Brentwood seconds remain in the hunt for third place in their division after a 76-run victory at strugglers Hornchurch.

Put into bat after losing the toss, after rain delays reduced this game to 30 overs per side, skipper Doug Maxwell’s quick 41 off 25 set the tone for a big score early on.

Jatin Patel continued his excellent batting form with an explosive 85 off 53, which included nine fours and four sixes.

He was supported by Chris Boon (33*) which enabled Brentwood to finish on 217-5.

The chase never really got going for Hornchurch as the Brentwood bowlers remained on top for most of the innings.

Oscar Torrado did the bulk of the damage, claiming 5-22, as Hornchurch finished on 141-9 in 30 overs.

Brentwood will be hoping for a strong finish to the season, starting with another win over Ilford at home on Saturday.

The thirds suffered an agonising eight-run defeat at Harlow where Brentwood won the toss and chose to field first.

Abhishek Banerjee (3-32) led the way with the ball with Rhys Furlong (2-27) also contributing to restrict Harlow to 198-7 in 40 overs.

In reply, Banerjee stroked his way to 82 to put Brentwood in a good position to win.

Skipper Roger Mahadeo (27) and Mohammad Shochi (37) added useful runs. However, their efforts weren’t quite enough as Brentwood finished on 190-4.

They need to find a way to pick up wins in their remaining two fixtures to avoid relegation, starting with their game at home to Wanstead on Saturday.

The fours lost by eight runs at home to Wickford, who were put into bat and scored 178-6 in 40 overs.

Madhusudhan Rao was the pick of the bowlers for Brentwood, taking 2-23.

Brentwood reached 170-9 in reply with Andrew Maxwell (64) top scoring and Ruku Sultan (28) providing some support in the middle before the tail was mopped up cheaply.

They will look to get back to winning ways away to Hornchurch on Saturday.

The fifths lost by eight wickets at home to Upminster after posting 111-9 in 40 overs when put into bat thanks to Frankie Paisley (40) and Amy Harvey (23).

Upminster reached their target in 32.2 overs and Brentwood play Buckhurst Hill at home in their next fixture.

The sixes lost by 17 runs away to Hornchurch who scored 142-7 in 40 overs.

Mick Coleman (2-11) and Frankie Kimberley (2-13) were the pick of the bowlers for Brentwood who were dismissed for 125 in 36.5 overs with Scott Cheal (36) and Diwakar Sahay (24) in the runs.

Brentwood play away at Hutton next weekend.