Chingford lost further ground to league leaders Wanstead & Snaresbrook at home on Saturday, as Hassan Chowdhury’s half century helped the reigning National Cup champions secure a narrow win.

Batting first, Chingford’s Andrew MacGregor enjoyed good fortunes as he came within four runs of scoring a half century and his efforts were aided by Peter McDermott (36) and Aryan Gupta (30).

But they were restricted to 210-9 largely thanks to Wanstead skipper Joe Ellis Grewal (3-27) and Jahansher Akbar (2-36), with the visitors looking to extend their lead at the top of the table over Ilford.

That mission got off to a positive start when Chowdhury built on Aron Nijjar’s opening 37 by hitting a half-century, before he was dismissed for an lbw by Chingford’s Liam Lannen.

Wanstead’s innings then stuttered, with three of their next five batsmen failing to reach double figures, but captain Ellis-Grewal’s 29 not out proved to be decisive, as he helped the National Cup champions get over the line at 211-9 with one wicket to spare.

That result wasn’t good news for second place Ilford, although they kept the pressure on the league leaders with a comfortable four wicket victory over mid-table Hornchurch.

Harsh Kumar (3-14) and Mohammad Ahktar (2-25) were in particularly good form as they played significant roles in dismissing Hornchurch for 212, despite a strong 79 run opening partnership from Jamie Sorrell and Ronnie Saunders.

But having starred with the ball, Kumar wouldn’t enjoy such good fortunes at the crease as he was bowled out for one and he was soon joined by Gurdeep Kandola who was dismissed for the same figure.

Fortunately, Hamza Muhammad stepped up to the plate with a score of 66 which was supported by a half century by Saf Imtiaz and a quick-fire 41 from Ahktar, as Ilford bounced back from a tough start to beat Hornchurch’s target with four wickets to spare.

The win means Ilford remain in second place, 14 points behind Wanstead & Snaresbrook after seven games.

In Division One, Buckhurst Hill returned to winning ways with a narrow triumph over rock bottom Upminster largely thanks to the performances of Russell Beckett and Irfan Sahar.

After Buckhurst Hill got off to a bright start thanks to Hendro Puchert (20) and Ryan Karunakaran, Beckett them entered the crease and notched a half century.

Will Stoner added a late 41 to help the home side rack up 247-7 inside their allotted 50 overs.

Buckhurst Hill looked like they had the victory in the palm of their hands after dismissing Upminster’s Farid Butt and Kiran Kullar early on, but Louis Pickering had other ideas, as he hit a superb 111 from just 116 balls to put the visitors back in the mix.

Pickering was ably supported by Shahbaz Butt (42) and Nabeel Aziz (38), but Sahar stepped up when Buckhurst Hill needed him the most, dismissing Frankie Hazle as well as Terry Wyatt late on to take his total to 4-49.

Those late wickets meant Upminster agonisingly fell three runs short at 244-7 after 50 overs, handing Buckhurst Hill a welcome win.

Woodford Wells didn’t enjoy such good fortunes though, as they slipped into the bottom two following their third defeat in a row after Vivian Paver’s unrivalled 183 propelled Hutton to a comprehensive 40 run victory.

After a slow start to Hutton’s innings, Paver stepped up and notched a superb 183 from just 116 balls to put the away side in an excellent position.

Late scores from Joseph Parry (27) as well as James Mowll (32) would then put Hutton firmly in the driving seat as they posted 302-5.

Woodford’s Tanveer Shah built on Knut Wilmott and Nabel Shaikh’s promising start by racking up 40, before Gareth James came to the fore with a quick 76 from just 64 balls.

But once James was bowled by Paver for his second of five wickets, Woodford’s innings swiftly unravelled and despite their best efforts, they were dismissed for 262 after 42.5 overs.

Loughton bounced back from their shock defeat to Fives and Heronians last week as they thrashed Old Southendian & Southchurch by eight wickets thanks to star batsman Vibor Yadhav.

Yadav helped to oust the away side for 161 as he took 2-29, but he was outdone by Bilal Butt (3-24) who led the wicket-taking honours with 3-24.

Having been Loughton’s highest scorer in recent weeks, Yadav came up trumps once again when it was his turn to bat as he notched an unbeaten 86 to help his side cruise to an eight wicket win after beating the visitors’ target inside just 22 overs.

Fresh from a comprehensive performance last week, South Woodford continued their recent good form after they eased to a nine wicket triumph over Wickford.

Saihaj Jaspal (4-24) and Nick Browne (3-32) played influential roles to bowl out Wickford for 163, with Dale Kinsey lacking support from his team mates having racked up 76.

Browne alongside team-mate Bradley Copper then struck up a commanding 157 run partnership to propel Woodford, who lost just one wicket, to a simple victory, which keeps them in the top four in the table.

But Fives & Heronians were unable to build on their morale boosting win over league leaders Loughton, as they succumbed to a 58 run defeat at the hands of Oakfield Parkonians.

Ravi Teja Dwaraka Bhadmidipati was the star of the show for Oakfield, as he caused Fives all sorts of problems with an unbeaten 85 which was later supported by efforts from Dave Rai (27) as well as Dhruv Patel (29) to help the visitors post 258-8.

Oakfield didn’t have everything their own way as Lakshan Rodrigo hit a half century, while Gary Norris notched 37, but a late collapse from Fives saw them dismissed for 200.

Walthamstow piled on the pressure on league leaders Old Brentwoods in Division Three as centuries from Richard Baughen and Ben Smith propelled them to a dominant win over Epping.

Opener Baughen got Walthamstow off to a super start with 103, which included 13 boundaries, and he was joined in the one hundred club by Smith, who went even better by racking up 131.

Those efforts set a target of 300 for Epping to beat but ultimately, they would endure a difficult day at the office, as James Fenn (2-22) and George Evans (2-34) helped Walthamstow secure a comprehensive 106 run victory, after the home side could only post 194.

But Woodford Green were unable to do Walthamstow any favours, as they were narrowly beaten by Old Brentwoods away from home.

Hussnain Kazmi’s early score of 74 was supported by Usman Azhar (44) and Divij Desai (40) as Woodford were skittled out for 252 by the league leaders after 42 overs.

But Brentwoods proved just why they sit at the top of the pile as a consistent innings, which included a half century from opener Ramesh Gunalan and a quick fire 37 from Baber Choudhary, saw the table toppers snatch victory with one wicket to spare.

West Essex would also endure a difficult weekend as they were comprehensively beaten by Westcliff-On-Sea at home.

Omar Afzal (21) and Yasir Ghayas (42) had seemingly got West Essex off to a positive start, but a series of three ducks in a row would ultimately undermine their progress.

Westcliff’s Graham Cox (4-39) and James Baker (3-33) played prominent roles as they brought West Essex’s innings to an abrupt end at 128.

An unbeaten 64 from Matt Renvoize was supplemented by Finlay Mackay (20) and Jonathan Pratt (26), as Westcliff lost just three wickets in reply, as they reached 130-3 20 overs to seal the win.