Ross and Smith flex muscles against Herongate

Goresbrook’s second team overcame a poor start to record an ultimately comfortable win over bottom side Herongate at May & Bakers, a result that looked exceedingly unlikely at the 1st innings drinks break as Craig Ivey’s men lost regular wickets after being inserted by the visitors on a track that offered plenty of assistance to the bowler. Brook stumbled to 45-5 in the face of some accurate medium pace from Gilbert and Amitchethi. Lol Walsh and Aaron Scott both fell trying to up the pace after a sedate start, number 3 Harry Jackson did the same and then Richie Williams, given a rare outing up the order, lunged forward to nick his 3rd ball behind to remind everybody why he's batted in the bottom four for the last decade. Skipper Craig Ivey also fell for a duck, Shaddai Smith's Hawkeye showing that a ball that hit the advancing Ivey well down the track would have clipped leg stump, much to Ivey's unhappiness.

The recovery was started by 18 year old Stuart Greaves who made 26 and looked remarkably sprightly and tattoo free on his return from Malia and 14 year old Adi Kumar who hit a fine 29, but when both men fell to the spin of Alderson, there was still work to do at 104-7.

Fortunately for Goresbrook the tail wagged with Lee Ramduth hitting an excellent unbeaten 52 in his 2nd game back after a three year absence. Ramduth’s stylish batting was supported by some more brutal hitting from opening bowlers Shaun Ross (42) and Shaddai Smith (32*) as the pacemen enjoyed themselves against a Herongate side whose bowling and fielding had to that stage belied their league position.

Goresbrook closed on 217-8, a great effort after their earlier struggles and the Herongate reply proved hard going for the visitors against the much quicker Goresbrook bowlers. Ross completed an excellent personal day with a fine 10 over spell taking 4 for 20 and only deviating from a threatening off stump line when he chased a ball to the midwicket boundary off his own bowling, having dispensed with all leg side fielders by that stage.

Smith also caught the eye bowling quickly and moving the ball away from the batsman in a spell of 9-3-24-1 that evoked memories of the days when he was bowling Grays & Chadwell out for such a low score that they had to change their name.

With five wickets down when the openers finished, the second five wickets were snapped up by Williams who lumbered in for 6-4-8-2 extracting some alarming bounce from an M&B wicket that kept the slip fielders interested. From the other end Billy Smith extracted little bounce as ever, but he celebrated his new tattoo with a fine spell of 5.2-1-13-3 as Goresbrook dismissed Herongate for 76 in the 31st over for a 25 point haul which keeps them in the 2nd promotion slot in a hotly contested Division 3.

The 2's journey to Eastwood on the Essex Riviera on Saturday before a big home game against leaders Terling and although their form has been somewhat unconvincing, so have other sides'.