Goresbrook 3's were made to work hard with both bat and ball in this enthralling encounter against Woodford Wells 4's at Robert Clack school on Saturday afternoon.
Batting first after being inserted, Brook slumped to 22-3 and then 46-4 before Sikander Khan and Waleed Ahmed added 137 for the 6th wicket with both batters reaching well deserved half centuries. A late flurry of runs got Brook up to a challenging total of 274-8 from their allotted 40 overs.
Brook hit the ground running in Wells reply as Waleed Ahmed and Owen Elsom both nabbed an early wicket apiece, but a partnership of 173 between Robert Duke and Albert Duck put Brook's bowlers and fielders under prolonged pressure despite both players surviving very close calls for a run out and a stumping respectively. However once Brook had reevaluated what was required from bowlers and fielders and prioritised saving boundaries over everything else, things began to click and thanks to Sikander Khan's trio of catches, including a smart one handed caught and bowled, and Waleed Ahmed's impressive second spell, removing Duke for a hard hit 149, then his 2 direct hits off his own bowling, Brook turned the game in their favour. Alfie Atkins was asked to defend 20 runs off the last over and there was much delight as Adam Heerah took a skier at deep mid wicket to win the match with 4 balls to spare.