Premier Division

Chingford are the new league leaders following a four-wicket win at Upminster on Saturday.

Inserted into bat, hosts Upminster were at 83 for four when Reece O’Connell (2) was dismissed.

In at three, Billy Gordon (74 not out) was joined in the middle by five separate partners, but only Nicholas O’Dell (38) and Oliver Peck (35) displayed any staying power.

By the time Peck was dismissed, the away side had reached 200 for six, with Jamie Porter (two for 55) the pick of the Chingford bowlers.

Daniel Lawrence (42) and Shaun Eaton (36) got the visitors off to a strong start before Jay Edmonds (45) weighed in.

Alfie Taylor hit 31 and Chris Baldock managed an unbeaten 32 as the away side progressed to 202 for six.

John Curtis took two for 58 for the hosts, who were kept at arm’s length by Chingford.

Wanstead and Snaresbrook’s title challenge suffered a blow as they were thrashed by 156 runs at home to Shenfield.

An uncharacteristically poor display with the bat saw the hosts succumb to a heavy defeat – just their second of the season – with a total of just 65.

The situation was exacerbated by a huge knock of 112 from opener Simon Keen, who put the visitors well on their way to a good score.

Thirty-six from Jack Kilber further down the order and 21 from Suhaib Sarwar helped Shenfield to a total of 221 all out.

Zain Shahzad had some joy with the ball for Wanstead but his three for 49 was not enough to disrupt the visitors.

Wanstead got off to a poor start when openers John Chambers (1) and Arfan Akram (8) were quickly dismissed.

The theme continued, with Sachin Vaja (4) following before Jonathan Das (26) finally broke into double figures.

Das’ knock was the highlight of a hugely disappointing innings for Wanstead, who were removed for 65.

Tom Austin excelled with the ball for Shenfield, taking four for just 14.

Awais Liaqat claimed four for 29 to help ease Loughton’s relegation fears with a three-wicket win over Harold Wood.

Batting first, visitors Wood struggled to build any momentum and found themselves at 98 for eight before Umar Farooq (28) came to the crease.

Farooq and Mahruf Chowdhury (28) provided the biggest scores for the visitors, who were removed for 142.

Liaqat’s four for 29 was supplemented by three for 56 from Bilal Butt as the home side put themselves in a strong position with their bowling display.

Loughton looked in danger of failing to build on their performance with the ball and were on 80 for five before Kashif Mahmood (24) stepped up.

Thirty-five not out late on from Rishi Patel proved pivotal as the hosts hit 145 with three wickets in hand.

Chowdhury took four for 33 and Shahbaz Khan claimed three for 29 for Wood.

South Woodford held on to draw at Ilford after Nigel Jacobs’ 119 not out looked to have condemned them to defeat.

Electing to bat first, Ilford lost the wicket of Saf Imtiaz (19) cheaply and Gurdeep Kandola (1) and Hendro Puchert (13) followed before Ilford reached 100.

All the while, Jacobs continued to bat steadily, hitting ten fours and two sixes as partners came and went en route to a total of 219 for eight.

Garry Neicho returned figures of four for 60, whilst Krishan Vadher took three for 35 for the visitors.

South Woodford openers Nick Browne (15) and Ashley Leat (17) fell early, with the away side struggling to 89 for six.

Thirty-three from James Malin and 31 from Harry Shirt kept the visitors in the contest, closing on 145 for eight to secure the draw.

Aron Nijjar took three for 36 for the hosts.

Division One

Sixty from Joe Johnson helped Woodford Wells put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a three-wicket win against Ardleigh Green.

Invited to bat first, the Ardleigh innings was built largely on 42 from Chris Cook and 39 from Choudhry Mahboob.

But, after a decent start, the run rate slowed and the visitors crumbled to 172 all out, with Rory Ellison (four for 19) in ruthless mood.

Johnson opened with 60 before important knocks from Thomas Styles (30) and Ed Buxton (24) took Wells to a winning total of 174 for seven.

Sajid Younis took four for 30 but could not halt the hosts.

Alexander Maskell hit 92 to help Buckhurst Hill to a seven-wicket win at Colchester and East Essex, keeping the visitors on the tail of second-placed Hadleigh and Thundersley.

The hosts overcame an uncertain start which saw them at 39 for four to put up a good total of 217 for seven.

Sixty-seven from Sam Foster provided the backbone of the innings, with Andrew Kennedy (37) chipping in.

Rob Petchey took five for 57 for the visitors, who conceded a careless 40 extras.

Hermes Michael Solomonides hit 44 at number two and was well-supported by Maskell (92) and Raymond Parkinson (52 not out).

Colchester used nine bowlers but could not prevent their visitors reaching the required total of 220 for three.

Division Two

Rizwan Akram scored 76 to guide Fives and Heronians to a seven-wicket win at Belhus, easing their relegation fears.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first, Belhus struggled for consistency with the bat. Martin Guilbert (25) and John Lewis Jnr (23) made decent scores but were restricted by the bowling of Jonny Kay (three for 19) and Riki Laird (three for 21).

Having finished on 171 all out, Belhus made an early breakthrough when Gary Edwards (12) was removed.

Akram’s 76 and 44 from Mick Perry paved the way to victory for Fives though, who finished on 173 just three wickets down.

Struggling Horndon on the Hill belied the league table to thrash West Essex by 128 runs.

The visitors were impressive with the bat and began brightly, with Mike Canavon (45) and Usman Jan (47) building the basis of a good innings.

Late-order contributions from Mustansar Meraj (35) and Martin Sayers (21) eased Horndon to 250 all out.

Zia Anwar took four for 47 in his ten-over spell at the crease.

Only Wahid Mahmood (33) and Ayaz Qureshi (24) could reach double figures for the hosts, who were removed for just 122 – Meraj (two for nine) returning the best figures.

Division Three

Gareth Stead’s five-for ensured Epping remain second-bottom after a six-wicket loss at Benfleet.

Thirty-six extras helped boost the visitors’ total to 156, with Tapan Patel hitting an unbeaten 49 at number seven.

Stead finished with five for just 23 as he took apart the Epping line-up.

A wobbly start from Benfleet was forgotten when Ian Stanley (67 not out) and Rob Zammit (43 not out) put on the partnership which took the hosts to 158 for four.

Sachin Bawa finished with three for 38 for Epping.

Late-order resistance from Woodford Green could not prevent an eight-wicket defeat at home to Old Southendian and Southchurch.

Batting at number eight, Mashood Qazi hit a quick-fire 73 – included seven sixes and five fours – from just 59 deliveries.

Masood Qazi had earlier managed 71 as the hosts put up 212 all out. Adam Rendall returned the best bowling figures, finishing on four for 40.

A knock of 114 not out from Michael Hill provided the platform for Southendian to ease to victory, with 40 extras and 54 from Rob Johnston contributing to a total of 215.

Oakfield Parkonians were beaten by four wickets by Stanford Le Hope, with the impressive Ross Poulton playing a key role with bat and ball.

Put into bat first, Parks started encouragingly, with Sachin Vara scoring 58 and Vikram Handa 26.

From there though, the runs dried up and with Poulton (three for 17) in form, the hosts were dismissed for 159.

Poulton then took over with the bat, reaching 98 as the visitors bettered Parks’ total by five runs.

Jibran Azam took four for 34 but could not halt the versatile Poulton.