The competitive cricket season got underway with first-round ties in the Dukes Essex League Cup on Saturday.
And there were wins for Billericay, Harold Wood, Hornchurch, Shenfield and Upminster, as well as Oakfield Parkonians and Ilford.
Hornchurch welcomed Fives & Heronians to Harrow Lodge and saw the visitors chose to bat after winning the toss.
Yasir Ghayas (1-15) struck early with the ball but Ben Kearin (67) and Scott Doody (54) hit half-centuries in a second-wicket stand.
Wickets were then shared between Ronnie Saunders (2-24), Billy Gordon (2-38), George Hankins (2-44) and Adeel Malik (1-31) as Fives were dismissed for 212, with Hornchurch racing to a seven-wicket win inside 26 overs.
Paul Murray (43) and Hankins (39) gave support to Saunders, who finished unbeaten on 101 from 98 balls, having hit two sixes and 18 fours.
Joel Bayley (3-37) was the only Fives bowler to have any success as Hornchurch set up a meeting with Old Southendian & Southchurch, who beat Old Brentwoods by seven wickets.
Krupesh Patel (54) top scored as Brentwoods made exactly 300, but Ahmed Khawaja (142 not out) and Ahsan Yousaf (124) put on 283 for the third wicket in reply.
Harold Wood dismissed Orsett & Thurrock for 150, as Ausman Ginai (4-28), Shahbaz Khan (2-20), Waqas Shafique (2-33), Taqi Abbas (1-28) and Harry Thompson (1-41) all had success with the ball.
Majed Ali hit 75 off 53 balls in reply, with two sixes and 12 fours, as Abbas (33) and captain Craig Perrin (26 not out) helped Wood to a nine-wicket victory in 20 overs and a home tie with Oakfield Parkonians.
They came out on top against Gidea Park & Romford after an exciting contest at Gallows Corner.
Park made 246 after opting to bat, with captain Adam Thain hitting 101 off 123 balls, with 13 fours.
Ubiad Kiani (72) and Jamal Francis (22) were the only other batsmen in double figures, as Osman Choudhry (5-43), Selvam Ramasamy (3-53) and Om Thakeria (1-36) took the wickets to fall.
And Raihan Hussain (85) and Aman Ali (60 not out) hit half-centuries in reply as Parkonians sealed a four-wicket win with eight balls remaining.
Umar Choudhry (37) and Paresh Kalley (34) also contributed with the bat, as Hasitha Nirmal (3-34), Aditya Kumar (1-32), Will Chuter and Sam Farrow (both 1-38) took the wickets.
Upminster claimed a 21-run win over Loughton, after Aaron Beard (48) top scored in their 217-9.
Tom Daniels (30) and Nehal Butt (24) also made starts, while Ellis Pickering, Ollie Todd and Billy Wright added useful runs down the order.
South African overseas JJ Smuts (2-24), Beard (2-34), Oliver Peck (2-38) and Wright (2-40) nabbed braces as the visitors were dismissed for 196 with 4.4 overs remaining to set up a home date with Shenfield, who beat Hutton by two wickets.
Cameron Tredgett (68), Thomas Debenham (47), Alex Tredgett (46) and Benjamin Parry (33) led Hutton to 255 at the Polo Field Ground, as Oshada Pahalawithanage (2-47), Christopher Bridle (2-5), Mehad Khan (2-76) and Niraj Godhani (1-24) had success with the ball.
Shenfield slipped to 116-5, after Usman Ul-Haq (28) and Max Bear (29) made starts, but David Hickey (51) and Godhani (70) shared a century stand to help take them close.
Viraj Gandhi (3-54), Nishant Mittal (2-50), Connor Whetstone (2-56) and Stephen Heywood (1-32) took wickets for Hutton.
Neighbours Billericay got the better of Westcliff in a high-scoring contest, after posting 314-9.
Arjun Bhardwaj hit a quickfire 30, before Saurav Prabhaker made 110 off 106 balls, with a six and 16 fours.
Lee Knight fell six runs short of a century for the visitors after hitting 11 fours and Ross Poulton (4-27) took bowling honours as the hosts were dismissed for 289 with 21 balls left to earn Billericay a trip to Hadleigh & Thundersley.
Ilford were the biggest winners of the day, after amassing a whopping 414-4 against Leigh at Valentines Park.
Akhil Anil hit eight fours in his 34 off 17 balls, before Mohammad Ahktar (87 off 65) put on 136 for the second wicket with Akash Raji.
Captain Nigel Jacobs (61 off 44) added another 115 for the third wicket with Raji, who then saw Haaris Ayub (52 off 38) share in a 113-run stand.
Raji finished unbeaten on 144 from 141 balls, having hit a six and 15 fours, and Prahathen Jayarooban (2-20) struck before Leigh had a run on the board in reply.
Theeban Tavarasa (5-38) turned the screw, with Ahktar (2-23) and Kyan Lehal (1-28) also having success as Ilford romped to a 248-run win to book a date at Buckhurst Hill, who saw Prithviraj Sarvaiya (75), Will Stoner (72) and Hendro Puchert (3-16) lead the way with bat and ball in their 110-run win over Harlow Town.
Brentwood and Wanstead both received byes and meet at the Old County Ground.
Essex League Cup, second round: Hadleigh & Thundersley v Billericay, Chingford v Horndon, Harold Wood v Oakfield Parkonians, Hornchurch v Old Southendian, Buckhurst Hill v Ilford, Chelmsford v Epping, Upminster v Shenfield, Brentwood v Wanstead.
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