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SNEL Week 7 – Review

SNEL Week 7 – Review

Paul Middlemiss24 Jun 2019 - 08:06
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Four wins from five on Saturday, but 2nd XI still await first win

Another solid team performance saw the 1st XI pick up their second win of the season on Saturday, and move out of the bottom two. Ollie Peck won the toss and chose to bat against mid-table Hutton at Upminster Park, but he saw Shafiq Rahman fall early. James Evans and Louis Pickering (27) rebuilt well before Evans and Shahbaz (56) continued to put Upminster in a good position as they took their side to 163-2. Evans’ dismissal for 63 saw Hutton fightback as Vivian Paver, Steven Hammond and Upminster old boy Julian Whetstone picked up wickets, but 22 from Tom Daniels and double figure contributions from Harry Jenkins, Terry Wyatt, Freddie Butt and John Curtis helped the home side reach a competitive 261-9.

Hutton flew out of the blocks in reply thanks to Vivian Paver and Joseph Parry, but when Shahbaz had Paver caught and bowled for 24 the game changed. Shahbaz and Peck combined to put the squeeze on the visitors and although Upminster were not taking wickets at that stage they ensured the required run rate was climbing. With the pressure building Hutton began to crumble and John Curtis returned to the attack to pick up the crucial wickets of Bhajandip Singh (54) and Julian Whetstone as Upminster took control. Cameron Tredgett briefly looked like he may push his side towards victory with 26 from 21 balls, but Louis Pickering sent him packing and Pickering and Nicky Ison mopped up the table to dismiss the visitors for 215. Ison finished with figures of 3-41 as Peck’s side leapt above Loughton and Southend in the Division One table. (Scorecard)

It was a familiar story for the 2nd XI as they got themselves into good positions at Oakfield Parkonians before eventually falling to a convincing defeat. Sachin Vara (52), Shane Vamadevan and Neil Braithwaite took Parks into a good position on a tricky pitch at Forest Road, but Billy Wright (2-22) and Josh Lamont (3-35) pulled Upminster back into the game as wickets tumbled. Parks did make sure they used all of their overs though, and closed on 187-8. Upminster reached 35-0 in reply but from that point things went downhill and only four batsmen reached double figures, with Nathan Woods’ 15 being top score (along with 27 extras). Dilan Patel claimed 5-35 for the home side, as Upminster were dismissed for 109. (Scorecard)

Ollie White’s 3rd XI juggernaut shows no signs of letting up, as his side brushed aside Loughton at Whitbreads. Loughton won the toss and chose to bat but they were soon regretting that decision as Max Gordon (3-15) tore through the top order to leave Loughton in trouble. The captain then bought himself into the attack and produced his best spell of the season as he claimed 4-18 meaning Loughton were bowled out for just 89. Steve Limn followed up his half century last week with 48 this time out, and with Will Frost offering solid support an Upminster win was never in doubt. They did lose a late flurry of wickets, three of them to Samer Malik, but White’s side cruised to a six wicket win and increased their lead at the top of the table ahead of a crucial game with Shenfield this Saturday. (Scorecard)

The 4th XI’s excellent form continued with a hard fought win against Buckhurst Hill 3s. A well drilled team performance with the ball put Hill on the back foot with Will Bottoms, Karim Govani and Luke Williams each claiming a brace of victims. Amandeep Singh did make 40 for Hill but Upminster would have been happy to restrict the visitors to 146-8. Nathan Bright and Stewart Hammond put Upminster into a good position before 13 year old Callum Berry made an excellent 42 to move Upminster towards a seemingly comfortable victory. Saifer Hussain had other ideas though, and claimed 4-18 as Upminster lost their way. They eventually needed one from the final ball of the match for victory and Will Bottoms kept his nerve to secure a two wicket win. (Scorecard)

The 5th XI also faced Buckhurst Hill (4th XI) and also came away with a win. Hill were restricted to 174-7 from their 40 overs, and Rafe Smallman then made a superb 91 to help Upminster to a seven wicket win.

There was an important win on Sunday for the Sunday League XI as they overcame Bardoli. Louis Pickering and Tom Daniels were in the runs for Upminster before a good team effort with the ball, including a fine spell from Ryan Brown, helped Upminster to victory. (Scorecard)

There was though a first defeat of the season for Dave Brown’s Friendly XI, as they lost by five runs at Epping. The captain and Ben Hamberger both picked up two wickets as Epping made 185-8 against nine man Upminster. Nathan Brown then made a superb 51 as his side pushed for victory and captain Dave then smashed 67 to take things down to the wire. 12 were needed from the final over and 6 from the final ball but Upminster just fell short. (Scorecard)

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