Cricket round-up

A win over their primary title rivals Brentwood would have seen the Herons leap to the top of the table, but their batsmen failed spectacularly to leave the bowlers with far too much to do.

Oddly enough, it took a bowler to show the batsmen how it should be done, Arif Saeed hitting a half-century when nobody else in the line-up could muster more than 22 runs, as Wanstead crumbled to 133 all out.

Saeed also impressed with the ball, taking two wickets, but, despite a spirited effort, Brentwood eased home with four wickets to spare. The result leaves Wanstead 37 points off the pace.

Elsewhere, Loughton were cantering to victory at Gidea Park & Romford when bad weather intervened.

Shaun Gymer (3-35) had helped restrict the hosts to just 203 from 52 overs, and strong knocks from Ritchie Bann (50 not out), Gareth James (45) and Usman Jan (60 not out) seemed to have set Loughton on their way to maximum points, only for the rain to curtail their run chase.

Woodford Wells' match with Hainault & Clayhall was also cut short, thanks to the weather, with the Monkhams Lane outfit well-placed on 85-2 to chase down their opponents' total of 226.

In Division One, South Woodford moved to within striking distance of top spot after a demolition job by bowlers Garry Neicho and Harry Shirt shattered Westcliff-on-Sea's batting line-up.

The pair claimed five wickets each to reduce their opponents to just 152, leaving captain Rizwan Akram to fill his boots for an excellent 85 that ensured South Woodford eased to victory.

Fives and Heronians' seven-match unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt with a seven-wicket defeat by Orsett. Fives' meagre total of 145 never likely to be enough to threaten their hosts, who lost just three wickets in the chase.

Meanwhile, Chingford came close to causing an upset at the weekend, coming within nine runs of what would have been a vital win in their battle against relegation against league leaders Ardleigh Green.

Richard MacGregor's five-wicket haul helped restrict the visitors to 218, but a stunning nine-wicket blitz from bowler Ali Aslam ensured Chingford finished just shy of their target. Nick Shawyer, with an impressive unbeaten knock of 74, was the only batsman to stand firm.

In Division Two, Rohan Bhome hit a half-century and claimed three wickets to inspire Buckhurst Hill to a win over Benfleet.

Ian Russell plundered 85 runs in Hill's total of 240, while Bhome was only bettered with the ball by Carlos Remy (4-17) as Benfleet crumbled to 116 all out.

Batsman Asif Bala smashed a magnificent ton for Walthamstow, but it proved to be in vain, as rain spared Old Parkonians defeat on Saturday, with the latter side staring down the barrel with eight wickets down.

Woodford Green were in all kinds of trouble after losing their top five batsmen for just three runs against Billericay, but a combination of a rearguard action and the weather saved them from defeat.

In the week's derby match, West Essex overcame Ongar after skittling their rivals for just 137. Babar Anwar (54 not out) and Conor Rowland (44 not out) saw them home.

Epping eased their relegation fears with a resounding 68-run win over Old Brentwoods.