Thurrock CC – 18/19th May
Great Totham 1st XI – 149 all out
Thurrock CC 1st XI – 150/2
Thurrock continued there impressive start to life in Mid Essex Division 1 with a convincing victory at Great Totham on Saturday thanks to another excellent all round performance from Dan Laird who took 4-51 and contributed an unbeaten 46 with the bat. Skipper Nick Henry won the toss and inserted the home side, but were unable to find an early breakthrough or maintain disciplined lines until Laird struck to remove the hosts top order with some incisive variations. Jordon Warren also chipped in with 2-33 with Gelder and Stanikzai picking up the rest of the wickets fall to bowl the hosts out for a below par 149 of which an astonishing 50 of them were extras, with Phillips (32) being the best of the home side’s batsmen.
The visitors chase began in an all action manner with the home side’s bowlers continuing in a similar vein in regards to the extras count but fought back to secure a couple of early breakthroughs with Ayub and captain Henry falling cheaply, but opener O’Neill (64 not out) and Laird (46 not out) composed an unbroken partnership to see Thurrock home without further alarm with still 23 overs remaining of the innings to seal a resounding win.
Thurrock CC 2nd XI – 198/4
Great Totham 2nd XI – 43 all out
An inspired spell of bowling from Ryan Madder saw Thurrock complete the double over Great Totham at the weekend, aided by excellent contributions with the bat from opener Chris Buckley and Ross Fullbrook. After the home side won the toss and elected to bat, a solid team batting performance from the top order saw the hosts compile 198/4 from their 45 overs with Buckley carrying his bat for an unbeaten 72, an excellent 59 from Ross Fullbrook with Clarke Wren finishing on an explosive 38 not out.
After the interval strike bowler Madder tore the visitors batting line up with a spell of quick, accurate seam bowling as he took the first 6 wickets to fall to end up on 6-18 as no visiting batsman managed to reach double figures, with Michael Parker (1-4) and Rob Neal (2-3) picking up the remaining wickets to round off an emphatic 155 run victory.
Thurrock CC 3rd XI – 159 all out
Havering-atte-Bower 3rd XI – 176 all out
Thurrock 3’s fell just short in a gutsy effort against Havering at Blackshots in a tight Division 10 clash. Home skipper Tyrone Owen won the toss and invited the visitors to bat. A tight opening spell from veteran all-rounder Mal Umfreville (2-14 off 12) kept the rains on the Havering batting line up with solid contributions from Dent (29), Massey (30) and top scorer Riaz (37) before an incisive spell from left arm spinner Stephen Brooks who picked up 4 wickets to restrict the visitors to a competitive 176 all out which left the home side optimistic going into the tea interval.
Thurrock began respectably with a 50 run opening stand but then lost openers Fullbrook and Bilal Qureshi in quick succession before skipper Owen (23) and Shahmeer Qureshi (27) rebuilt the innings to leave the game well poised going into the last 10 overs with Thurrock needing only 4 an over from the last 10. However tight bowling from Tim Hills and Tollen (2 wickets each) dragged the game back towards the visitors as the run rate began to climb as 18 was required off the last over with last man pair Mclellan and Umfreville unable to see the hosts home.
St Mary’s Cray – 98/8
Thurrock CC Sun 2’s – 247/4
Excellent batting performance from young guns Elliot McCartney (102) and 13 year old Shahmeer Qureshi (86) combined with an incisive spell of seam bowling from Catherine Hodge who picked up her maiden 5 wicket haul, led Thurrock to a convincing win over Kent side St Mary’s Cray on Sunday. The visitors batted first and after the early loss of opener Tyrone Owen for 5, the second wicket pair of Qureshi and McCartney proceeded to dominate the hosts bowling line up, with McCartney recording a career best 102 and opener Qureshi hitting a composed 86, before Nick Henry hit a quickfire 21 not out to set the hosts an imposing 248 to win.
The hosts reply began badly as George kept things tight at one end and allowed Hodge to rip through the hosts top order on her way to her first 5 wicket haul in senior cricket, ending with superb figures of 5-22 from her 7 overs, the rest of the wickets to fall were shared around as the home side never looked like getting close to their target as Thurrock cruised to a 149 run win.
