Skipper Brabner confident of keeping dangerous batsman quiet

Harold Wood skipper Richard Brabner has backed his bowlers to deal with the threat of Billericay’s Ross Poulton when the sides meet in Essex League Division One on Saturday.

Wood make the trip to Blunts Wall Road looking to maintain a good run of form that has seen the club win four of their last six league matches.

To do that, they will have to ensure Poulton has a quiet day with the bat, having racked up three 50s in all competitions so far this season.

But Brabner believes the likes of Shahbaz Khan and Maruf Chowdhury have the quality to nullify the Billericay batsman’s threat.

“Ross is someone who is known to us and is a top player, but we know if we continue to bowl in the right areas, like we have been recently, we should do well,” said Brabner.

When the sides met in May, Wood were beaten by four wickets, despite a half-century by Khan and four wickets for Umar Farooq.

But Brabner insists it will not be a revenge mission for Wood at Billericay this weekend.

“I wouldn’t say we’re out for revenge, but if we perform as we have done, then we’re confident about our chances,” he added.

“It’s been a difficult few weeks with the bat for Billericay and they’ll be looking to bounce back. If we can keep our performances up, then we know we’ll be in a good position to get a win.”

Elsewhere for Harold Wood last weekend, the seconds were beaten by Hornchurch, the thirds went down to Wanstead and the fourths were defeated by Westcliff, but the fifths were able to see of the challenge from Walthamstow.