No Hope for Stanford !

Fittingly the top two sides in Division 3 met at the M & B Sports Ground on the Annual Ben Irving Day. Held in memory of the Colts Section’s Record Appearance holder, who succumbed to cancer at a such a young age, a good crowd were in attendance to witness a superb 8 wicket victory for Goresbrook’s 1st Eleven. Batting first after visiting skipper Matthew Higgins won the toss, ‘Hope’s early order were given a torrid time by ‘Brook’s pacemen Kane Messenger and Muhammad Attuallah but Thomas Willets crafted a resilient 43 playing the supporting role to Michael Edwards who clubbed a splendid 75 to lift the league leaders. Shane Barwick produced a prodigious spell of 16 overs which yielded 4 for 60 to keep the men from East Essex in check. Jordan Calverley excelled at the other end with his right arm spin bagging two victims at a cost of 27 as Hope had to settle for an under par 199 for 9 from their allotted 50 overs.

After tea the Dagenham outfit’s openers set off in emphatic fashion before Shaun Ross (18) holed out from the bowling of Knight when threatening to build a big innings. Fellow opener, Calverley, displayed maturity with the willow combining patient defence with some superlative stroke making forming the foundation of his team’s reply with an excellent unbeaten 67. ‘Keeper Danny Gillham, enjoying a spell of sensational form since his two year hiatus from cricket, fashioned 12 fours and a maximum in a breathtaking knock of 81 which effectively put the game to bed. Barwick (15 not) joined Calverley to ensure there were no further hiccups as Goresbrook consolidated their place in the table, moving to within 3 points of the leaders when easing home with 10. 4 overs and 8 wickets to spare.

Stanford-le-Hope 1st 199 for 9 in 50 overs (6 pts) lost to Goresbrook 1st 202 for 2 in 50 overs (20 points) by 8 wickets