West Essex 133-9
Buckhurst Hill 132-10
(League Cup Round One)

WEST ESSEX prevailed by just one wicket in a thrilling conclusion to this League Cup tie with local rivals Buckhurst Hill.

The hosts looked dead and buried when Buckhurst Hill removed their eighth wicket well short of the target of 132, but a brilliant partnership between Mehran Shahzad and Ayaz Alam took them close to the line. And even when the former lost his wicket, last man Mark Vowles knocked off the one run required to claim victory.

The hosts won the toss at the Rolls and invited their visitors to bat first.

That decision seemed totally justified when Moin Mulla (eight), Jamie Allen (nil) and Tim Scott (nil) all perished in the opening overs.

Buckhurst Hill continued to struggle, and only three batsmen reached double figures as they limped to 132. Opener Sat Chagger held the innings together early on before falling for 24, while Habib Ali (26) and last man Nawaz Pathan (32) made vital contributions, but it was West Essex who held the upper hand at the half-way stage, thanks in large part to Amar Khan's return of five wickets in only six overs.

The hosts were dealt an early blow in reply when Safraz Afraz and Kaz Ahmed both fell without troubling the scorers but Irfan Riaz (16) and Khan (19) began to steady the ship. But upon their departures, the Rolls Park boys collapsed dramatically and were extremely grateful to Shahzad and Alam for rescuing their effort.

Ninth man Shazad hit 32 before being caught off Mulla's bowling while number ten Alam struck an unbeaten 36 to frustrate the visitors, who could smell victory after claiming the eighth wicket.

But Ali's tidy figures of 4-45 were made to count for nothing by this fine West Essex rearguard action as they scraped home by a solitary wicket to set up a second round clash at first division Shenfield, who won at Stanford-le-Hope on Saturday.

Relieved West Essex skipper Zafir Nazir said: "It was our first game we have played and we certainly looked rusty. Hopefully though we have got that out of our system and we can put on a better display at Shenfield this weekend."

Reflecting on the defeat Hill counterpart Scott said: "We didn't bat well, although from looking right out of it we got ourselves back into the game with some excellent bowling."