Benfleet suffer four wicket defeat to Division Three rivals Stanford-le-Hope

Ben Munday top scored with 24 runs as Benfleet were skittled out for 90 in the Division Three clash.

The hosts were put into bat by Stanford-le-Hope and although opening batsmen Samuel Coelho and Jamie Critchell started brightly, Benfleet struggled to add runs.

And once Coelho and Critchell had been dismissed, for 16 and 11 respectively, Benfleet collapsed.

Stephen Reeve was out for a duck, while Rob Zammit - who was standing in as captain while regular skipper Gavin Blowes is away on holiday - was clean bowled by Greg Barr for nine.

Munday steadied the ship with a decent innings, but wickets were falling regularly at the opposite end.

Muhammad Asif and Alex Brady joined Munday at the crease, with the latter hoping to form a partnership and lead Benfleet to a total Stanford-le-Hope would find difficult to reach.

But Asif and Brady were removed by Adam Knight, for two and five respectively, while Knight also dismissed Munday to all but end Benfleet’s hopes of reaching three figures.

Andy Jarrett and Chris Hammond were only able to add a solitary run apiece, while Aaron Mitchell was out for a duck to leave Paul Frensham on 18 not out as Benfleet closed their innings on 90.

Knight and Barr did the majority of the damage with the ball, as the bowlers took three wickets each.

Jack Carter took two wickets, while Matthew Higgins took a single scalp.

While Benfleet came out to bowl knowing that their chances of securing a third consecutive victory were looking bleak, they got off to the best possible start as top scorer Munday took the wicket of opening batsman Alex Ellis for a duck.

Both sides struggled when at the crease, and Ellis’ fellow opener Martin Leslie top scored in the whole match with just 30 runs before falling to Frensham.

Thomas Willats was caught and bowled by Asif for 11, while Duncan Page failed to add to the visitors’ score.

Michael Gray and captain Matthew Page put Stanford-le-Hope on the brink of securing their second win of the campaign.

Gray was sent back to the pavilion for 14, before Carter hit 18 quickfire runs.

Page and Barr got the away side over the line after adding seven and two runs respectively.

Although Benfleet’s winning run has come to an end, Frensham could be pleased with his performance with the ball in hand.

The bowler recorded five maidens from 13 overs, while also ending with figures of 3-27.

Munday, Asif and Hammond also took a wicket each on a disappointing day.

As a result, Benfleet were only able to pick up two points, while Stanford-le-Hope added 20 points to their tally for the season.

Benfleet are now fourth in Division Three, while Stanford-le-Hope are just one place adrift in the standings.

Struggle - Benfleet’s Alex Brady hit five before being dismissed

Westcliff also suffered defeat, as Harlow Town recorded a three wicket triumph.

The loss was Westcliff’s first of the campaign.

And captain Chris Gladwin feels that the short boundary played a big part in his side coming away with a defeat.

Gladwin said: “I am not too disappointed because although we lost, we got 11 points.

“We got put in to bat and the wicket was a little bit slow but the boundary was ridiculously small.

“So when you are trying to defend a total, it can be very difficult with a boundary that small.

“They bowled well and their fielding was exemplary.

“Were it not for their fielding, I’m confident that we would have made another 30 runs.”

Matt Renvoize and Charlie Lockhart got Westcliff off to a good start, but the latter was the first to fall, for 23.

Renvoize was then dismissed for 11, but Jonathan Pratt performed exceptionally well, hitting nine fours on his way to 70.

Peter Barnes hit 24 runs, while Lewis Groves’ wicket was taken 13 runs short of his half-century.

Jack Stead added just one to the total, while Alex Hatton and Gladwin were at the crease on 21 and 11 respectively when their innings was brought to a close on 214/6.

And Gladwin reserved praise for Hatton, who went on to take three wickets.

Gladwin added: “Some of our bowlers struggled to get the right line and length and some poor balls were bowled.

“But Alex was superb in taking his three wickets.”

Tom Baker got Westcliff off to the perfect start as he bowled Daniel Baldwin to leave Harlow Town on 0/1.

But Patrick Yates led the hosts to the win with 54, and allow Harlow Town to reach their target with three wickets in hand.

Meanwhile, Leigh registered a seven wicket win at Woodford Green to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Leigh bowled well, leaving the hosts to defend a score of 146.

Captain Joe Sexton took two wickets, along with Dean Waller, while Karen Fry took three wickets from six overs.

Matthew Curtis also notched a brace of wickets, while Paul Humphries took the final wicket of Haris Siddiqui, who top scored with 40.

Fry was equally as impressive with the bat, hitting 39 runs before being sent back to the pavilion by Jack Cossey.

Sexton fell eight runs short of his half-century to leave his side on 98/2.

Although Waller was the next to go, for 26, opening batsman Jon Edwards and Humphries saw Leigh home after racking up 24 and 10 runs respectively.

As a result, Leigh reached their target for the loss of only three wickets and claim 20 points to stay top of Division Three.