Chelmsford Cricket Club Report for 26 & 27 August The highlight of a positive weekend for Chelmsford was a comfortable win for the third team that secured the Division 1 crown. With two weeks remaining, only one Chelmsford side now has any doubts about their status next year. The question mark lies over the first team but they re-entered the promotion berths in Division 1 with a nervy win over Upminster. It was a typical win for the firsts, sneaking home in a game that probably should have been won more easily. Upminster were bowled out for 146, with all Chelmsford’s bowlers making an impact. Matt Thurston and Nick Prowting dealt with a large part of that score but a collapse meant they were eight down at the denouement. The seconds broke the cycle of win, lose with a victory at Loughton. Tom Iliffe’s unbeaten 60 was the cornerstone of Chelmsford 215 for seven. A devastating spell from Chris Meer helped knock Loughton over for 136. For the thirds it was a twelfth win from fourteen games, Billericay being crushed by nine wickets. Craig Thompson and Rupert Redman claimed four wickets apiece in Billericay’s 169. Barry Clayden led the way with 82 not out with Dave Goddard in the supporting role. A strong display by the fourths wasn’t quite enough to beat South Woodford who held out for a draw. Imran Akhtar, Steve Pleasant and Chris Karunaratna all contributed half-centuries to Chelmsford’s 248 for seven. Umrish Pandya was chief wicket-taker with four for 52 in South Woodford’s reply. Massood led the resistance with 42 and the visitors closed at 158 for nine. The fifth team played out a dull draw at Westcliff. Alex Bailey took three for 38 as Westcliff set Chelmsford 173. That proved well beyond Chelmsford who closed at 120 for five, Colin Miller top scoring. Sunday saw the only defeat of the weekend. A young Sunday first team side losing by 11 runs at Fives & Heronians with probably only Craig Thompson doing enough to feel his team-mates had let him down. A stodgy wicket proved hard going for the second team against Great Baddow. Fifty-six overs for 111 runs was the unappetising fare, Goddard’s 27 the best score, Clark with four for 15 the best of the bowlers. Rupert Redman quickly made that score look huge. He took five for 4 and Great Baddow succumbed for 27. Reports & Scores Saturday 27 August 1st Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Division 1 Played at Chelmer Park UPMINSTER 146 all out CHELMSFORD 149-8 (Chelmsford won by 2 wickets) Chelmsford bounced back from their defeat at Fives with what turned out to be a hard-fought win over Upminster on Saturday. Chelmsford now sit 2nd and in a promotion spot in division one with two games to go. A good bowling performance from Chelmsford on a damp wicket at Chelmer Park helped restrict Upminster to 146 all out. Chelmsford’s bowlers were assisted by some fine fielding, Matt Thurston in particular held a superb diving catch to get things rolling. Mark Drain bowled a fine early spell to take 2-21 given excellent support by Toby Hughes. Hughes bowled with good control but little luck to take 2-40 from 18 overs. The change bowlers all did their job. Eddie Lawrence (2-30), Ian Hare (1-18) and Stuart Everard (3-28) helped wrap up the innings and all bowled well. What was always going to be a tricky small total to chase looked like being plain sailing at 100-2. Thurston continued his excellent recent form with a good quality 53. Matt was given good support by Nick Prowting (31). As is customary for Chelmsford, however, they contrived to make a bit of a pig’s ear of things. Some sloppy shot selection and nerves caused Chelmsford to collapse to 8 wickets down within a whisker of victory. It was left to Gary Chidley (14 not out), who batted with maturity and a winning boundary from Toby Hughes to see Chelmsford crawl home. Chelmsford face a tough test at the weekend as they travel to league leaders Chingford. 2nd Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Premier Division Played at Loughton CHELMSFORD 215-7 LOUGHTON 136 all out (Chelmsford won by 79 runs) For the first time this season, the seconds secured back-to-back victories. Good team batting and five wickets for Chris Meer being the keys to success. The wicket started out very wet and the batsmen had to take care getting themselves in. The first five all did that so it was frustrating that none passed 36, the score of both Darren Thompson and Rob Hayto. Although in reasonable shape, it looked possible that another batting disaster would ensue but the experienced Tom Iliffe dominated the later part of the innings. Iliffe’s 60 not out, took the final total to a challenging 215 for seven. Blundy with three for 70 was the most successful Loughton bowler. Tight early bowling saw a pedestrian start and the pressure of trying to up the tempo caused two run outs. Hayto also picked up two wickets but Greenhill was playing well and he and Watson looked dangerous. Those two were well set and scoring fairly freely but the re-introduction of Chris Meer swiftly changed that. Greenhill was his first victim for 39 and three more followed in short order. The last wicket pair were brought together with nearly 13 overs to go but they resisted strongly. Fittingly, Meer took the final wicket with just three overs to go, finishing with five for 24. Chelmsford jump up to second in the table, although Wanstead appear to be too far in front for hopes of anything better. 3rd Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Division 1 Played at Toby Howe Memorial Ground BILLERICAY 169 all out CHELMSFORD 170-1 (Chelmsford won by 9 wickets) Champions! That was our objective at the beginning of the season and it has been achieved with two weeks to spare. Our success was based on team effort with many non-regulars contributing to our victories. Most of all we have tried to enjoy our cricket and have had a lot of fun throughout the season. Saturday’s win against a poor Billericay side was very one sided. Craig Thompson bowled a penetrating opening spell of seven overs and took 3 for 14. His were good wickets for an opening bowler, two bowled and one caught behind. Rupert Redman replaced him and took a wicket with his first ball to reduce Billericay to 38 for 4. G Mower (38) then played very well whilst S Gillion showed monumental patience in scoring his 47 from 42 overs. N Jamal (24) added a late flourish but Redman returned to take 3 wickets in ten balls to finish the innings at 169. We had to endure some abusive sledging from Australian P Harford as we began our run chase. Steve Bond did splendidly as our umpire to defuse the situation. Billericay’s bowlers were unable to apply any pressure as they bought into the aggressive stance. An opening partnership of 49 between Jack Moss (14) and Barry Clayden helped to quieten proceedings. Then Dave Goddard (40no) added 121 runs together with Clayden (82no) to reach our target in only 32.4 overs. 4th Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Premier Division Played at Chelmer Park CHELMSFORD 248-7 SOUTH WOODFORD 158-9 (Match drawn) 5th Team Friendly Played at Westcliff WESTCLIFF 172-8 CHELMSFORD 120-5 (Match drawn) Sunday 27 August 1st Team Friendly Played at the Paddock, Chigwell FIVES & HERONIANS 195 all out CHELMSFORD 184 all out (Fives & Heronians won by 11 runs) A close defeat in a forty over match saw Chelmsford complete a hat-trick of losses at this ground for the season. A good comeback in the field was squandered by some profligate batting. Craig Thompson and Alistair Fergus bowled tidy spells and took a wicket apiece to keep the early stages quiet. Jackson though assumed a leading role and made a good, positive half century. At 154 for three with just over eight overs to go, a big score loomed but three wickets in three balls including Jackson (62) changed that. The Fives innings subsided to just 195, Alex Bailey taking three wickets, Chai Pandya and Steve Pleasant two each. The reply started solidly and at the halfway stage, Chelmsford were well positioned at 90 for two. Eight overs later it was 119 for seven. A series of misconceived shots gifting wickets, the accurate Skandakumar (4-24) being the main beneficiary. Craig Thompson kept Chelmsford in the game but he was out for 34 in the final over, with Chelmsford 12 short. Mark Drain’s 35 was the top score in a patchwork innings. 2nd Team Friendly Played at Chelmer Park CHELMSFORD 111-8 GREAT BADDOW 27 all out (Chelmsford won by 84 runs)