Thurrock CC 1st XI 186-10
Old Chelmsfordians CC 1st XI 197-10
By Bill West
THURROCK slipped to their first defeat of the season in a close encounter at home to Old Chelmsfordians.
The visitors batted first but struggled early on as once again Umaad Sultan (3-22) and Andrew Hills (3-36) bowled excellently with the new ball, with the visitors looking likely to post a low score.
But Fazal Rehman made the most of several dropped chances to make a very important 103. Rehman’s century, combined with some scores down the order from Jon Cook (27) and Tom Bird (24) gave the away side a defendable score of 197.
Thurrock were keeping up with the run rate, but kept losing wickets and were unable to build a substantial partnership. After 24 overs, the score was 96-6, but Matt Hills and Clarke Wren put on 52 to give the hosts a chance, but then Hills was caught for 24. Wren battled on and lost a couple of partners to leave it to the last remaining pair. Wren was last man out as his valiant innings ended on 46, with Thurrock just 12 short of victory.
