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SNEL WEEK 17 – REVIEW

SNEL WEEK 17 – REVIEW

Paul Middlemiss2 Sep 2019 - 07:50
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Evans the hero as 1s, 2s and 3s campaigns go down to the wire

James Evans made a wonderful 102, his maiden 1st XI century for the Club, as Upminster took their survival fight to the last game of the season. Evans' innings helped his side chase down a target of 262 and pick up a crucial 20 points. Earlier in the day Fives and Heronians had won the toss and chosen to bat at Upminster Park. Billy Amas and Bradley Copper both made half centuries as Fives looked to set up a big target, but James Aggio-Brewe led the Upminster fightback. He picked up 5-57 to get his side back in the game, and Fives, looking for a win to keep their promotion push on track, declared an over earlier on 261-8. Despite the early loss of Nicky Ison, Evans and Tom Daniels put Upminster into a good position with a stand of 77 for the second wicket. Daniels fell for 45 but Evans soon brought up his half century as Upminster stayed in the hunt. Louis Pickering (26), Terry Wyatt (23) and Nabeel Aziz all gave Evans good support, and the tall opener then began to open his shoulders, striking four maximums before he finally fell for 102. At the stage 38 were still needed, but experienced campaigners Farid Butt and John Curtis saw Upminster over the line by three wickets with 15 balls to spare. Upminster visit champions Colchester and East Essex on Saturday looking to pick up enough points to secure their Division One status for 2020. (Scorecard)

The 2nd XI will also need to pick up plenty of points after a draw at Brentwood saw them pick up 11 on Saturday. Their seventh draw of the campaign saw them have their opposition eight wickets down in a timed game for the fifth time this season, but they just couldn’t do enough to get over the line. Will Frost and Frankie Hazle made an excellent start for Upminster, and when Frost fell for 19 the next four Upminster batsmen all made double figures to keep Upminster moving in the right direction. Hazle made a well compiled 50 before being caught on the line, and at that stage the innings was in the balance at 164-6. Nathan Woods and Stu Connor then put together and excellent partnership to move Upminster towards a challenging score. Woods eventually finished on 60 not out and Connor finished on an unbeaten 52 as Upminster piled up 259-6. Veteran Graeme Walker took 3-42 for the home side. Kieran Emmanuel and Ben Sach made a good start for Brentwood, but when they fell the innings stalled and Brentwood were soon behind the run rate. Shafiq Rahman (4-51) and captain Billy Wright (3-55) worked their way through the middle order, but even with all eleven fielders round the bat they could not do enough to prize out the remaining Brentwood batsmen and Brentwood finished on 218-8. Youngster Callum Balsom made a composed 59 for his side. Upminster remain in the bottom two ahead of the last round of games, and realistically will need to beat title chasing Chelmsford at Upminster Park next week to give themselves a chance of survival. (Scorecard)

There could also be last day drama for the 3rd XI, no strangers to Week 18 cliff-hangers, as they remain in with a chance of retaining their Premier Division crown. At Shenfield they bowled well to skittle out the home side for 165 with the evergreen Mark D’Cruz taking four wickets. Dan Simpson then got the Upminster reply off to a solid start before Alex Ward and captain Oliver White kept their nerve to see their side to a crucial three wicket win. They trail leaders Brentwood by just four points with one game each remaining. (Scorecard)

The 4th XI are still hoping for a third placed finish after seeing off Belhus at Coopers on Saturday. Youngsters Harvey Daniels and Callum Berry complied a brilliant third wicket partnership, after their side had lost two early wickets, with Daniels making 58 and Berry contributing 46. Captain Stewart Hammond then chipped in with 25 not out and although Henry Overy claimed 3-25 for Belhus, Upminster were able to finish on 201-8. Belhus made a good start to their reply but once Kevin Roome had removed Tipu Samsuddin Upminster began to work their way through the Belhus batting. Roome claimed 3-33 and with Jordan Tolan and Rob Banninster also amongst the wickets, Upminster dismissed the visitors for 132 to claim the win. (Scorecard)

Upminster’s 5th XI put in a battling performance against leaders Oakfield Parkonians 4s, but ended up defeated. Parks struggled their way to 159 all out before Upminster’s batting was found wanting and they were dismissed for just 67. (Scorecard)

The 6th XI were in friendly action against Brentwood 5s, and they enjoyed an excellent game. Brentwood batted first, and Upminster’s inexperienced attack did well to take early wickets, with Mo Ali, Harry and George King and Josh Mason all impressing. However, Keur Shah made an excellent unbeaten century, before Brentwood declared on 255-7. Mason then made a brilliant 76 at the top of the Upminster innings, but they lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 184. Many thanks to Brentwood for hosting the fixture. (Scorecard)

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