Wanstead & Snaresbrook became the new leaders of the Essex League Premier Division at the weekend, as they narrowly beat Brentwood to move to the top of the pile.

Aron Nijjar played an influential role for Wanstead once again and the opener got the home side off to a decent start when he notched 28.

But after a series of quick wickets, late contributions from Naail Dar (22), skipper Joe Ellis-Grewal (16) and Mohammed Fayyaz Khan helped Wanstead post a score of 140 inside 47.4 overs.

Having got Wanstead’s innings off to a positive start, Nijjar was to play a key role when it was their turn to field as he took 4-33, helping to dismiss Brentwood for 133 to seal a seven run victory, despite the best efforts of Aaron West, who racked up an unbeaten 38.

That result coupled with Ilford’s convincing home defeat to Chingford allowed Wanstead to move to the top of the pile in the Premier Division.

Having won the toss, Chingford batted first and after opener Alfie Taylor posted 46, an unbeaten score of 72 from Rahul Patel propelled them to 224-9.

With a tough target to beat, Ilford knew they needed a bright start and the writing was on the wall when they lost opening trio Harsh Kumar, Mohammad Ahktar and Gurdeep Kandola early on.

Akhil Anil alleviated some of the pressure when he notched 20 but a late flurry of wickets, which saw Shahzad Hafeez and Theeban Tavarasa both dismissed for ducks, meant Ilford laboured to 131.

Chingford’s Patel would play a decisive role in the match in the end, as having posted an unbeaten score of 72 with the bat, he then took an impressive 3-14.

Alongside Patel, Liam Lannen also enjoyed some success with the ball (3-31) as Chingford comprehensively beat their opponents by 93 runs.

In Division One, Woodford Wells’ unbeaten run was brought to an abrupt end as Ollie Lovejoy’s century secured Colchester and East Essex a resounding victory.

A trio of early wickets from Woodford’s Gareth James meant Colchester’s innings got off to a disastrous start.

But after entering the crease with his team at 10-3, Jack Hebron got Colchester back on track with 61 before he was then supported by Lovejoy, who notched what ultimately proved to be a match-winning 112.

Denson Narayan wasn’t hanging around either, as he recorded a quick fire 41 from just 43 balls, helping Colchester reached 260-8 inside 50 overs.

But after Lovejoy’s century, Woodford got off to a disastrous start when Joe Johnson was dismissed for a duck and Nabil Shaikh, Hywel Jones as well as Tanveer Shah all departed without reaching double figures.

Christopher Hall was the highest scorer with just 15 as a disappointing innings saw Woodford bowled out for 98, with Colchester’s Ben Stephens enjoying a productive day with the ball, taking 5-27.

Buckhurst Hill were consigned to back-to-back defeats as they were beaten by Gidea Park & Romford despite captain Prashant Chand-Bajpai’s unbeaten half-century.

Consistency proved to be the key to success for Gidea Park as after a slow start, Shavawn Cunningham’s 35 was supported by Sam Hewitt, who went three better when he notched 38.

Sam O’Sullivan was then run out having recorded 41, before Aditya Kumar’s late 23 saw Gidea Park reach 210-9.

Unlike their opponents, Buckhurst Hill flew out of the blocks through Ryan Karunakaran (23) and Russell Beckett (25), before Bajpal’s half-century left them on 127-5.

But after a bright start, Buckhurst Hill’s hard work was undone as a flurry of wickets saw just one of their last seven batsmen reach double figures meaning they were bowled out for 173, with Gidea Park’s O’Sullivan and Jamal Francis taking eight wickets between them.

Fives and Heronians caused an upset in Division Two as they comfortably beat league leaders Loughton, whose lead at the top was cut to just two points.

Vibhor Yadav was once again in good form for Loughton, as he built upon Rohail Anwar’s opening 35 by adding a further 40.

But Loughton were unable to build on their promising start, as after John Mills’ 26, they lost four wickets in quick succession, meaning Fives had a score of 188 to beat.

Opener Shawn Tuitt starred for the visitors and got the ball rolling with his opening 61, which was later supplemented by captain Jake Poulter’s half century.

Usman Jan then hit 43 not out as Fives made light work of Loughton’s target to secure a comprehensive six wicket victory.

Meanwhile, South Woodford eased to a resounding ten wicket victory over Old Southendian & Southchurch after starring roles from opening duo Henry Blackwell and Bradley Cooper.

Cooper, in particular, was integral as he notched an impressive 4-24 to help restrict their opponents to 232-9, despite Ahmed Khawaja’s 98.

The South Woodford batsman would then forge a decisive 222 run partnership with Blackwell, as the duo both racked up centuries to help their team thrash Old Southendian & Southchurch without even losing a single wicket, leaving them in sixth place in the table.

Meanwhile, the battle for top spot in Division Three would end in defeat for Walthamstow, as they were overtaken by rivals Old Brentwoods at the top of the table thanks to a 24 run defeat at home.

Having won the toss, Old Brentwoods batted first and their steady start from opener Ramesh Gunalan was built upon by captain Baber Choudhary, who came within four runs of notching a half-century.

Khaled Sarwar then entered the crease and posted 58, but his dismissal coincided with a batting collapse, as Old Brentwoods were bowled out for 210 after six of their remaining batsman could only hit single figure scores.

In return, Richard Baughen was Walthamstow’s saving grace, as he posted the highest score of the match when he reached 83 from 147 balls, despite wickets falling thick and fast around him.

In the end, the Walthamstow opener lacked support, as Brentwood’s Ishaq Khan (3-25) and Arsalan Khan (3-26) helped to dismiss the home side for 186.

There were better fortunes for Woodford Green though, who chased down Ardleigh Green’s score of 273 with five wickets to spare.

The game itself proved to be a story of two centuries, with Ardleigh opener Paul Hurworth notching a superb 154 from just 116 balls to get the visitors’ innings off to a perfect start.

Hurworth’s score was supplemented by Adam Thain’s half century, but ultimately, their teammates were unable to follow in their footsteps, as Ardleigh reached 273.

An opening 180 partnership from Hamaad Sayyed and Hussnain Kazmi put Woodford well on course for victory, with the latter particularly impressing with his own century, having scored 125.

After losing two wickets in quick succession, Jawwad Hussain then wrapped up the win with five wickets to spare, as his quick fire 30 helped Woodford reach 274-5.

It proved to be a thoroughly disappointing weekend for Epping, as they were thrashed away from home by Benfleet.

A disastrous innings saw Epping bowled out for just 76, with Anil Raynold and Nazmul Kayes being the only batsmen to reach double figures with their scores of 14 and 17 respectively.

In reply, Benfleet didn’t have to break sweat, as Samuel Coelho (26) and Ben Munday (38) helped them to chase down the target with nine wickets to spare to seal a comprehensive win.

West Essex were also on the wrong end of the scoresheet as they slipped to a 63 run loss to Basildon & Pitsea on the road, thanks to Rob Davies’ century.

Davies played a decisive role in the victory, as after Paul Singleton’s early dismissal, he came to the fore and notched 102.

He was supported by captain Liam Rouse who grabbed a half century, while Travis Singleton most notably racked up 38 late on, as Basildon set a difficult score of 319 to beat.

In reply, West Essex got off to a positive start when Omar Afzal’s opening 36 was built upon by a score of 71 by Zohair Jan.

But following Zain Saleem’s dismissal at 38, the remaining West Essex batsman were unable to follow in the trio’s footsteps, as they were bowled out for 256.