Upminster draw on positives

PUBLISHED: 12:00 04 June 2018

Lee Power

John Curtis of Upminster celebrates taking a wicket (pic Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo)

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Upminster's Shahbaz Butt (pic Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo)

Nicky Ison chose to bat first after winning the toss and saw Louis Pickering (26) put on 74 for the second wicket with Shahbaz Butt, who hit a six and seven fours in his 65.

Upminster wobbled from 113-1 to 128-5, but Terry Wyatt (25) and Ison (21) helped them reach 201-9 at the end of their 50 overs.

And after Orsett had made a solid start in reply, John Curtis struck three times in quick succession to reduce them to 47-3.

Shafiq Rahman ended a 61-run stand for the fourth wicket, as fellow spinner Muhammad Rahim got in on the act to leave Orsett 123-5 and the match delicately poised.

Frustration for Upminster's Louis Pickering (pic Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo)

Pickering (2-52) ended the hopes of Mark Pavitt on 61, as Curtis picked up two more scalps to complete a 5-59 haul.

But Orsett reached the close on 184-9 and Upminster had to content themselves with a 12-point haul, having only collected 10 from their first three fixtures of the campaign.