RAYLEIGH captain Matt Gilmore said Saturday’s victory over High Roding in the T-Rippon Mid-Essex League Premier Division was ‘much-needed’.

The visit to the bottom side was labelled as ‘must-win’ after a poor run of results in the division, and they were comfortable winners.

Batting first, they totalled 243/7, with Jason Ox (69) and Phil Everitt (45) leading the scoring.

In reply High Roding scored 195/8, with Gilmore (3-29), Luke Sullivan (2-34) and Ian Turnbull (2-46) the pick of the bowlers.

And Gilmore said the result was a big relief.

“Despite being bottom of the table, High Roding have some very good players who have played Premier League cricket for a number of years, so we knew it would be a tough game,” he said.

“Phil batted very nicely for 42, opening the batting, and Jason continued his fine form with 69, particularly towards the end of the innings where he put on 90 with Ian Turnbull to take us up to 243.”

“It was a flat pitch with the ball coming onto the bat nicely, so we knew we would have to bowl tightly.

“Early wickets were always going to be key and effectively took the game away from Roding.

“It was a great all round performance with contributions from everyone. We have been performing far better away from home this year, so are looking to get a result against Springfield on Saturday.”

In Division Two, the 2s hosted a below-strength Eastwood and bowled them out for 102, Richard Abley taking 5-24.

Rayleigh passed the target for the loss of five wickets in the 32nd over, with Jess Walker on 32 not out. The 3s visited league leaders Navestock in Division Five, with Will Wheeler taking 4-15 and Elliot Ward 3-60 before Rayleigh were bowled out for 92.

In Division Seven, bottom club Burnham Sports 2s were well beaten by the 4s after only scoring 77.

There were also wins for the 5s and 6s against Willow Herbs 2s and Hornchurch Athletic 4s.

Rayleigh were comfortable winners against Maldon in the Beaumont Seymour Women & Girls Cricket League.

And there was heartbreak for Rayleigh in the Peters Cup Under-15 County semi-final against Colchester - as they lost their first match of the season.

Rayleigh fell 32 runs behind in their chase, with captain Jess Walker top scoring with 35.

And there were words of encouragement for them from Gilmore.

“It is probably the best Colts side we have had for a number of years under the coaching of Ben Francis and Luke Sullivan,” he said. “There is a real hope a number of them can continue their development and become regulars in the adult teams in years to come.”