Harold Wood lose to leaders

Romford Recorder: Maruf Chowdhury took five wickets for Harold Wood against Chelmsford (pic: TGSPHOTO)Maruf Chowdhury took five wickets for Harold Wood against Chelmsford (pic: TGSPHOTO) (Image: Ray Lawrence/TGSPHOTO c/o 27 Plaiters Way, Braintree, Essex, CM7 3LR - Editorial Use ONLY)

Hornchurch saw their lead cut at the top of the Essex League Division One table after suffering their first defeat season at Hadleigh.

Roy Smith’s men went down by five wickets, with 10 balls remaining, to lose for the first time in 12 matches but remain 31 points ahead of title rivals Southend, who were also beaten at the weekend.

Put into bat by their hosts, Hornchurch saw Chris Sains (52) dominate a 74-run opening stand with Billy Gordon, hitting three sixes and six fours.

Paul Walter and Smith fell relatively cheaply, with Billy Gordon departing soon after making his half-century to leave the visitors 152-4.

Michael Bones held firm after that, but the bottom six failed to reach double figures, with Max Osborne dismissed first ball.

Bones was left stranded on 54 not out, having hit a six and five fours, as Hornchurch were dismissed for 231 after 47 overs.

And that failure to complete their overs proved vital as Hadleigh timed their chase perfectly.

Chamikara Mudalige made the breakthrough with the ball in the home side’s reply, with Walter also having success to leave Hadleigh 74-2.

But Kellon Carmichael and Adam Soilleux shared a century stand to put the hosts on top before a late wobble.

Taqi Abbas (2-57) nabbed a brace, with Walter (2-30) claiming a second scalp, but Soilleux stood firm and was unbeaten on 92 as Hadleigh reached their target.

*Harold Wood saw their top flight survival hopes hit by defeat at Premier Division leaders Chelmsford.

Maruf Chowdhury (5-25) shone with the ball as the visitors were dismissed for 204 in the 47th over, with Hamzah Ikram (2-22) and young leg-spinner Zohran Afzal (2-35) nabbing braces.

Chris Prowting (60) and James Clifford (75) played key innings for Chelmsford, but Hamza Ahmed (43) was the only Wood batsman to make much impact in reply.

Shahbaz Khan (27) also made a start with the bat, but Chowdhury was the only other home player in double figures, with five failing to trouble the scorers, as they slipped to a 102-run loss.