Kevin Hewes

Division One Clacton maintained the early season pressure on Witham, by overcoming Springfield by 46 runs at Coronation Park. Batting first the Clacton innings was built on a second wicket stand of 185 between Joe Fowler (147 from 109 balls) and James Lee (75no from 89 balls) as they posted 274 for 3 from their 40 overs. Springfield made a spirited chase, but it was a case of too many good starts not being converted into meaningful scores as they were dismissed for 228. Opener Jack Whisker (41) top scored, while there were three wickets each for Michael Bird (3 for 42) and Pierson Mann (3 for 56). Halstead claimed their first win of the Division One campaign at the third attempt, with an eight wicket victory over West Bergholt. The visitors posted 194 for 5 from their 40 overs, with Jack Montgomery (70), Matt Conybeare (43) and Sureshraj Anandraj (33no) all contributing useful efforts. Halstead lost both openers with just 16 on the board, before Ryan Vickery (104no) and Josh King (74no) combined for an unbroken third wicket stand of 179 to see Halstead home with 11 overs to spare. Division Two Great Bentley successfully chased down Eight Ash [...Continue Reading]

Division Two Chelmsford made it four from four with a 66 run win at local rivals Galleywood. A half century from Dinil Siriwardana (53) was the main input to the Chelmsford innings, with Harry Jacobs (4 for 30) and John Barritt (4 for 41) regularly chipping away at the wickets as Chelmsford were bowled out for 210. In reply, Jacobs (52) was the only player to score above 20 for Galleywood, as they were bowled out for 144. Chelmsford skipper Ben Lawrence picking up another four wicket haul with 4 for 23. Great Bentley eased to a nine wicket success over West Mersea at The Green. Ten man Mersea were bowled for 100 in the 30th over, with only Joe Wyatt (46) reaching double figures. Alfie Youngs (3 for 1) quickly mopping up the tail. Youngs (35no) then combined with Michael Wright (43no) in a second wicket stand of 77 as Bentley reached the target in 13 overs. T20 T20 action took place on Thursday 1st, with Colchester & E.E. welcoming Mistley to Castle Park. Matthew Spoors (33) again top scored for Mistley, and with George Hutton (24), Alex Hood (21no) and Harry Parkes (20) all playing cameos, Mistley reached [...Continue Reading]

Division One Champions Witham's unbeaten start to the season came to an abrupt end at Springfield, with the hosts posting a season high of 342 for 6. Callum Eva (158 from 104 balls) was the mainstay of the Springfield innings, but received good support from fellow opener Arnav Lanka (38), Iestyn Powell (48) in a second wicket stand of 134, becoming fifth man out on 273. There was still time for some fireworks from Ushanathan Thevasakayam who blasted an unbeaten 43 from 22 balls to see Springfield up to their mammoth total. A number of the Witham batters reached double figures in the reply, but never threatened the target. Harrison McDonald (37) and James Streetley (34) top scoring, while Matt Trim picked up 4 for 11 as Witham were dismissed for 186 and defeat by 156 runs. Division Two Eight Ash Green picked up 20 points as West Mersea conceded their match. T30 Copford got the better of West Bergholt in their T30 fixture by a slender 12 run margin in a good competitive game. Finlay Owen and Ben Lawson both retired 50 not out as Copford posted 159 for 7 from their 30 overs. Ben Longman for West Bergholt [...Continue Reading]

Division One West Bergholt claimed their first victory in Division One in 2023 season, with a 44 run victory over Sudbury. Batting first, Bergholt recovered from the early loss of Jack Montgomery, with Ed Hance (48) and Will Main (59) putting on a healthy second wicket stand. The innings stalled in the later stages with only Joe Smith (14no) and Tea Thota (13) reaching double figures, as Morgan Waldock (3 for 28), Oliver Bradbury (2 for 22) and Thomas Tullin (2 for 39) took regular wickets. West Bergholt closed at 193 for 8 from their 40 overs. Kenny Moutlon-Day (57) and Keenan Waldock (31) got the Sudbury reply off to a solid enough start, but the introduction of Mohammed Ramali (3 for 15 from 9) and James Aldridge (2 for 24 from 9) stemmed the flow of runs. Sudbury were restricted to 149 for 7 from their 40 overs. Division Two Chelmsford made it three out three in Division Two, with an eight wicket victory over West Mersea at Chelmer Park. Mersea won the toss and elected to bat, but with only Marcus Hobson (24), Matthew Taylor-Smith (12) and James Rutter (11) reaching double figures the visitors were skilled for [...Continue Reading]

Division One Witham maintained their unbeaten start with a third straight win at home to Clacton on Sunday. Clacton batted first after losing the toss, and posted 188 for 4 from their 40 overs. Skipper Kieron Parkes scored an unbeaten 74 from 83 balls, and received good support from Luke Sumner (32no) in an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 102. Joe Fowler had earlier scored 46 at the top of the order, before becoming the third of Ashton Lawrence's wickets (3 for 21). In reply, Witham eased to a five wicket success, largely through the efforts at the top of the order from Michael Godwin (66 from 66 balls), but with useful contributions throughout from Ben Tinham (26), Christopher Garrard (24) and Hamad Arshad (21no) eased to victory at the beginning of the 36th over. Shaun Mathews picked up 3 for 38, as the visitors collected 2 bowling points. Springfield upset last season's runners up Halstead at Coronation Park, with a six wicket success. Halstead batted first after losing the toss and with the exception of James Tyson (85) and Sam Johnson (34) struggled against the Springfield bowling. Indeed they were the only two players to reach double figures, as [...Continue Reading]

The first couple of weeks of the new NECL season has been blighted by the weather, but nevertheless cricket has taken place. In Division One, champions Witham have opened up with two home victories. On 30th April they entertained Sudbury at The Parks, and with half centuries from Michael Headley (73), Harrison McDonald (70) and Ben Tinham (55) posted 203 for 3 from their 40 overs. The Sudbury reply got off to worst possible start as both openers were returned to the pavilion with ducks to their name. It got little better, with five ducks being recorded in the innings, and Daniel Fisher (36) top scoring. Oscar Burley (3 for 16) and two wickets a piece for Ashton Lawrence and James Streetley were the standout performances with the ball for Witham, as Sudbury were dismissed for 104 and defeat by 99 runs. On the 7th May, Witham entertained last season’s Runners Up Halstead, and made it two wins from two with a 78 run win. Batting first centurions Christopher Garrard (132no) and Hamad Arshad (103) scored the bulk of the score as Witham posted 286 for 5. In reply, Halstead secured full batting points by scoring 209 all out in [...Continue Reading]

The 2023 NECL season got off to an excellent start with Sudbury and Colchester & E.E. providing a thrilling finish. With the weather in the previous week, causing groundsmen all over the county no end of problems in preparation, it was remarkable that the game went ahead. In a game reduced to 35 overs per side, it was Sudbury who took first knock after Colchester & E.E. won the toss. The Sudbury top order all made good starts without going on to post anything big, indeed the highest score of the day came from Ben Reece (47 for 41 balls, including 4 sixes). Isaac Tombs (39), Jordan Morris (29) and Jonathan Amos (25no) boosted the total to 188 for 6. Jonty Ray (2 for 28) was the most successful of the visiting bowlers. Darren Eckford (29) and Joe Austin (27) gave the visitors a solid base in their reply, before Jonathan Amos (3 for 44) claimed both their wickets. The Colchester reply was then very much dependent on a middle order stand between Keir Young (26) and Jonty Ray (36), after a number of wickets tumbled. Jordan Morris (2 for 29) and Ben Reece (2 for 31) also amongst the [...Continue Reading]