Harlow CC 1st XI 180-10
Orsett & Thurrock CC 1st XI 179-9
By Bill West
ORSETT and Thurrock fell just short of what would have been an excellent win as they drew a pulsating game away at Harlow.
The hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. Mohammed Waqas and Alan Jones made a great start as they put on 99 for the first wicket, before Jones was run out by Kirk Laws for 52. Waqas was out soon afterwards for 55, and from then on Harlow struggled to sustain any partnerships of note. Shahid Khan continued his excellent start to the season with 6-29, while Will Gibbon picked up the other three wickets to fall as Harlow ended up all out for 180.
Like the home side, Orsett and Thurrock’s openers Umar Ayub (42) and Paul Bennett (41) got the innings off to a flyer. But the visitors inexplicably collapsed from 83-0 to 109-6 as the game looked to be slipping away. But Kirk Laws (49) and Shahid Khan (20*) put on 63 for the seventh wicket to get them back in the hunt. But Laws and a couple more wickets fell quickly as the game went to the last over. Unfortunately Orsett & Thurrock couldn’t get quite get over the line, but still remain unbeaten this season.
