Then Dougie Maxwell and Richard Horsewill played diligently and watchfully but with the score on 37 Richard Horsewill nicked one to the keeper for a well made 20. The skipper having a decent season with the bat took the attack to the bowlers and smashed 9 fours in a quick fire 46.
Meanwhile D Maxwell was out playing upishly in the covers for a steady 22 and Kristen Ali not his usual confident self also clipped one upishly to square leg and made 13. After the skipper was bowled tiring to smack another four he went back to the clubhouse to do tea girl duties as there was no tea girl. When he came back to the game the players were running for cover Andy Maxwell had made 43 and Cameron Maxwell 8. Andy informed the skipper that he and Cameron had put on a great stand and the score was 173-9.
After 15 minutes of rain the pitch had become too wet to continue immediately so an early tea was taken. After tea the opposition skipper thought that the wicket was still too wet and dangerous for his bowlers so it was decided to re-start the match at 5pm and Brentwood's innings was declared
Richard Horsewill and Matt Thorpe-Apps bowled hostile spells and Stanford were reeling at 15-4. The change bowlers Ed Abbott and Andy Thorpe Apps also took a wicket a piece as Stanford crawled to 36-6.
With 14 overs left in the game Brentwood were in with a great chance to snap up 20 points for the third week running however Maxwell brothers Dougie and Cameron failed to make a breakthrough and with overs running out the opening bowlers were bought back for a second spell. Matt Thorpe Apps was virtually unplayable and wickets again tumbled.
Brentwood needed two wickets as Matt started his last over and Ingham on 76 who had been sticking around since the start of the innings and then deciding to start hitting out for no apparent reason skied one for Matt Thorpe Apps to claim his 5th victim. He was unlucky in not making it 6 as Stanford survived the last 4 balls to draw the game
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21st August
Benfleet 4th XI - 167 all out
Brentwood 5th XI - 168-3
Brentwood won by 7 wickets
Report by Malcolm Horswill
Scorecard
A rather cloudy and muggy day saw Brentwood 5ths entertain Benfleet 4th Eleven at Brentwood School's Hesaltine pitch.
The pre-match build up focus was on team selection, with Skipper Ash Patel moving from the comfort of a twelve player squad to a meagre nine following problems of availability in the higher teams.
Somewhat predictably Brentwood lost the toss and found themselves taking the field with only nine players. This number however raised to ten after the first 4 overs, as Beecheno Senior donned his new whites for the first time, have been assured by Ken Hobbs at the start of the season that they would be a good investment!
The young bowling attack of Richard Horswill and Ryan Beecheno got the game under way, with Horswill bowling Clifford in his second over. But the Benfleet batsmen of Wright and Parmenter progressed steadily and batted with calm assurance until the portly Parmenter lofted a shot from Ed Abbott, and was caught by Cameron Maxwell at mid off.
The introduction of James Coleman saw a swing in fortunes, and his dismissal of Wright for 41 saw a mid-order collapse, aided by two run-outs in the same over. Whilst Price and Walker dragged the Benfleet innings back to a level of respectability, they could not bat out their overs and the score of 167 looked short of par, even allowing for the lush outfield which restricted the boundary count.
Jamie Coleman finished with four wickets for for 42 runs from 14 overs, and Andy Maxwell, having recently converted from seam to spin, took two wickets for 16 runs.
Special mention must go to Coleman Senior, who rallied to the cause when it was apparent that the team would be one player short, and dashed home to Writtle to collect his whites. Unfortunately the road chaos produced by the ‘V' Festival meant that he only returned with a few overs of the Benfleet innings to go, and didn't actually touch the ball! Great commitment though Ian!
Tea was a rather meagre affair, producing the a comment from Benfleet's Parmenter that it was the worse tea he had ever had! And this coming from someone who looked as though he had had some considerable experience in the tea department!
The Brentwood opening pair of Richard Horswill and Addison Davis was probably one of the youngest ever to appear in senior cricket for the club, with a combined age of 27 years. However, they batted with maturity beyond their years in an opening 50-run stand, before Davis was bowled by Madden for 27.
Horswill was joined by Rishi Patel, reducing the combined partnership age by another two years, and they put on a further 70 runs before Patel was out caught behind by a rising delivery from Acramen for 31. By this stage the Brentwood score had risen past 130, aided by some less than athletic fielding by the Benfleet team.
Maintaining his youth policy, the Brentwood skipper sent in Ed Abbott to partner Horswill, who having passed 50 started to tuck in to the Benfleet bowling attack, hooking the winning four to bring his own score up to 90. A very satisfying win given the youthful nature of the team. Thanks should also be made to Skipper Ash for dropping himself down the order to allow the younger players to bat.
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28th August
Brentwood 5th XI - 192-6 from 52 overs
Fives & Heronians 4th XI - 79-4 from 26 overs
Match Abandoned
Report by Steve Bell
Scorecard
Fives won the toss and decided to bowl. Following a week of such heavy rain that Ark-building plans were being actively sought, this looked a good toss to win. The pitch was dark and dank, there was a flooded groundpipe leaking water into a giant puddle 10 yards from the pitch, the outfield featured long grass being grown for football, and there was a football match taking place until 1 on the outfield where the cricket and football pitches overlapped.
Brentwood sent out Rishi Patel and Richard Horswill out to bat. The single moment of excitement in the first 26 overs came when Patel was caught off a thick inside edge for 4. Neil Sethi joined Horswill and the pair consolidated.
The period of consolidation lasted some time. As one spectator commented, "I just painted my front door, I wish I had stayed at home to watch it dry." Scoring conditions were tough as the pitch was slow and bowling was good.
At drinks the score was 40 or so (might have been 39 but the scoreboard wasn't exactly a hive of activity). Any batting points looked an extremely remote possibility. Some of the Fives players were muttering that Brentwood would probably bat past 52 overs as there would be no total to defend and no bonus points to protect.
After drinks the run rate was increased to a steady 2, 3 or 4 an over. No boundaries had yet been scored (and wouldn't be until in the 37th over). As a result when Sethi was out after a "patient" 29, skipper Ash Patel promoted himself from 5 to 4 muttering darkly under his breath that he would show the younger players what experienced players do to increase the rate.
Ash Patel came in and tried to accelerate the rate. Caught for 2.
Matthew Bell came in and tried to accelerate the rate. Caught for 1.
Kris Ali came in and tried to accelerate the rate. Caught for 2.
Addison Davis came in and tried to accelerate the rate. Bowled for 4.
Horswill was still there though, and starting to accelerate (a little). In at number 8 was Prem Pithia.
Pithia came in and tried to accelerate the rate. He succeeded!
The pitch was starting to dry and batting becoming easier (though still challenging).
Prem adopted a "see ball, hit ball" approach racking up multiple boundaries and one huge 6. Seemingly inspired Horswill also started to lash out, running up boundaries, and this pair also ran aggressively.
Incredibly the initial 125 target was achieved ("At least they won't bat on," said one happy fielder!) and another gear was found. 150 came and went, and then 175. At a push 200 almost seemed achievable. The innings closed on 192 after the 52 overs. 150 or so runs had been scored in the last 26 overs. A greater contrast from the first half of the innings would be hard to describe (think black versus white, Spurs versus Arsenal, Ben Cocklin at an awards dinner versus intelligent wit and repartee).
Horswill had carried his bat very impressively to finish on 82 not out. An innings boycott-esque at the beginning in tough conditions had changed into an innings more reminiscent of Stuart Broad as conditions eased and he had licence to go for his shots.
Full credit to Pithia for showing the way, he finished unbeaten on 45.
An excellent tea followed, allowing much discussion of the test match (mainly about Pakistan wickets, there was no discussion at that point of no-balls for cash), with a friendly and accommodating Fives team.
The Fives innings rather stuttered along. Ed Abbott took the opener for 2. We then had a controversial run out. Kris Ali showing undiscovered athleticism chased a bye, pounced on the ball and turned and threw in one motion. Rishi Patel at wicketkeeper didn't think the ball would hit the stumps (though most thought it would) and tried to take the ball onto the stumps.
Brentwood appealed. The square leg umpire said it was out. The batsman walked.
The non-striker thought that Patel had knocked down the stumps without the ball. Opinion on the pitch were varied. Without the benefit of a referral season (c'mon Fives as a well funded club you should be able to afford the equipment) the umpires decision was final. He did offer in the club house later that he hadn't seen it, soon after he was replaced as umpire!
Credit to the Fives batsmen Bukhari for going with the umpires decision.
Abbott took a second wicket, ending his initial 5 over spell with 2 for 11 and one maiden.
Davis had been tried at the other end from Abbott but was unusually expensive. Matthew Bell replaced him bowling 4 overs for 9 runs, with wicket keeper Patel putting down a regulation chance.
A short rain interlude followed, after which Pithia took 1 for 8 from 6 overs. James Coleman bowled a spell of good spin bowling, without any luck. He did create a chance, the luck was bad though as it fell to Ash. The ball looped gently to Ash. He had plenty of time but his hands only pushed it in to air, he got his hands under it a second time. But he could only push it into the air again. he got his hands under it a third time. But he could only push it into the air again. At this point his juggling skills deserted him and the ball fell to the ground.
Malcolm Horswill had a gentle 2 over spell, but shortly after drinks with near 6 an over required for the win, and only 6 wickets left the rain started drifting in from over Buckhurst Hill.
The heavens soon opened and play was sensibly abandoned. An exciting game had ended as a damp squib. Given the first 26 overs, the level of excitement was something of a surprise.
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