Orsett & Thurrock 1st XI 192-10

Southend-on-Sea & EMT CC 1st XI 193-8

By Bill West

ORSETT and Thurrock lost their third game in succession in a close encounter at home to Southend-on-Sea & EMT.

The hosts batted first and made were looking good at 100-1. But when Umar Ayub was trapped lbw on 45, this sparked a flurry of wickets lost at regular intervals, as from a strong position they ended up all out for 192. Umaad Sultan was promoted up to number three and responded well, top-scoring with 55 from 90 balls.

The visitors had a similar experience to Orsett & Thurrock as they started well and then kept losing wickets to keep the hosts in the contest. 96-1 quickly became 147-7 with the slow bowlers Muhammad Rahim (4-63), Shahid Khan (2-42) and Paul Bennett (1-36) doing the damage. But number eight Callum Druce managed to get his side over the line with an unbeaten 33.