Stanford-Le-Hope Cricket Club

The Recreation Ground, Grove Road, Stanford-le-Hope, Thurrock, Essex, SS17 0ED; Clubhouse 01375 676000

SLHCC 1st XI get back to winning ways with a 20 point victory over Benfleet with Aussie Harry Maher grabbing 7-36 *** The 2nd XI just miss out on another 20 point victory after drawing with Old Brentwoods with Ian Sanderson striking 46 with the bat and claiming 4-33 with the ball *** The 3rd XI keep their promotion hopes going with a 8 wicket victory over Fives & Heronians with captain Geoff Lake hitting an unbeaten 67 *** A golden display with the bat saw Clive Ballard hit his first century for Stanford Le Hope with the 4th XI. Ballard ended up retiring Not Out on 130 but the mamouth knock was not enough victory over Hornchurch *** The Sunday XI win again this time over close rivals Thurrock with Robert Page hitting a half century **** DONT FORGET *** Super Sixes is this Sunday so make sure you come along for music, beer, BBQ and of course Cricket!!

Stanford le Hope CC Match Reports – 9^th June

Stanford 1^st XI at Hadleigh & Thundersley

Stanford 156ao (47.2 overs)                  Hadleigh & Thundersley 160 – 7 (33.3 overs)

Kevin Smith 32, Andy Robinson 29,       Paul Baker 72no, R.Revell 34

Greg Barr 29no, R.Revell 4-60

A patched up Stanford side fought valiantly and came close to pulling off a shock win from an unpromising position. Only skipper Drew Robinson (29) of the top order, made any impression against some tight home bowling, led by Revell’s 4-60. He was backed up by Fleming (3-28), as Stanford stumbled to 82-7. It was a defiant 8^th wicket stand worth 51, between Kevin Smith (32) and Greg Barr (29no), that enabled the visitors to grab 4 batting points and have something to bowl at.

What should have been a stroll for Hadleigh, nearly turned into a nightmare as Barr (2-38) and Gary Sanderson (2-42), aided by a smart Ross Poulton run-out, had the home side reeling at 42-5. However, Paul Baker (72no) kept his head, as he and Revell (34) repaired the damage, before the former led his side over the winning line.

Stanford 7 points  Hadleigh & Thundersley 18 points

Stanford 2^nd XI at home to Benfleet

Stanford 165ao (61 overs)                         Benfleet 170 – 2 (24.3 overs)

Mark Knight 48, James Drain 37                     Tim Hanson 101no, Matt Tremain 45

Pete Hiscock 4-40, A. Pritchard 3-27

Stanford toiled for 61 overs to reach an all out total of 165, against a Benfleet attack that gave nothing away. Home skipper, Dean Hitchcock reasoned, quite rightly as it turned out, that his team had scored nowhere near the runs needed after 52 overs and forfeited the two points gained, to try to set Benfleet a more difficult task As it happened, Matt Tremain (101no) took advantage of being spilled 4 times and bashed the Stanford attack into submission, bringing up his century and the win with a huge six, in the 25^th over, to leave Stanford pointless.

Earlier, Stanford had grafted their way to a half-decent total, thanks to the patience of opener Mark Knight (48) and some fluent shots from James Drain (37). The rest of the batting could not cope with the accuracy of Pete Hiscock (4-40) or the pace of Pritchard (3-27).

Stanford II  0 points                        Benfleet II 18 points

Stanford III at home to Wanstead IV

Wanstead 185ao (49 overs)                         Stanford 93ao (36.4 overs)

H.Tailor 60, C.Brailey 30                          

Stanford inserted their visitors and enjoyed early success thanks to excellent bowling from Jon Fuller (4-30) and Matt Hasler (3-48). They had Wanstead on the ropes at 75-7, before Tailor (60) and Brailey (30) joined together in what proved to be the decisive stand of the match. They boosted the total to 161 before they were parted. Stanford skipper Geoff Lake brought himself on to break the partnership and clean up the tail.

Unfortunately, Stanford were unable to find a similar stubbornness when they came to bat and lost wickets with alarming regularity. Only youngster Harry Cook (18) showed the right sort of grit down the order as the Wanstead bowlers shared the spoils and gave their team a 92 run victory.

Stanford III  5 points         Wanstead IV  18 points

Stanford IV at Brentwood V

Stanford IV 94ao  (23.1overs)               Brentwood V 95 – 5 (22.1 overs)

J.Hurley 3-21, R.Knebeg 3-35                    Ricky Tavio 4- 29

Stanford’s 4^th string just couldn’t muster enough runs as they faced a useful Brentwood 5^th team. Opening bowlers Hurley (3-21) and Knebeg (3-35) cut swathes through the early batting. Only No 10 Wilf Gansbuhler made it to double figures and it was a highly generous 47 extras that allowed the visitors to get near to 100.

Ricky Tavio (4-29), kept the reply honest as he bowled a super spell, but Stanford just didn’t have enough on the board as Brentwood ran out 5 wicket winners.

Stanford IV  2 points                     Brentwood V  18 points