North Essex Cricket League

Witham claim big win in the NECL championship race, at home to leaders Halstead. Division One Witham made a significant statement in the Division One title race, with a seven wicket home victory over leaders Halstead. If they win their game in hand they will go top of the table. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat and with Josh King (34) and Samuel Hawes (48) reached 85 for 4. The middle order all chipped in with runs, with Shair Sullaman (30) and Hayden Plumb (27) scoring quick runs, before a final flourish from Ryan Vickery (40no from 18 balls) saw Halstead up to 229 for 8. All the Witham bowlers picked up wickets with Ben Tinham (2 for 53) the most successful. Christopher Garrard (48) and Michael Godwin (52) got Witham off to an excellent start in response with 89 for the first wicket. Ollie Cooke chipped in with 21, before skipper Kaan Hawes (50no) and Michael Glynn (36no) put on an unbroken stand of 78 to see Witham home by 7 wickets in 37 overs. Colchester & E.E. scored their first success of the season in Division One, chasing down Sudbury’s 234 for 7 to [...Continue Reading]

Wins for both Halstead and Springfield at the top of Division One Halstead remain top of Division One, following an emphatic 69 run victory at champions Clacton on Sunday. Batting first, the Halstead innings was dominated by Ryan Vickery who smashed an unbeaten 148 from 113 deliveries, which included 24 fours, as Halstead posted 287 for 5. Daniel Williams was the most successful of the home bowlers with 2 for 60 from his nine overs. In reply, a third wicket stand of 124 between James Lee (52) and Daniel Williams (80) was the main substance of the Clacton reply, but with Kyzer Fairbrother (4 for 42), Callum Hansey (2 for 35) and Regan Hoadley (2 for 2) taking wickets they were bowled out for 218. Springfield are still in the Halstead slip stream, after they won by 9 wickets at home to Sudbury. Nat Wilkes (31) was the top scorer for Sudbury, with Paddy Sadler (29) and Jonathan Amos (28) also contributing. However, spells from Callum Eva (4 for 22) and Matt Trim (3 for 35) saw the visitors bowled out for 141 in 37 overs. Freddie Williams (45), Max Williams (46no) and Charlie Prudence (49no) then saw Springfield [...Continue Reading]

Tight at the top of Division Two, as both first and second placed teams lose. In Division Two, the top of table has tightened up following the weekend results. Leaders, West Bergholt host a Great Totham side without in victory in its opening four matches. Bztting first after winning the toss, the visitors made an indistinguished start losing both openers with just 13 on the board. However, George Davis (72) and Patrick Tolhurst (36) combined to put on 113 for the third wicket. After their departure it was James Pook who dominated proceedings with an unbeaten 71, although he was given good support from George Baron (35) as Totham reached 258 for 6 at tea. In reply, Bergholt made a good effort of chasing down the total with Sureshraj Anandraj (75) top scoring, however, the decisive bowling spell came from George Davis who capped a fine game by backing up his fifty, with a spell of 4 for 24 from 9 overs as the host were restricted to 233 for 8. Third placed Great Waltham served up a hammering against the young Mersea side, to bounce back from their unexpected defeat last week. Batting first, Waltham lost three wickets [...Continue Reading]

The T20 took centre stage this week in the NECL with four matches taking place, shaping the qualification for Finals Day. On Wednesday evening Wivenhoe hosted champions Coggeshall. Batting first after winning the toss, Wivenhoe posted a more than respectable 194 for 2 from their 20 overs. Jakob Kelly (23) and Sahil Shah (42) putting on 73 for the first wicket, before an unbroken stand of 110 for the third wicket between Matt Sullivan (64 off 34 balls) and Alex Osborne (46 off 32 balls) saw Wivenhoe up to their total. Wivenhoe made early inroads as Coggeshall began their reply reducing the visitors to 8 for 2. However, the linchpin of the Coggeshall innings was Eben Botha who posted 143 from 62 balls, including 13 fours and 10 sixes, before becoming the sixth man out with two runs required for victory. This was duly achieved off the first ball of the 20th over as Coggeshall won by 4 wickets. After seeing their first match conceded Halstead, began their T20 campaign at Mistley on Thursday, and made it two wins out of two with an eight wicket victory. Mistley batted first and posted 149 for 6 from their 20 overs, with [...Continue Reading]

Plenty of runs around this weekend, and some excellent individual performances with some close finishes as well. Division One In Division One just one match saw a high scoring encounter at The Parks, where Witham chased down Springfield’s 265 for 6 to win by 6 wickets. Batting first after being inserted, the Springfield top order all scored well with Freddie Williams (54) and an in form Charlie Prudence (107no) catching the eye. Matt Trim (39) and Dan Atkinson (37) also put in useful knocks. For Witham Ollie Cooke’s nine over spell which returned 1 for 21 was the most noteable. The Witham openers gave the home side a solid platform to chase down the target, with Michael Godwin (93) and Kaan Hawes (64) putting on a century stand. Ollie Cooke then hit an unbeaten 66, and with Onke Nayu (25) guided Witham to success at the end of the 39th over. Charlie Prudence backed up his performance with the bat, to pick up 2 for 36 from his nine overs. Division Two West Mersea still lead the pack in Division Two, but were thankful to a remarkable innings by James Rutter to claim the points on Sunday at Great Totham. [...Continue Reading]

Not much cricket this weekend, with the weather and the long Bank Holiday disrupting proceedings. Halstead strengthened their position at the top of Division One, while Great Waltham are now the only unbeaten side in the league following their win over West Bergholt. Division One Halstead got the better of local rivals Sudbury at Star Stile, to claim their fifth Division One win of the campaign. In a game reduced to 20 overs per side due to morning rain, Halstead batted first and posted 205 for 2, largely through a second wicket stand of 190 between Ryan Vickery (82no from 52 balls) and Josh Well (111 from 60 balls). Charles Thomas (1 for 15) and Lasith Lakshan were the Sudbury wicket takers. Lakshan (30) and Tom Park (29) were the top scorers in the reply, which was undone by a hat trick by George Pritchard (3 for 18). Callum Hansey picked up 2 for 7, as Sudbury were restricted to 129 for 9 and defeat by 76 runs. The Clacton vs Witham was cancelled due to the ground being unfit for play after heavy overnight rain. Division Two In Division Two something had to give at the West Bergholt, [...Continue Reading]

For the first time this season, the weather got the better of the fixtures, with just the one match out of seven reaching a conclusion on the field. Division One The one match that did get finished saw Division One champions beaten heavily for the second time this season, putting their title defence in serious doubt. Travelling to Springfield, Clacton were beaten by 162 runs. Springfield won the toss and batted first and posted 245 for 5, with a dominant third wicket stand between Charlie Prudence (67) and skipper James Gooday (77) producing a large proportion of the runs. Callum Eva chipped in with 47 from just 27 deliveries at the end of the innings. Prudence (6 for 30) and Noah Pothen (3 for 49) shared the first eighteen overs of the reply, and saw Clacton dismissed for just 83, Daniel Williams (27) top scoring for the vanquished visitors. Halstead are out on their own as leaders of Division One, following Colchester & E.E. concession to them on Friday. The Sudbury vs Galleywood game was cancelled without a ball being bowled. Division Two Great Totham looking for their first win of the season travelled to Eight Ash Green, and [...Continue Reading]

Division One After defeat last week Halstead, bounced back with a 254 run victory at Galleywood to join Clacton at the top of the division. An opening stand of 332 between Adam Morris (102) scoring his maiden century, and Josh King (216) set Halstead up for an enormous 347 for 2. Left handed King was the dominant partner scoring his first fifty from 39 deliveries, and then smashing his second fifty in just 22 balls, to record his first Halstead century. Hayden Plumb (2 for 22) picked up the first two wickets in the Galleywood reply, before Elliot Butler (5 for 17) got to work as Galleywood were dismissed for 93 in reply. David Wicks (23) and Zac Wicks (22) the only batters to top twenty. Clacton were emphatic winners at home to Sudbury on Sunday, to return to joint top of Division One. Sudbury won the toss and elected to bat, but were unable to release the shackles from some very tight Clacton bowling. Kenny Moulton-Day hit a fluent 41 at the top of the order from 29 deliveries, including five fours and two sixes. However, with Daniel Williams (2 for 38 from 9), Kian Schwartz (3 for [...Continue Reading]

Defeats for both the unbeaten sides in Division One, opens up the title contest. In Division Two, West Bergholt make it two from two, Great Waltham and Eight Ash Green are off to a winning starts. In the T20, champions Coggeshall open up with a comprehensive win over Galleywood. Division 1 Sudbury despite their defeat at Witham are the leaders of Division 1, having claimed nine points in an exciting game. Sudbury won the toss and elected to bat, and with contributions throughout the order posted a solid 218 for 5. Usama Ashfaq (43), and an unbroken sixth wicket between Darren Batch (29no) and Jonathan Amos (48no) getting then to the score. Paul Bellehewe was the most successful of the Witham bowlers with 2 for 30. In reply, Ben Tinham (33) and Christopher Garrard (78) set up the run chase, but with wickets falling at inopportune moments in the game, the home side were dependent on a knock of 55 from Onke Nyaku to get them close to the target. Charles Thomas (2 for 55) and Jonathan Amos (4 for 55) dismissed both the fifty makers, as Witham eventually got home with two wickets and three balls to spare. [...Continue Reading]

Unfortunately, as more teams start their Sunday season, a few have fallen foul of the rule book this week. Division 1 In the top flight, Halstead backed up their win last week over champions Clacton, with a much tighter win at home to Witham. Batting first after winning the toss, the home side lost two early wickets to Christopher Garrard (2 for 42), before a dominant Max Chu (69, including 12 fours and a six, out of 95) put them in control. Steady middle order batting from Charles Mallett (25) and Ryan Vickery (48) pushed them towards 200, and an unbeaten 50 from skipper Liam Jones eventually guiding them to 230 for 6. Ben Tinham (2 for 37) was the most successful of the Witham bowlers. In reply, all the Witham batters got a start, but without going on to hurt the Halstead bowlers. Christopher Garrard (43), Onke Nyaku (39) and Kaan Hawes (30) contributed most to the Witham effort. Liam Jones (3 for 38) and Josh King (2 for 35) picked up vital wickets as the visitors were restricted to 204 for 8, and defeat by 24 runs. Clacton have gone back to the top of the division [...Continue Reading]