Zain Shahzad

Wanstead & Snaresbrook 183 all out beat Chelmsford 125 all out by 58 runs

League leaders Wanstead triumphed in their top-of-the-table clash with second-placed Chelmsford in the Shepherd Neame Premier Division at Chelmer Park on Saturday.

The resolute victory continues Wanstead’s unbeaten start to the season. They have now amassed 86 points after winning all of their four completed games to lead the table by 16 points.

The Wanstead top order defied the tricky batting conditions, made difficult by the wet weather, to build a solid platform. But progress was halted by the Chelmsford attack, only for the visitors to rally thanks to a superb knock from last man Zain Shahzad.

“It was a credit to both sides as it was tough conditions to bat on though we did well to start, but at 128-9 I must confess that we were 30 or 40 runs shy of where I would like us to have been,” said Wanstead captain Arfan Akram.

Sunshine

“We have had a lot of rain and all games can’t go ahead in the sunshine. The conditions favoured the bowlers.

“But all credit to Zain. What an innings. He hit four sixes and saw us through. It was fantastic to reach 183 which was well above par on that type of track. We continued it with the bowling, we kept it tight and bowled brilliantly.”

Chelmsford attempted to take advantage of the conditions and put the visitors in after winning the toss, only for Wanstead openers Arfan Akram (16) and John Chambers (13) to rebuff the initial attack.

The skipper was the first to depart when caught by Dan Hagen off James Clifford (3-37) and they had pushed on to reach 65-2 when Clifford had John Chambers caught by Jack Sterland.

Slowed

Milan Patel (25) and Kishen Velani (23) continued the good work until progress was slowed when Patel was caught by Hagen off Neil Fergus (2-28) at 82-3.

They hadn’t added another run when Adnan Patel became Fergus’s second victim when caught for a duck.

Nevertheless Wanstead pushed on and had reached 102-5 when Velani was removed by Clifford, the loss instigating a collapse to 128-9 as Nisarg Patel (4-18) decimated the tail. But Shahzad crafted a crucial knock of 37, before he was despatched by Robert Hayto (1-54).

In reply, Chelmsford’s first wicket fell quickly as opener Paul Jones was caught for a duck by Velani off Shahzad (1-23) to leave them 3-1.

The sole bright spot for the home side was the dazzling display with the bat from Hagen who finished unbeaten on 71 as Chelmsford failed to deal with the Wanstead bowlers.

Only Matt Thurston (11) and Robert Hayto (11) reached double figures as the attack, led by Mohammed Fayyaz Khan (5-29) and supported by Joe Ellis-Grewal (2-31), restricted progress to have them all out for 125 in 44.4 overs.