Chelmsford Cricket Club Report for 2 & 3 September A mixed bag of results saw Chelmsford achieve two important wins and one major setback. The good news was victory for the Sunday first team at Asians and for the under-15s in the Central Essex District Cricket Board Final. The bad news was a heavy defeat for the Saturday 1sts at Chingford, a defeat that sees them drop to fourth in the table. Another disappointing batting performance was largely to blame for that result. Duncan Paveling contributed a half century to Chelmsford’s 147. Chingford lost four wickets on their way to that target. The second team extended their winning run to three matches. David Thrift batted superbly in a ruthless nine-wicket win after Ilford hit just 150. As with the firsts the thirds were involved in another one-sided clash between the top two. In this game it was Chelmsford who prevailed though. A well-disciplined bowling display restricted Harold Wood to 130, Simon Balmford’s occasional off-spinners garnering him four for 13. James Arnold led the way with 53 and Chelmsford won by 6 wickets. Hutton recovered from serious trouble to beat the fourth team. Chelmsford posted just 135, Steve Pleasant hitting 60 of those. Hutton were 20 for five but Payne guided the home side to victory with 59. Umrish Pandya took four wickets for Chelmsford. The fifth team was also on the wrong end of a match against Hutton. Guy Balmford (47) and Omair Riasat (41) set a good foundation but that was wasted by a middle order collapse. Bob Shortman played his usual steadfast innings and found the necessary support from Liam Thrift. Those two took Chelmsford to 204 for eight, Thrift hitting his maiden half-century. Riasat aside, the bowling was fairly hopeless. Mowll and Woods passed fifty and Hutton passed Chelmsford’s total for the loss of only two wickets. It wasn’t just the weather that improved for Sunday, three wins from three matches was a much improved return. The first team had a pretty unimpressive win at Asians. Asians managed 150 for nine from their 40 overs, some sloppy fielding helping them to get that. A nervy chase meant seven wickets went down before victory was completed. This leaves them only needing to turn up next week to secure the title. Francis Kyan was star batsman of the weekend with 116 in the Sunday second team’s win at Walthamstow. Jack Moss (40*) also contributed well to Chelmsford’s 253 for four from 40 overs. James Stock proved an unlikely bowling hero, taking four for 16 as Walthamstow responded with 205. Chelmer Park played host to the Central Essex District Finals Day. In the morning there was an under-9 kwik cricket festival and the under-13 final, won by Shenfield against Springfield. The afternoon saw the main event for the home club, with Brentwood taking on Chelmsford in the under-15 final. It was a match worthy of any occasion. Adel Dewan and Tom Halsey smashed Chelmsford into a strong position but they and the rest of the batting contrived to blow it. The eventual tally was 99 all out and they failed to use up their 20 overs. A brilliant run out effected by Stephen Drain accounted for Brentwood’s star batsman and swung the match back towards Chelmsford. Brentwood’s middle order responded well though and seemed to time their chase beautifully. At the start of the last over, they were 95 for five and four runs would have been enough to win. Dan Evans-Green performed heroics in the closing over and with all the excitement, no one is quite sure whether Brentwood finished on 97 or 98, whichever it was Chelmsford were the winners. In the under-11 final Cloghams overcame Hutton. Chelmsford’s under-11 and under-13 sides had something to celebrate as well, they picked up their League Trophies. Reports Saturday 2 September 1st Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Division 1 Played at Woodside Chelmsford 147 all out Chingford 151-4 (Chingford won by 6 wickets) In the battle of the top two in Division 1, Chelmsford were well beaten, suffering a big blow to their promotion ambitions. A low score of 147 all out batting first was never going to be enough at league leaders Chingford. It could have been a lot worse without solid contributions from Duncan Paveling (56) and Neil Goodman (47) who shared in a very good third wicket partnership. After their departure, the innings subsided to the spin of Nilesh Odedra who took 7-47 in a fine exhibition of off-spin bowling. Despite the best efforts of all bowlers, Chelmsford never really created enough pressure on the Chingford batsmen. Toby Hughes, Ian Hare, Mark Drain and Neil Fergus picked up a wicket apiece, but couldn’t prevent Chingford reaching their target with only 4 wickets down. A very disappointing performance now leaves Chelmsford with only an outside chance of promotion as they sit in 4th place. A win next week at 3rd placed Hutton will only be enough if Colchester fail to beat Woodford Wells. Either way, an improved performance is called for to end the season on a high. 2nd Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Premier Division Played at Chelmer Park Ilford 150 all out Chelmsford 151-1 (Chelmsford won by 9 wickets) An efficient bowling display and dominant batting saw Chelmsford record a comfortable win over Ilford. In windy and damp conditions the Ilford top order seemed unwilling to change their normal attacking style. The result was that they crashed to 52 for five. Some digging in from there got them to 150 but as well as bowling tidily, Chelmsford raced through their overs to leave themselves plenty of time. Nigel Bond (4-30) was the most successful bowler, Chris Meer and Matthew Poole claimed two wickets each. The time factor hardly mattered with Thrift in compelling form. He would finish unbeaten on 83, with Nick Bailey (31) and Darren Thompson (27*) providing the support. A win for Wanstead finally rules the title out but Chelmsford remain second, seven points ahead of South Woodford. 3rd Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Division 1 Played at Chelmer Park Harold Wood 130 all out Chelmsford 133-4 (Chelmsford won by 6 wickets) 4th Team Shepherd Neame Essex League Premier Division Played at Polo Fields Chelmsford 135 all out Hutton 136-6 (Hutton won by 4 wickets) 5th Team Friendly Played at Chelmer Park Chelmsford 204-8 Hutton 205-2 (Hutton won by 8 wickets) Sunday 3 September 1st Team Spa-Tec Essex Sunday League Played at Low Hall Sports Ground Asians 150-9 Chelmsford 151-7 (Chelmsford won by 3 wickets) In a game where Chelmsford rarely played well, they did just enough to get over the line. Asians made a watchful start on a pitch offering plenty of movement. They reached fifty without loss but at only three runs an over. A tidy spell from Rob Hayto (1-21) kept the run rate under wraps in the middle period as well, although wickets were preserved. The middle order’s attempts to accelerate largely foundered against straight bowling from Nigel Bond (3-32) and Alistair Fergus (4-18). Some meaty blows did see a decent run rate in the last four overs. A slipshod fielding effort contributed to the total of 150 for nine. Run rate was never really an issue in the chase, particularly with Paul Jones looking in fine touch. Jones’ dismissal for 30 triggered some jitters with Ishaq (4-27) doing most of the damage. The sixth wicket went down shortly after 100 had been passed but Chelmsford found a calm combination in Matt Thurston and Nick Bailey. Thurston propelled the team to the brink of victory before a shooter ended his stay at 27. Bailey completed the job, finishing 17 not out. 2nd Team Friendly Played at Walthamstow Chelmsford 253-4 Walthamstow 205 all out (Chelmsford won by 48 runs) Under-15s Central Essex District Cricket Board Final Played at Chelmer Park Chelmsford 99 all out Brentwood 98-8 (Chelmsford won by 1 run)