Hornchurch 214-4
Woodford Wells 209-a/o
(Division One)

DESPITE this defeat at Hornchurch, Woodford Wells were crowned Division One champions, after closest rivals Chelmsford slipped up against Ilford.

The Monkhams Lane outfit opened the batting and made the all-important 200 run mark, thanks mainly to Rishabh Shah (61), Rob Leiper (40) and skipper Will Rogers (31).

M Whitlock (5-51) ensured Wells were restricted to their final total.

Wells lacking strength in their bowling attack because of absentees, saw Luke O’Reilly do his best as he picked up two victims, but he had no real support.

That allowed a strong Hornchurch to rattle off the winning runs with plenty to spare, as P Murray (115) secured the bulk of the hosts winning total.

Despite the defeat a happy Rogers said: “It is great to be going up as champions even if we did lose on the day.

“We had a few people missing so gave some of the youngsters a run out and at the end of the day the hard work we put in at the start of the season paid off.”

Meanwhile Wells will get a chance to test their skills against some of the best this country has produced when they take on an Old England XI on Sunday.

Household names such as Chris Cowdrey, John Lever, Clive Radley and Robin Hobbs will all line up against players stretching across the four Wells teams, with players of all ages getting a chance to hit some of the country’s stars of the past for six.

The event, which will also include a lunch put on by the club, will help raise funds to improve Wells’ facilities, and Junior Cricket Co-ordinator Freddie Goldman, who helped organise the day, admitted the club were over the moon after the match was confirmed.

“We are absolutely delighted to host the event,” said Goldman.

“There are some great names in there and everyone is looking forward to it.”