Ardleigh Green get off mark
Chris Cook in batting action for Ardleigh Green (pic: Gavin Ellis/TGSPHOTO) - Credit: Gavin Ellis/TGSPHOTO
Gidea Park & Romford celebrate fine win
Ardleigh Green broke their duck for the Essex League Division Two season in style at Harlow Town.
Rock bottom of the table after losing eight of their first 10 matches this season, Chris Cook’s men shocked their hosts in a high-scoring contest.
The home side piled up 307-6 from their 50 overs, thanks to centuries from Ramya Upadhyay and Joe Holland, as Cook (3-42) and Ayaz Younis (2-55) shared the wickets to fall.
Alex Cason (29) put on 82 for the first Green wicket with Paul Hurworth, who then shared a 126-run stand with Younis (60).
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And there were double-digit contributions from Cook, Aaron Hills and Choudhry Mahboob (22 not out) as Green sealed a six-wicket triumph with almost four overs to spare, with Hurworth unbeaten on a superb 137 at the close.
Meanwhile, Gidea Park & Romford secured a thrilling win of their own over Belhus at North Stifford.
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The home side chose to bat after winning the toss and made a customary steady start through captain Danny Joyce and brother Joe.
Both eventually fell to Sam Hewitt (2-35), but solid contributions from Michael Fogg, Billy Winter and Martin Guilbert helped lift the Belhus score to 280-8, with Park conceding 29 wides in a total of 46 extras.
George Rogers (2-27) nabbed a brace for the visitors, but fell cheaply in reply.
Opening partner Matt Tarr hit 28 off 27 balls before also succumbing to Danny Norris, with Russ Collard’s exit leaving Park 85-3.
Shawn Findlay (23) followed after getting a start, but captain Jamal Francis struck seven boundaries in his 57.
And Alan Croft hit two sixes and five fours in a crucial 59 off 56 balls, putting on 68 for the seventh wicket with Connor Donnelly (32).
Donnelly departed without addition to the total and Harry Thompson was ninth out with Park still 13 runs short of their target.
But James Pegram kept his nerve with last man Joe Gordon, hitting two boundaries in a cameo unbeaten 14 to see Park home with two balls to spare.
Billericay had few problems romping to a 10-wicket win over Stanford.
Ross Poulton (5-22) left his former club in a spin as they collapsed to 117 all out.
And unbeaten half-centuries from Paul Martin (51 not out) and David Hinnigan (59 not out) saw Billericay race to their target in just 22 overs.
