Hainault & Clayhall skipper Zoheb Sharif

Weather ruins match against table-topping Chingford

Hainault & Clayhall captain Zoheb Sharif was forced to be philosophical after his side were held to a third draw in four Shepherd Neame Division One outings in a weather-affected match against table-topping Chingford.

After a delayed start, Chingford fought their way to 202-5 after 50 overs, leaving the hosts with a mountain to climb in the limited time available – especially with rain interrupting play on more than one occasion.

Hainault managed to reach 70-6 after 29 overs as the match unsurprisingly ended in a draw.

And Sharif was left frustrated as he’d have loved to see his side enjoy a full game against the league leaders.

He said: “The weather totally destroyed the game and there’s not a lot you can do in those circumstances.

“We started late and then we went off a couple of times.

“It’s a shame because it would have been great to have played a full match.

“Chingford are a good side and always come to play cricket.

“But it’s just a shame that we lost about 90 minutes of the afternoon and, with the weather being as bad as it was, it always looked like being a draw.”

Sharif admitted that the circumstances did not help bring out the best in his side.

He said: “We did okay, but not great. It’s hard when the game is constantly on and off.

“We should have kept their score down to around 150 or 160 rather than allowing them to get more than 200.

“But we lacked a bit of intensity in the field.

“We’ve been bowling pretty well of late, but we just need to take our half-chances a bit more often.”