Cook wants to make it three in a row

Chris Cook is confident Ardleigh Green can maintain their recent revival when they travel to Horndon for their Essex League Division Two match tomorrow (Saturday).

After not winning in their first 10 league games of the year, Green have picked up back-to-back wins as they look to avoid a second successive relegation.

Cook’s men head into this weekend in buoyant mood and are keen to right the wrongs from an earlier defeat to Horndon this season.

At Central Park, the hosts were dismissed for just 84 and the Green skipper says the team know that is an area for improvement.

“We lost too many early wickets in that game and it was another wet weekend,” said Cook.

“But it’s hard to judge anything on form from early in the season when everyone is still trying to find their feet.”

At the start of July, the team’s hopes of avoiding a second successive drop looked in trouble as they occupied the drop zone alongside Stanford.

While Green are still in the relegation positions, their recent revival has seen them close to within 26 points of Harlow Town in eighth.

Green know they have to capitalise on any Town slip-up between now and the end of the season, but Cook is

confident that remains well within their reach adding: “Anything is possible in this league. We’ve seen that anyone can beat anyone and hopefully that is the case again this weekend.”

Green will be hoping for more heroics with bat and ball from Muhammad Asif, who scored a half century and took four wickets in their win over Leigh last weekend.

If Asif can replicate that form, Green stand a strong chance of continuing to haul themselves to safety.