Deja Vu at the OC

Goresbrook had a frustrating afternoon in Chelmsford, as they went down by 6 wickets to Old Chelmsfordians in a game that ran along very similar lines to their defeat at the same ground in 2015. After a wet week, Goresbrook would have been considering bowling first on a pitch that offered some assistance to the bowlers, but skipper Kurt Whisker was immediately strapping the pads on after winning the toss, a formula that has worked well this season to date. Neither Whisker nor partner Charlie Thompson lasted past the first six overs however, as OC’s opener Cant picked up two quick wickets, but a good partnership between Joe Curley (35) and Jordan Calverley (36) advanced the score to 77-2 before Curley fell.

Unfortunately, his departure sparked a flurry of wickets, as both Shane Barwick and Toby Maund fell for ducks and Calverley was bowled, as OC’s spinners Rehman and Saeed were in the ascendancy. It took a good partnership between Adi Kumar (28) and Jordan Harris (30) to push the score on to 140, but with overs running out, the wickets again started to tumble and Goresbrook were eventually dismissed for 165 off the penultimate delivery.

The Goresbrook bowlers made a good fist of defending that total initially, as Matt Friend bowled his best new ball spell of the season and off-spinner Toby Maund opening from the other end, rattled through 10 overs for just 19 runs. However, Goresbrook were dealt a blow as Friend tweaked a hamstring and had to leave the field and from 54-2, the hosts suffered few further alarms. The reliable Faz Rehman was able to milk an off-colour Shane Barwick for 5 an over and despite a fine effort from Kane Messenger who bowled with good pace, Goresbrook were unable to exert any serious pressure on the OC’s batsmen from then on. Rehman finished unbeaten on 63, as with support from Eva (36) and Alderton (17*), the home side eased home in the 41st over.