Ilford maintained their lead at the top of the pile in the Essex League Premier Division, as their unbeaten start to the season continued with a three wicket win over Southend-on-Sea on Saturday at home.

After Southend’s 32 run opening partnership between Oliver Wagstaff and Carl Lees was broken when Lees was dismissed for 17, Ilford started to take control of the game with Theeban Tavarasa (4-54) as well as Haaris Ayub (3-27) helping to bowl the away side out for 132.

Given their recent form, some may have expected Ilford to beat the target set with ease, but they got off to a slow start, losing Akhil Anil, Harsh Kumar and Gurdeep Kandola in quick succession to leave them at 46-3.

However, Saf Imtiaz’s half-century put Ilford in good shape, while Shane Snater’s late score of 15 from 17 balls helped to propel the home side to a three wicket victory, meaning they have now won three matches in a row.

It was a better weekend for Wanstead & Snaresbrook as they bounced back from last week’s defeat to Billericay in style, as they thrashed Hadleigh & Thundersley by 120 runs at home.

Wanstead got off to an excellent start, as Aron Nijjar came within a whisker of notching a century as he scored 97, while Hassan Chowdhury racked up 56 and Adnan Akram added a late 35 as the home side reached a score of 232-8 inside 64 overs.

In the end, Wanstead didn’t have to break sweat as four of Hadleigh’s batters scored ducks, as the visitors were bowled out for just 112, with the likes of Nijjar (5-32), captain Joe Ellis-Grewal (3-33) and Mohammed Fayyaz Khan (2-8) all performing well with the ball.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t such a good weekend for Chingford, as they were beaten for the first time this season away to Chelmsford.

Chingford batted first and got off to a bright start, with captain Alfie Taylor scoring 40 from 48 balls and his efforts were supplemented by Alexander Maskell, who added a further 49.

However, Chingford then capitulated despite their bright start, as Ben MacGregor was the only other batter to hit double figures as the away side were dismissed for a disappointing 134 inside 39 overs.

Chelmsford’s Robert Hayto then played a decisive role in the game, as he notched 95 not out, helping the home side reach a score of 137-5, handing them a comfortable five wicket win.

In Division One, Buckhurst Hill returned to winning ways, as they secured a narrow seven run victory over Harold Wood.

Early scores of 30 by opener Hendro Puchert and 37 by Ryan Karunakaran were supplemented by Shoaib Shah’s half century, while Hermes Michael Solomonides’ late 24 helped Buckhurst Hill reach 202-9 before they declared.

The match was certainly in the balance when Harold Wood’s Hafiz Yawar Afzal notched 43, while Mohammed Fahad added a further 56 and Wasim Khalid scored a late 23 to set up a nervy finish.

But it was Buckhurst Hill’s Usman Sahar who notched the crucial wicket, as he bowled Harry Thompson out for a duck to dismiss Harold Wood for 195, handing the home side a hard fought seven run win.

Elsewhere, Tanveer Shah racked up a century as Woodford Wells chased down Hainault & Clayhall’s target with four wickets to spare to ensure they returned to winning ways.

Having elected to field first, Woodford were handed a tough task when Hainault reached 239-9 inside 50 overs, thanks to notable contributions from Dominic Hurst (56) and Maruf Chowdhury (61).

Christopher Hall took most of the wickets, notching 5-51 and he would also be in good form with the bat as well, as he added to Shah’s decisive century of 101 from 115 balls by scoring a further 47.

Woodford’s Nabel Shaikh also performed well, as he racked up 46, to help the visitors reach 242-6 inside 44.4 overs, handing them the win by for wickets.

Another player who scored a century was Vibhor Yadav as he notched an unbeaten 106 to propel Loughton to a four wicket win over Harlow in Division Two.

Having elected to field first, Loughton’s bowlers were in excellent form, as they dismissed Surath Bastola, Luke Monger, Rehman Ahmed and Antony Webb all in quick succession early on to leave Harlow at just 14-4.

Soulat Ali kick started a Harlow fightback, though, when he racked up 44, before Nicky Baxter added a further 41, but their efforts were to prove in vein, after their side was bowled out for 160.

Early dismissals were proving to be a recurring theme in this game, as Rohail Anwar and Hamzah Wajid were both bowled out with Loughton at just 20-2.

But if Harlow thought they had any chances of turning the tie around, Loughton’s Yadav had other ideas, as his tally of 106 proved to be decisive, as he led the visitors to a score of 164-6 inside 28.8 overs, handing them a four wicket win.

Elsewhere, Fives and Heronians picked up their first league win of the season on home turf, as they comfortably beat South Woodford by three wickets.

Fives elected to field first, a decision which proved to be fruitful, as South Woodford endured a tough innings with the bat, as they were dismissed for 105 despite Harry Neicho’s score of 33.

But despite losing two wickets which left them at 11-2, Fives fought back and chased down the target set inside 34 overs, as Ben Britton’s late score of 22 coupled with opener Shawn Tuitt’s 26 helped the home side reach 111-7, handing them the win.

In Division Three, Walthamstow secured back-to-back wins as they thrashed West Essex by six wickets, thanks to Richard Lindsay’s excellent form with the ball.

Lindsay’s 6-22 coupled with Rory Knox’s 4-20 ensured the Walthamstow duo managed to successfully bowl out their opponents for just 117 despite Yasir Ghayas’ best attempts, after the West Essex batter racked up a half century.

Despite Matthew Guest and Shiva Dinyfal’s early dismissals, Walthamstow made light work of chasing down West Essex’s target, as Rhys Moffat’s 63 run partnership with Asif Bala handed them a straight forward six wicket win inside 33.5 overs.

Woodford Green also picked up a valuable victory as they thrashed Stanford Le Hope by 89 runs, after significant contributions from David Roberts and Usman Azhar with the bat.

Roberts notched an unrivalled 85 and he was supported by Hussnain Kazmi (60) and Azhar (73 not out) as Woodford declared at 275-6.

Despite captain Martin Leslie’s 67, Woodford bowled Stanford out for 186, after good work from Amrit Ryatt (5-32) and Usman Azhar (3-36) with the ball.

Epping weren’t able to make it back-to-back wins, as they were defeated by Ardleigh Green at home thanks to a disappointing batting display.

Having lost the toss, Epping batted first but Umesh Gadhvi (28) and Ahsan Akbar (25) lacked support, meaning they were bowled out for 128.

Ardleigh Green then sealed the victory largely thanks to Chris Cook’s score of 40 not out, propelling them to 129-8 inside 44 overs.