A century from Kishen Velani helped Wanstead and Snaresbrook Cricket Club thrash Billericay by 148 runs in the Essex League Premier Division on Saturday.

Opener Arfan Akram (36) and Hassan Chowdury (61) got Wanstead off to an excellent start before Velani entered the crease and notched 106, as the National Cup Champions declared at 286-6.

Billericay were up against it with that score and in the end, Wanstead made light work in bowling their opponents out for 150 inside 41.4 overs, with captain Joe Ellis-Grewal and Jack Lord notching three wickets apiece.

Zain Shahzad also took 2-13 as Wanstead picked up their first league victory of the season, having drawn their opening match of the campaign against Chelmsford last weekend.

Meanwhile, just over 48 overs was all it took for Chingford to rack up their second win in a row, as they continued their bright start to the season with a five wicket win over Southend-on-Sea & EMT.

Chingford’s Peter McDermott and Liam Lennon played pivotal roles in the win, with the latter in superb form on the field, taking 5-31 to help dismiss Southend for 186.

It was then McDermott who came to the fore with the bat, as his score of 55 not out was supplemented by skipper Alfie Taylor (34) and Rahul Patel (38) as Chingford beat the target set within 48.4 overs, losing just five wickets in total.

Staying in the Premier Division, Ilford secured their first league victory of the campaign, as they beat Shenfield by 88 runs.

Having won the toss, Ilford decided to bat first and it was Syed Ashar Ahmed Zaidi who was the star of the show with the bat, as he notched 92 from 110 balls to help his side reach a score of 197, despite the best efforts of Shenfield’s Mitchell Edwards who took an impressive 5-40.

If Shenfield thought they had a chance of beating that target, then Ilford’s Theeban Tavarasa had other ideas, as his four wickets for just 22 runs played a significant role in dismissing the opposition for just 109, with Mohammad Ahktar, Shane Snater and Zaidi also weighing in with two apiece.

In Division One, Jamie Allen’s score of 95 wasn’t enough for Buckhurst Hill who were held by Belhus away from home.

Allen’s 95 was supplemented by Will Stoner (41) as Buckhurst Hill were bowled out for 205 inside 49.4 overs, with just one other batter managing to notch double figures.

The away side were made to rue that statistic, as Belhus’ score of 145-9 in a reduced second innings ensured they picked up a share of the spoils.

Elsewhere, it was a weekend to forget for Woodford Wells, as they were condemned to a disappointed eight wicket defeat away to Harold Wood.

The writing was on the wall for Woodfood when they were dismissed for 199 despite the best efforts of Joe Johnson (57) and Gareth James (60).

Harold Wood’s reply was convincing and they taught Woodford a lesson with the bat, as an opening partnership of 131 between Raihan Hussain (74) and Hafiz Yawar Afzal set the home side well on their way to victory.

Afzal went on to rack up 96 not out, as Harold Green beat the target set by Woodford with relative ease inside 37.2 overs to claim victory.

In Division Two, South Woodford tasted victory in their first league match of the season despite the best efforts of Leigh-on-Sea’s skipper Jon Edwards.

Entering the crease with his side at 2-1, Edwards dragged the home team back into the affair thanks to a century, but a disappointing spell with the bat was capped off when Matthew Curtis was dismissed for eight, meaning Leigh on Sea were bowled out for 204 inside 50 overs.

Henry Blackwell got South Woodford’s batting off to a superb start when he scored 61 from just 72 balls and with contributions from Bradley Copper (38) and Harry Neicho (21) as well as a half century from Kasey Harris, the away side beat the target set in just over 40 overs, with just five wickets lost.

Fives and Heronians didn’t enjoy such good fortunes, though, as they were thumped by 126 runs away to Harlow.

Despite winning the toss, Heronians elected to field first, a decision which didn’t pay off, as a century from Rehman Ahmed and 65 from Nicky Baxter helped Harlow reach a score of 274-6 before declaring.

With a tough score to beat, Heronians couldn’t afford to get off to a slow start and matters went from bad to worse when a series of early wickets saw the away side at 48-4 early on.

Thankfully, Terry Ballard helped to get the side back into the affair, when he notched 58, but his efforts were in vein, as Heronians were dismissed for 148, meaning Harlow secured a comfortable win.

Moving into Division Three, Ashan Akbar’s score of 99 proved to be decisive, as Epping secured a narrow 27 run win over Stanford Le Hope.

Rahman Bhatty and Rakesh Bagga’s consecutive dismissals had threatened to derail Epping’s innings, but Akbar’s score of 99 was backed up by Umesh Gadhvi (35) and Ramiz Miah (27) as the home side reached a score of 216-8 inside eight overs.

Epping’s response on the field proved to be pretty emphatic as well, as Manan Patel took 4-41 and Javed Iqbal notched 2-28 as Stanford were dismissed for 189.

Woodford Green would also enjoy an emphatic victory as they beat Basildon and Pitsea by six wickets without breaking sweat.

Having dismissed Basildon for 210, Hamaad Sayyed (67), Hussnain Kazmi (59) and Anthony Palmer (58) lead from the front, as Woodford Green easily reached the target set within 38.1 overs to secure a dominant victory.

Elsewhere Walthamstow were held by Westcliff-on-Sea, while it was to be a disappointing weekend for West Essex, who were blown away by Old Brentwoods.

After an emphatic innings from Old Brentwoods with the bat, which saw them declare at 289-6 thanks to a superb 161 from Ramesh Gunalan and a half century from Baber Choudhary, West Essex were unable to respond, as they were bowled out for 148, leaving them without a win this season.