Ivey takes his men home with a win

Goresbrook’s second string finished their championship winning season with a 14th win from 15 completed games in an entertaining clash at Woodham Mortimer’s picturesque ground. Goresbrook were forced to recover from the desperate straits of 35-5 after the hosts invited Brook to bat and then took advantage of a damp seaming wicket, however the Woodies bowlers were to be thwarted by the double act of Andy Livett and skipper Craig Ivey.

The state of affairs that brought the odd couple together were entirely predictable, after openers Mark Bird and Joe Curley arrived at the ground, ordered a beer and after Brook were inserted, were both back in the hutch within 4 overs. Curley hit a majestic straight boundary off the home skipper Kev Wright and then picked out mid-off in trying to repeat the trick on a slow green seamer. He went 4 better than Bird however, as yer man managed to pack in a bat change, a huge caught behind appeal and several flat footed play and misses into an eventful 10 ball duck that ended with a tremendous one handed catch at slip.

Soon to follow back into the pavilion were Keith Friend, whose 23 ball duck was much less eventful, featuring as it did 22 forward defensives and 1 attempted leave that caught the inside edge and went onto the stumps, the home skipper Wright settling into a rhythm that Tommy Puncher failed to disrupt as he too went for a duck, held at slip after one jumped alarmingly.

By this stage Wright had bowled 7-5-5-3, so Dunston Alfred's view of the situation was that a few shots were required. Birdy and Joe Curley had the same idea, but unfortunately the bar was closed, so it was left to Alfred to get off the mark with two booming fours. Unfortunately a third attempt, at change bowler Verlander's first ball, went straight up in the air, leaving Brook at 35-5 and in some disarray.

Also in some disarray was Livett, after a heavy evening at old rivals Surrey Ovalites the previous day, however once joined by captain fantastic Ivey, Livett sweated out some of the previous days excess along with some tiger balm and the pair set about resurrecting the Goresbrook innings. Ivey, all bottom hand and sweet timing took advantage of what must have been a narrow lbw escape, to strike a fine 84 capping a tremendous personal season, easily his best in senior cricket, later that evening by getting Michael Rooke thrown out of Luxe in Loughton and Squeaky barred from two minicab companies.

If Ivey was fortunate to survive his lbw shout, Livett offered no such opportunities for the bowling side, as he passed his own personal milestone of 500 league runs for the campaign with an outstanding unbeaten 61 that was the bedrock of Goresbrook’s total of 172. The highlight of Livett's knock was a majestic pick up for six over long on, although his team were also greatly entertained by his increasingly creative ways of avoiding a second run as the innings progressed.

Brook closed on 172-8 after a late flurry of wickets, a score which most in the away dressing room felt would prove sufficient on a late season greentop. However in reply Woodham looked well in touch with the required run rate after the early dismissal of Brady, as the resplendently bearded Brazier hit a fine 47, mostly off Richie Williams, a man himself not averse to some facial hair as a trawl through the Dagenham post archives of the early 2000's would show. Brazier was brutal on anything short, much as the 1st XI are with Squeaky, but with boundaries interspersed with long periods of inactivity, the game drifted along, literally in the case of Joe Barwick's bowling. The flame haired flinger bowled a tidy spell of 9 overs for 25, although in truth it wasn't one of his more explosive spells, Barwick carrying a much more menacing threat when his beloved black coat went missing in the drinks break.

With Brook starting to become desperate for a wicket, two arrived, Billy Smith the man to oblige on both occasions, first with a sharp throw after Brazier called blind after flicking one to Smith at backward square leg and then trapping the number 3 batsmen Ball in front for 19. With Ivey not quite at his best with the ball after his innings, an enterprising 4th wicket stand between Richardson and Smith threatened to swing the game in the hosts favour as the score advanced to 117-3, but the overs were starting to run out on a wicket where Ivey was the only man to really score with any freedom and Goresbrook had their ace still in hand, the canny Lawrence Walsh bowling the closing 7 overs from one end.

The hosts were up against it from the moment that the 4th wicket partnership was broken after Smith tried to cut a straight one from his namesake and Walsh sensing blood went on the attack, as so often in in his 33 year career for Goresbrook. The 5th wicket fell immediately as Richardson played an ambitious lofted drive and was held by Curley at long off and from thereon, despite plenty of aggression, the hosts only sniff of a victory was when Richie Williams returned to bowl the final 2 overs from one end, the stiffening Yorkshireman sending down one of the worst death overs outside of Jade Dernbach's entire England career, disappearing for 12 that could in truth have been 20 had the batsman not assumed that there must be some blockhole stuff arriving soon rather than a succession of long hops.

The equation became 23 from the final 2 overs for the home side, but with Williams recovering some limb movement, the 44th over only yielded 7 runs and Walsh wrapped up proceedings with only 8 from the final over, leaving Brook victors by 7 runs, Walsh being the pick of the bowlers with 4-34 alongside Smith who took 2-35 from his 12 overs.

So for the 2's, the challenge of Division 3 awaits, where they will be joined by the only team to beat them this year Purleigh, as they reeled off 6 straight wins to end the season, pipping Old Chelmsfordians for the 2nd spot.