Essex League: Harold Wood fight on; Fives, Billericay win

Harold Wood kept their promotion hopes alive in Hamro Foundation Essex League Division One with victory over leaders Epping.

Put into bat, they lost wickets at regular intervals to be dismissed for 183 in the 43rd over.

Captain Craig Perrin hit nine fours in his team-leading 63 from 103 balls, with opener Dhruv Talati (21) the only other Wood batter past 20.

Epping reached 109-2 in reply, when Imrul Kayes fell caught and bowled by Taqi Abbas for 57.

Another five wickets fell for the addition of just 10 runs to leave the visitors 125-8, as Abbas (3-10) and Eesa Faheem (3-43) combined.

And Praveen Kumar (2-6) came into the attack to claim the last two wickets to seal a 40-run win, which leaves Wood 12 points behind Belhus – whose match at Old Brentwoods was abandoned – with one game left.

However, Wood visit Billericay, while Belhus entertain bottom club Shenfield, who have won just once in 17 outings this summer.

They were dismissed for 124 by Fives & Heronians in their most recent fixture at the weekend, with Jack Potticary (26) and Sam Bear (26) their top scorers.

Bradley Copper (4-23) was the best of the bowling for Fives, as Essex staffer Jamie Porter (2-16) and Ross Ter Braak (2-17) nabbed braces.

And Fives went on to win by four wickets, after Ben Yeats (31) and Jake Poulter (43) put on 58, with Porter (21 not out) helping to seal victory.

Billericay beat Gidea Park & Romford in the only other match to reach a conclusion in the division.

Shavawn Cunningham (26) top scored as Park were dismissed for 141 in the 41st over, with Ellis Pickering (4-20) and Arjan Bhardwaj (3-29) doing most damage.

Billericay were set a revised target of 112 in 31 overs and raced to an eight-wicket win as Bhardwaj (27 not out) and Rowan Elliott (55 not out) combined.

They put on an unbroken 90-run stand, with Elliott hitting nine fours in his 47-ball knock, as Park captain Jamal Francis (2-44) took the only wickets to fall.

Upminster were dismissed for 184 by Ilford at Valentines Park, where Aaron Beard (43) put on 74 for the first wicket with Pulkit Gupta (26).

Captain Adam Wheater (27), James Evans (32) and Kiran Kullar (20) also made starts as Mohammad Ahktar (4-28), Akhil Anil (3-31) and Kyan Lehal (2-32) shared the wickets.

But Ilford had only reached 24-1 in seven overs when rain stopped play and the match was abandoned.

Old Brentwoods had seen Belhus pile up 334-5, with MinHaz Bhad (2-47) bagging a brace of wickets, and were 13-1 in the eighth over of their reply when the heavens opened.