On a gorgeous hot and sunny Bank Holiday Monday at the end of May the Essex Cricket League saw its Dukes T20 Competition begin with sixteen sides battling it out across four venues to see who could make finals day at Billericay CC on Sunday July 18th.
I was over at Polo Fields Ground in Hutton to watch Hutton,
Brentwood, Ilford and Chelmsford do battle to see who could make that finals
day in July, and first up it was hosts Hutton against Brentwood in their first-round
tie…
Brentwood (141/7) beat Hutton (140/5) by three wickets
Brentwood won toss and chose to bowl first in their morning
match against Hutton, and it looked like a good decision as the hosts were only
65/4 with six overs of their innings to go, but wicket keeper Cameron Tredgett
and Joel Hussain put on 86 runs for the fifth wicket in no time at all,
Tredgett smashed 60 not out off 53 balls whilst Hussain was eventually run out
on the penultimate ball of the innings for 44 off just 31 deliveries, and it
meant they posted a more than respectable total. Charlie Griffiths was the pick
of the Brentwood bowlers, taking 2-11 from his four overs.
Aaron West, skipper and keeper for Brentwood, put on an
opening stand of 37 with Eddie Ballard, both then fell on 18 and Brentwood
slumped to 88/6 and looked as if they might fall short, but Richard Horswill
(26 off 32) and James Welham (30 off just 14) got them back in the contest, and
then Jack Payne (14no off 16) and Harry Phillips (20no from just six balls) saw
them home with an over to spare, Payne hit all twenty of his runs in the penultimate
over as what looked like a tight final over decider was ended rather swifter
than most had anticipated. Joseph Parry bowled well up front and took 2-27 in
his four overs, but it was Brentwood who earned their place in the Quarter Final,
and it was a great way to start the day’s action too.
For detailed scorecards and bowling figures of this game please
click on this link https://essexcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/4626715
Here are some snaps of the first game of the day:-
The second and final first round match at Polo Fields saw
Ilford take on the might of Chelmsford, here is how that went…
Chelmsford (89/1) beat Ilford (88) by nine wickets
Chelmsford won the toss and just like Brentwood in the
opening game decided to bowl first, and many thought this would be a tough
assignment for Ilford and so it proved as Chelmsford’s superb attack were no
match for the Ilford batting line up, as they were skittled for just 88 in 16.5
overs, with skipper Haaris Ayub top scoring with 23. Abdul Baig took a
brilliant 4-11 in 2.5 overs, whilst Liam Kearney and James Liddiard chipped in
with two wickets each, and it left Chelmsford needing just 89 to win.
Chelmsford’s opening pair Jack Sterland and Dan Hagan, fresh
from their 224 opening stand at Billericay on Saturday, set about ripping the Ilford
attack to shreds as well, and they put on 69 in no time at all before Hagan was
stumped off the bowling of Aaron Boparai for 38 off just 22 balls, that only
allowed Ben Clifford to come in and smash 17 not out off ten balls and along
with Sterlands 33 not out off 26 balls they cruised home with 10.2 overs to
spare to complete an absolute crushing win, Chelmsford were a class apart, which
was not really a surprise, and they would take on Brentwood in that Quarter Final
with the winners reaching finals day.
For detailed scorecards and bowling figures of this game please
click here https://essexcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/4626716
Here are some snaps of the second game of the day:-
So, the day ended with Brentwood taking on Chelmsford for a
place at finals day in July, lets see how this much anticipated match up panned
out…
Brentwood (155/6) beat Chelmsford (88) by 67 runs
Brentwood won the toss for the second match running, but
unlike the Hutton game in the morning, they decided to bat first in this one,
and after a decent opening stand of 40 between Aaron West (16 off 21) and Eddie
Ballard (25 from 17) they found the going tougher and slid to 111/6, but Ben
Sach then smashed 51 not out from just 27 deliveries and along with Harry
Phillips (15 not from 10 balls) got them up to a more than decent total. For me
it was a potential game changer and swung the momentum right back to Brentwood. Abdul Baig picked up another three wickets
(3-23) to make it seven wickets for the day, and Ben Clifford also chipped in
with 2-21, but those final few overs onslaught made Chelmsford’s chase an
interesting one.
Many of us still thought Chelmsford would get close or even
win this still with the powerful line up they had, and Brentwood knew they
needed early wickets, and to everyone’s surprise Chelmsford fell to 17/3 as
Sterland, Hagan and Clifford were all back in the hutch, Jack Cook and wicket
keeper Brad Green seemed to have them back on track although at 56/3 and
needing 100 from 10 overs, they totally fell to pieces as Brentwood’s bowlers
ran through the batting line up skittled the favourites for just 88, ironically
the same score Chelmsford had bowled out Ilford on earlier. Jack Levy was the
pick of the bowling attack, taking 3-21, whilst Tom Oakley chipped in with
2-19, but all five bowlers picked up at least a wicket in what was a superb bowling
effort to back up that batting effort earlier in the contest.
A rather stunning way to end the day then, and it’s
Brentwood who go througb to finals day.
For detailed scorecards and bowling figures of this game please
click here https://essexcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/4919581
Here are some snaps of the third and final game of the day:-
My friend & fellow Cricket fan Scott W (@ScottMHC14) was also
watching and here are his comments on all three matches.
Hutton v Brentwood
Hutton struggled during the early stages of their innings as Brentwood took
four early wickets, led well by spin bowler Charlie Griffiths (2 - 11) but a
fine partnership of eighty-six runs for the sixth wicket between wicket-keeper
Cameron Tredgett (who was unbeaten at the end on 60, including three sixes) and
Joel Hussain's 44 (which included five sixes) ensured the hosts posted a
competitive total of 140.
Hutton were in the game for a good portion of the Brentwood reply,
but good lower order contributions backed up the lead scorers of James Welham
(30 from just 14 balls) and Richard Horswill's more sedate 26 to claim a
three-wicket win with an over to spare.
This match set the tone for an enjoyable day in the peaceful surroundings of
Polo Field.
Chelmsford v Ilford
The second match was more of a one-sided affair and also marked the first
time I'd watched Ilford in any format in many years. Chelmsford elected to bowl
and made short work of getting the opposition batmen, with Abdul Baig getting
success late on to claim 4 - 11 to add to Liam Keaney's 2 for 16.
Ilford skipper Haaris Ayub's 23 assisted his side but with Chelmsford only
needing 89 to win, they were looking very good to advance to the Quarter-Final
later in the day. Dan Hagen's 38 (including seven fours) really got his team to
victory quickly, inside ten overs as they advanced to face Match One winners
Brentwood.
Brentwood v Chelmsford
As the heat rose, so did Brentwood's chances as they batted first in the
final match, after posting a more than competitive score, thanks partly to a
superb knock from Ben Sach (51*), which included four big sixes. Spinner Abdul
Baig again was in the wickets for Chelmsford, with 3 - 23 from his four
allotted overs but the 7th wicket stand of 44 between Sach and Harry Phillips
(15*) put Brentwood in a strong position.
Chelmsford's batting line-up had a rare off-day as they lost
wickets at regular intervals, only the fourth-wicket stand of 39 for the fourth
wicket between wicket-keeper Brad Green (23) and Jack Cook (21) gave them a
foundation but Brentwood's bowling performance was ultimately too strong as
medium pacer Jack Levy took 3 - 21 and spinner Tom Oakley picked up two wickets
to lead their team to an impressive win.
Brentwood advance to T20 Finals day at Billericay CC on Sunday
July 18th where they will face Hornchurch in the Semi-Finals.
Many thanks to Scott for his company throughout the day and
also many thanks to Hutton Cricket Club for being so welcoming and putting on
such an enjoyable day too, it was just what I needed quite frankly, so thank
you, and well done to Brentwood for reaching Finals Day.
Just before I go some details on finals day, which will take
place at Billericay Cricket Club on Sunday July 18th…
Billericay, Wanstead & Snaresbrook, Brentwood and Hornchurch
will be the teams at finals day battling for the trophy, the two semi finals
are decided now, and those are below…
Billericay Vs Wanstead & Snaresbrook
Brentwood Vs Hornchurch
The two semi-finals will be followed by the final where the
Dukes T20 champions will be crowned for the 2021 season, am already looking
forward to that day!!!
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