First XI Premier Division

Wanstead & Snaresbrook made a statement of intent with an excellent one-wicket win away to second-placed Chingford.

Fifth in the table, Wanstead lost the toss and were made to field first as their opponents posted 256 all out.

Shaun Eaton batted superbly for 95, while Daniel Lawrence (25), Alfie Taylor (23) and Matthew O’Sullivan (25) also contributed.

O’Sullivan eventually fell to the bowling of Wanstead’s Joe Ellis-Grewal, who took five for 89, while Mohammed Fayyaz Khan managed three for 70.

Wansted started well in reply but openers John Chambers (29) and Arfan Akram (59) were both caught off the bowling of Ben MacGregor, who finished with five for 50.

Kishen Velani (37) and Maurice Chambers (52) however put Wanstead in command and despite a late flurry of wickets that set up a tense finale, Ellis-Grewal and Fayyaz Khan were on hand to steer the Herons home.

Wanstead are away to lowly Colchester & East Essex on Saturday. Chingford are away to Buckhurst Hill.

A gutsy batting display saw South Woodford beat Upminster by three wickets.

Choosing to bowl first, South Woodford’s Gary Neicho (three for 60) took early wickets but Upminster dug in down the order to post a competitive 245.

Nick Browne was also in form for the bowling team, claiming three for 66.

South Woodford though, were more than a match for their opponents, reaching 247 for the loss of seven wickets.

Nick Browne (39) and Michael Gymer (34) got the chase off to a healthy start before Max Shirt anchored the middle order with an important 53.

Buckhurst Hill suffered their sixth defeat of the season, losing away to Chelmsford by seven wickets.

Chelmsford chose to bowl first and it proved a wise decision as they steamrolled Buckhurst for 89.

Only Ian Russell came out with much credit, hitting an unbeaten 35.

Chelmsford reached their target in 26.4 overs for the loss of three wickets taken by Puchert, Josh Peters and Mohib Shah.

Buckhurst Hill play Chingford at home on Saturday.

First XI Division One

Loughton extended their lead at the top with a two-wicket win away to second-placed Hadleigh & Thundersley.

Batting first, Hadleigh posted 222 as Loughton’s Arslan Shahid (three for 54) and Bilal Butt (three for 71) both caused problems.

It was a steady innings from the hosts but a slow one and that was exposed by Loughton, who reached their target in almost 13 less overs.

Fahad Anwar (47), Hafiz Yawar Afzal (44), Sayed Zaidi (41 not out) and Butt (47) all batted well and were close to making half-centuries.

Loughton are at home on Saturday to Harold Wood.

Woodford Wells and Harold Wood were forced to share the spoils with neither side able to find the win needed to push up the table.

Wells opted to bat first and scored 186 with opener Andrew Baars leading from the front with 69. Down the order, number ten Tom Clark added a valuable 25 before the close.

Harold Wood never really looked like winning the match, losing wickets at regular intervals, but the tail end batted through to finish on 126 with two wickets to spare.

Wells’ Rory Ellison (four for 43) and Clark (three for 16) were the most threatening with the ball.

Fives & Heronians’ confidence received a boost as they earned a draw against Hainault & Clayhall.

Fives, who are currently bottom of the table, bowled first. Greg Summers claimed four for 49 but it was a batting track and Hainault declared on 275 for eight.

That was too high a total for Fives to reach but a spirited reply saw seven players reach double figures to earn a battling draw. Jamie Porter top-scored with 26.

Fives are away on Saturday to Harlow.

First XI Division Three

Epping earned a five-wicket win over rivals Woodford Green.

Woodford Green won the toss and opted to bat first. Opener Anthony Palmer impressed with 45 as they reached 81 for two. But the rest of the side faltered, losing eight wickets for 39 runs, as they were dismissed for 120 in just 35 overs.

Epping had few problems chasing down the total as they reached the target in 24.3 overs at the Green.

Old Parkonians battled to a 72-run win over Benfleet.

The hosts won the toss and opted to bat first as they amassed a total of 213 for nine. Kirandeep Bansal hit 38, while Jibran Azam top-scored on 44.

In reply, Benfleet could only manage 141 all out in 34.1 overs. Azam was the pick of Old Parkonians’ bowlers as he claimed four for 33, while Bansal took two for 14.

West Essex earned a three-wicket win over Harlow Town.

Harlow won the toss and put their opponents into bat but West Essex managed to score a total of 177 all out.

In reply, Harlow crumbled under the pressure and were dismissed for 138 in 39.3 overs.

Second XI Premier Division

A draw satisfied neither side as Chingford Seconds and Wanstead & Snaresbrook Seconds shared the spoils and continue to languish in mid-table.

Deciding to bat first, Chingford declared on 245 for five with Matthew McKay playing well to score 80. McKay was ably supported by Jay Edmonds (54) and Truptesh Patel (51 not out).

Wanstead’s bowlers endured a tough afternoon. Saurav Prabhakar finished with two for 88.

Wanstead were disappointing with the bat too as early wickets put paid to any hopes of victory.

Joseph Palmer (50) held the innings together but it was left to the tail end to grind out a draw which, largely thanks to an unbeaten 18 from Jack Lord, they were able to do.

Chingford’s Neil Dial was on form with the ball, taking four for 32.

Wanstead Seconds host Colchester & East Essex on Saturday, while Chingford Seconds are at home to Hornchurch Seconds.

South Woodford Seconds beat lowly Woodford Wells Seconds as Luke Charge took six wickets.

Wells recovered from a shaky start to post 195 with Mark Webb (36), Maxwell Creese (31) and Nicholas Sims (29) all making good contributions. Charge finished with six for 74.

In reply, South Woodford’s top six were all in good form as Harry Neicho (53), Ashley Leat (26) and Joe Craddock (52 not out) laid the foundations for a successful chase that conceded only four wickets.

South Woodford are at home to Shenfield Seconds on Saturday, while Woodford Wells are away to Chelmsford Seconds.

Second XI Division One

League leaders Buckhust Hill Seconds cast aside Orsett Seconds with an 84-run victory.

Orsett chose to bowl first but Buckhurst were comfortable at the crease and declared on 198 for six.

Atul Saharma was the highest scorer with 47 but there were also good performances from Adam Peters (38 not out) and Alan Dantes (36 not out).

Orsett meanwhile struggled in reply as Daniel Platt (four for 44) and Darren Ironside (three for 32) dominated the innings, bowling out Orsett for 114.

Buckhurst Hill are away to Fives & Heronians Seconds on Saturday.

Loughton Seconds kept up the pressure on the top two with an 85-run victory over Hadleigh & Thundersley Seconds.

Batting first, Loughton finished on 210 for nine as Daniel Gymer (46) and Tom Turner (59) excelled for the home side.

It was even more of a two-man show in the bowling as Abdul Nasir took an excellent six for 57, while Jordan Ramsden cleaned up the rest with four for 28 as Hadleigh were skittled for 125.

Loughton are away on Saturday to struggling Harold Wood Seconds.

Fives & Heronians Seconds registered their third draw of the season against Hainault & Clayhall but it wasn’t enough to lift them off the foot of the table.

Hainault chose to bat first and set a target of 258 despite Fives’ Meraj Mustanser taking three for 60.

Fives never looked like winning the match but a gutsy batting display, including 35 from James McKay, saw the underdogs gain a draw.

Fives are at home on Saturday to Buckhurst Hill Seconds.

Second XI Division Two

West Essex Seconds suffered a 71-run defeat to Leigh On Sea.

The team put Leigh into bat first but this failed to prove profitable as the opposition managed to reach 241 for seven. Rehan Shamim produced the best figures of two for 32.

In response, opener Miftha Islam scored 28 and Shahab Umer was in impressive form as he was unbeaten on 72.

But the lower order failed to support him and they fell short of the target as they were all out for 170 in 31 overs.

Second XI Division Three

Epping Seconds beat Woodford Green Seconds by nine wickets.

Epping put their rivals into bat and it paid off as they dismissed Green for just 76 in 22 overs. Opener Jack Cossey scored 24 but it was a huge struggle for his teammates as they failed to put runs on the board.

Salahuddin Quadir fared best, taking four for ten, while Sam Rashid impressed with four for 47.

Epping eased to the lowly total in just 10.5 overs for the loss of one wicket. Yasin Vadasaria led the way with an unbeaten 44, while Manni Bawa was unbeaten on 14.

Old Parkonians Seconds went down to a four-wicket defeat against Benfleet Seconds.

The decision to bat first failed to pay off as Old Parkonians were all out for 124 in 43.5 overs. Prashant Bist rescued the innings down the order with 44 but his teammates’ struggles meant they finished with a below par total.

Benfleet required 33.1 overs to reach the target for the loss of six wickets. Victor Yatheesh took three for 31, while Amit Kalley claimed two for 38.