Harrow Lodge Park outfit keen to bounce back after losing in T20 semi-final last week

Hornchurch lost for just the second time this season on Sunday as Chelmsford beat them in the semi-finals of the Essex T20 and captain Roy Smith has told his team to learn from the disappointment.

The Essex League Division One leaders defeated Woodford Wells comfortably on Saturday to keep their promotion bid on track.

But after going down by 11 runs to Chelmsford the following day, their clash at Hadleigh tomorrow (Saturday) has added importance, with Smith keen for his team to not let their standards slip.

Hornchurch have been close to perfect all year, but now they must get back on the horse and show Sunday was just a blip against a Premier Division opponent.

“It wasn’t to be against Chelmsford and we need to learn from that defeat,” said Smith.

“When you lose that is when you find out about your team, when you win cracks get papered over, so you don’t worry about things. But we need to improve.

“We can’t allow ourselves to get sloppy now like we have been on a couple of occasions this season. We must improve our organisation and be more drilled in all areas.”

A victory at John Burrows Park would help erase the bad memory of last weekend and edge Hornchurch closer to earning another promotion.

They came up from Division Two last year, but have taken to this division like a duck to water and have a 31-point advantage over nearest rival Southend which they want to extend.

Smith added: “We definitely need to get back to winning ways. We must forget about Sunday and crack on with what we are good at, the league format.

“Hadleigh haven’t been great this season, but we still have to perform well. It is the 50-over format still, which suits us, so we are looking forward to the match.

“Hadleigh’s wicket is okay, it is nothing special, but it is a small ground so it should be a high scoring game I’d imagine.”

Hornchurch showed their batting class against Wells by comfortably chasing down 253 to win at Harrow Lodge Park, with skipper Smith unbeaten on 84.

But they fell short of getting past Chelmsford’s total of 155-4 the following day and a pattern in both, and something that has been developing recently, was the top three failing.

But Smith has backed his top order to come good again, adding: “You have got to give them the belief in a way because everyone goes through dodgy patches and as they say form is temporary, class is permanent. Those boys will be all right.”