Saturday
Thurrock CC 1st XI 251-5
Fords CC 1st XI 251ao
An astonishing game was played out at Fords as Thurrock’s continuing fine form with the bat, and poor form with the ball, contrived the tightest of finishes.
Thurrock won the toss and took first crack on the flat fords pitch. Umar Ayub and Abdul Stanikzai made the most early on, easing their way past the moving new ball and forging themselves a hundred run partnership. Stanikzai perished after a steady 34, but Ayub opened up, passing his half century as he was joined by Matt Hills. The pair drove the Thurrock innings onwards towards 200 before Ayubm drained by his efforts in the bright sunshine, paid the ultimate price for a tired shot on 92. As the innings wound down, Matt Hills’ 40 was added to by an unbeaten 36 from Glenn Ewing and Thurrock had 250 on the board, knowing it was really only a par score.
In reply Thurrock had the boon of two early wickets from Andrew Hills, but Thurrock’s control wavered and found themselves on the end of a peppering from the Fords middle order with Rajah and Abbas finding the fence with a regularity befitting a T20 game, Rajah bringing up his fifty at breakneck speed. Thurrock needed something and got it in a blend of experience, Matt Hills, and the youthful Steve Brooks on his 1st team debut.
Hills removed the dangerous Rajah thanks to a fine catch from Ewing at mid-off and continued to probe, but on a flat track the true star of Thurrock’s bowling was 17-year-old spinner Brooks. He found a perfect line and length and caused problems for Abbas even though he had amassed 50 already. In successive overs he had Abbass caught off a disputed no-ball, dropped and finally pouched at mid on. His efforts had Thurrock in the ascendancy and he and Matt Hills both struck again to post identical figures of 2-38 and set up the astonishing finale.
Stanikzai and Ayub struck to leave Fords 8 down and thirty runs shy, but Ali slashed a flurry of boundaries for the home team to bring them within touching distance of the win. But there were still twists in the tail. Ayub struck again, making it 2-38 for him, and the last over came with Fords needing 9 runs with a solitary wicket in hand. Number 11 Rehman swung vociferously and connected 3 balls in a row, yielding two 2’s and the all important 3rd to bring the scores level with 2 deliveries remaining.
As is so often the case nerves got the better of one side. Rehman poked the ball to Ewing at mid off and ran, but the risky single only brought the run out of Ali on 27 rather than the victory. Both sides share the spoils of what was an astonishing game.
Noak Hill Taverners 1st XI 294-9
Thurrock CC 2nd XI 257ao
If you need runs, come to Blackshots: it seems to be the current trend with a string of high scoring games. However, Thurrock’s second string found themselves on the end of a contentious defeat.
Dan George got the home side off to as excellent start, the youngster striking early on, the first of his excellent 3-58, but controversy was soon to follow. French, batting at 4, put together a solid, stable knock that would see him carry his bat to the end of the innings for 85 unbeaten, however, with 19 being the next highest score, it seems a total of 294 would be all but impossible. Until, that is, you look at the extras column and find that the visiting umpires had called a staggering 81 wides!
Extras themselves fell short of the memorable three figures, but a shellshocked and frustrated Thurrock side managed to rally late on as Mason Wren got in amongst the tail, taking 3-45 in the closing overs.
Evidentally that galvanised the Thurrock side into what would have been an awesome run chase. Run rate ceased to be a problem early on as first skipper Diprose clubbed 34, before opening the way for Mason Wren to provided the magical knock of the day. It was a fine display of power hitting, intermingled with deft late cuts and sweeps. Noak Hill seemed to have no answer to the Thurrock batsmen’s relentless accumulation of runs. 50 passed in a blur and soon Thurrock were applauding Wren’s second hundred in as many weeks. Opptimism was high, even after Wren finally fell on 137, such was the brilliance of his innings. Thurrock found themselves needing just 72 from the final 12 overs at 223-5.
But that hope was short lived. Bayley took the ball and shot down Thurrock’s hopes with a quick burst that yielded 4-26 and decimated the home sides tail. Thurrock limped on, but in the end fell 40 runs short and soured an already bitter pill they had to swallow.
Bishop Challinor 2nd XI 148ao
Thurrock 3rd XI 152-9
Thurrock thirds arrived at Bishop Challinor under strength, and yet left victorious in a thrillingly close game.
Thurrock took the field first and had the worst possible start as skipper Alex McLellan injured his hand fielding after just six overs, leaving Thurrock’s attack a bowler down. To add insult to injury, Challinor openers Fitzgerald and Hilaire carve out a hundred run opening stand to put the home side in the box seat.
Cue the Thurrock fight back. Tyrone Owen and Danny Groves may not be Thurrock’s most lethal weapons, but they dismantled the home side’s innings all the same. Owen cleaned out Fitzgerald for 46 to start the collapse, and Groves dismissed Hilaire for 47. Then it was wicket dominos. Owen finished his spell 4 wickets to the good for just 32, fractionally shading Groves’ figures of 3-36, and Challinor’s fine start was halted when a run out and Jordan Owen’s third ball closed the innings.
Vince Day provided the impetus for Thurrock’s reply with a vital 35, but he could do little to halt the wickets tumbling at the other end as Tiff (2-32) and Phillip (2-25) had the visitors four down in short order. Tyrone Owen (15) and Jordan Owen (14) helped nudge the total past three figures, but Hilaire’s 2 wickets, one of them Day, and a brace from Sahota, had Thurrock 100-9 and seemingly spent.
But some stories write themselves. Dean Henry was joined by McLellan, hand freshly bandaged but still bleeding, and went on the attack. With McLellan obstinately refusing to capitulate, blocking with the same aggression as Henry employed carrying Thurrock’s total towards the seemingly improbable. Their 53 partnership was almost derailed when McLellan’s stubborn defence was penetrated, but the rattle of ball on stump was preceded by the cry of ‘no-ball’ from the umpire.
With the scores tied there was one final twist in the tale, Henry climbed into yet another booming drive only to slap it towards a waiting fielder. Jumping above his head he got a few fingers to it but was unable to hang on or stop it going for four, and Dean Henry’s unbeaten 32 and Mclellan’s 4 not out, gave Thurrock an phenomenal win by the merest of margins.
Thurrock CC Sun 1st XI 261-7
Billericay CC Sun 1st XI 194ao
Thurrocks unbeaten run in the Sunday league continued as they visited Billericay’s county level facilities and took away the spoils thanks in large part to Andrew Hills’ maiden hundred.
Hills was promoted as a makeshift opener and made utmost use of the incredibly flat Billericay track while, for a time, the rest of the batting order seemed determined to waste it. In the first over Billericay struck from a long hop, but that seemed only a minor concern as Abdul Stanikzai and Hills got Thurrock off to a flier thanks to so indifferent bowling. The visitors seemed largely in control as the score rattled along towards three figures. But when Stanikzai fell for 33, again to an innocuous delivery, it triggered a slew of wickets and Thurrock went into drinks suddenly 6 down, architects of their own downfalls.
Hills needed a stable partner and few come better than the ever dependable Chris Buckley. While Hills looked to open up, bring up his half century with a straight six, Buckley calmed the waters at the other end, putting pressure on the Billericay attack. Buckley supplied boundaries of his own while Hills peppered the cover fence off front and back foot and Thurrock sprang over the 200 mark in good time. Firmly in control, the pair launched their final charge and Hills brought up his maiden century and the hundred partnership before succumbing on 117. Young Ross Fullbrook closed the innings with sublime drives off the last two balls that could have graced the County U-15s match on the other pitch, and Buckley followed him from the field with a vital unbeaten 39 under his belt.
In reply Billericay themselves came out of the blocks with a point to prove. A skewed pull aside they wrested control of the game from, their top order plundering some poor bowling on a track that didn’t need the help. The hundred came up in under a dozen overs and Thurrock turned to their two young spinners, Steve Brooks and Ross Fullbrook. Though Fullbrook managed the sole wicket from their 16 overs in tandem thanks to the safe hands of Matt Hills at long off, they applied good pressure and ground down Billericay’s momentum.
Then Thurrock found a second matchwinner in Umer Ayub. His first ball was clipped to a tumbling Andrew Hills at square leg, and his second rattled the pads plum infront. Though he didn’t complete a hat-trick, he struck a third time in the over with a swinging delivery that honed on off stump. With Ayub decimating their top order Billericay was reeling and Thurrock drove home their advantage. Ayub’s accuracy provided him with two more wickets, completing a vital five wicket haul and Wayne Simmons wrapped up the innings with a brace for himself to give Thurrock the points.
