Hornchurch captain hopes win over Wanstead is good sign

Hornchurch captain Billy Gordon is hoping his side’s convincing win over Wanstead is a good omen for the 2023 season.

The defending Hamro Foundation Essex League Premier Division champions went down by 123 runs at Harrow Lodge Park last weekend, as Gordon’s men showed their potential.

Put into bat they saw Paul Murray dig in for a half-century, before George Hankins hit an unbeaten 112 from 79 balls, with eight sixes and five fours, to reach 251-4.

“We would’ve bowled first with the weather we’ve had recently, it was a soft one,” said Gordon.

“But we did really well and it was brilliant to get 250.

“Eshun Kalley bowled brilliantly for them, it was doing all sorts.

“Muzza anchored the innings really well. We needed one to stay in and bat time and George was absolutely superb.

“He showed his class and it’s amazing he’s not still playing as a pro, the way he plays. He’s definitely good enough talent-wise.

“It was a really good performance with the bat. It was an over-par score and really good on that pitch.”

Wanstead scored at a good pace in the opening overs of their reply, but then slumped from 60-2 to 78-7 as debutant Arthur George (3-29) and Gordon (3-34) made inroads.

Herons captain Joe Ellis-Grewal put on 45 with Harith Wajid to stop the rot, before Hankins (2-5) ended their resistance and the visitors were dismissed for 128.

“It was good to see Arthur in his first game. He bowled really well and if he’s like that all season he’ll be a good asset for us,” added Gordon.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better performance. I said we needed to play better and that’s exactly what we did.

“It was brilliant for confidence and the boys were over the moon. If we perform like that most weeks we will be up there.”

Hornchurch head to Hutton on Saturday, then host High Halstow on Sunday after their Conference Cup tie was switched due to problems with the Kent club’s drainage.

“Hutton are a good young side with good players,” said Gordon, who saw his side lose the corresponding fixture by 49 runs on a hot July day last season.

“It was a difficult day there last season, but hopefully if we turn up and play like we did last weekend we will have a good chance.”