Walthamstow I v Goresbrook I - Essex County Cricket League - Prem Div

Goresbrook kept up the pressure on early season pacesetters Scintilla and Newham with a thrilling 14 run win over Walthamstow, 'Brook now sitting 12 points off the summit.

The standout performer with the bat for the Dagenham side was Jordan Harris, who hit a superb unbeaten 44 to rescue another Goresbrook innings that threatened to go off the rails, after 'Brook lurched to 85 for 5. Skipper Kurt Whisker was the only top six batsman to occupy the crease for any length of time, but once he departed for a painstaking 30, after treading on his stumps trying to force the pace against Walthamstow spinner Shaikh, the scene was set for Harris to steal the show. Harris was immediately into his stride, taking on the spinners and picking his gaps in the field with expert precision and the 19 year old batted through to the tea interval to shepherd Goresbrook to a defendable 160. Asif Bala and Matt Hawkins were the pick of the home bowling, both picking up 2 wickets.

In response Walthamstow were soon under pressure and on a slow pitch with variable bounce, veteran seamer Richard Williams proved virtually impossible to score off, the big Yorkshireman taking 2 early wickets for just 5 runs off his 9 over entitlement. With Matt Friend also taking a new ball scalp and then Israel Ochwo following up with 2 wickets in a quick, if somewhat erratic spell, Stow were virtually out of the game at 45 for 5. Unfortunately, nobody had told Stow keeper Matt Guest and middle order dasher Kumar however, as the pair added 80 runs to take their side to the brink of victory. However there was to be one final twist, as Goresbrook's attack clicked into gear as the prospect of defeat became almost inevitable.

First Lawrence Walsh ramped up the pressure with a tight spell of bowling and supported by Ochwo, who returned with a much more purposeful final spell, the Walthamstow batsmen suddenly found runs hard to come by. That pressure forced the batting side to take risks and it was paceman Kane Messenger who reaped the benefits, his superb bowl of wicket to wicket bowling dismissed both set batsmen and then blew away the tail. Messenger finished with 4 for 17 and with Harris also chipping in with a run-out, the last 5 Walthamstow wickets tumbled for barely 20, leaving Goresbrook 14 run victors.

Skipper Whisker was delighted with his side's resolve, but noted that they are still some way short of their best cricket. "Our batting hasn't really fired at all yet, which I put down to the slow pitches after the heavy rain in early May, so we're pretty reliant on our bowlers at the moment. Fortunately, apart from a couple of flat spells we've been excellent in the field, but a bad half hour nearly cost us today and we need to address that next week. If we play to our potential we're the best team in the league, but at the moment we're at about 60%, so we're having to work hard to stay in touch at the top of the table."