Wanstead & Snaresbrook captain Joe Ellis-Grewal says their focus must remain solely on Buckhurst Hill rather than looking ahead to a potential final day title-deciding clash with Brentwood.
The Herons welcome their local rivals to Overton Drive on Saturday as they look to pick up another victory to remain at least one point clear of title rivals Brentwood in the Shepherd Neame Essex League Premier.
But the skipper knows it will be a tricky contest as Prashant Chand-Bajpai’s men will be up for upsetting Wanstead’s plans, having lost to them by 28 runs in the T20 competition on Sunday.
“I think a lot of people are looking to that Brentwood game as the title decider, but we could win or lose the league this Saturday, so we know we’re going to have to play well,” Ellis-Grewal said.
“They’re a tricky team to play against. They love playing against Wanstead, and it’s like a cup final for them on Saturday, so we must make sure we’re up for it to keep that lead at the top.”
The Herons do, however, head into the clash full of confidence after sealing a 67-run victory over Shenfield thanks to a stellar performance from batsman Robin Das.
Wanstead were put in to bat and posted a score of 250-7 with Das ramping up 137 runs in what the skipper described as “one of the best innings I’ve ever seen”.
They then bowled Shenfield out for 186 and Ellis-Grewal added: “It was a really good performance, especially as everything seemed to be against us on Saturday. The pitch was wet, there were no sight screens, and there was nowhere for us to sit outside – we were in the freezing cold and it rained all day.
“It was not a day that suits most players and we lost a few wickets early. The pitch was really tough, to put it mildly, but for Robin Das to bat like that on that wicket was just unbelievable.
“It was probably one of the best innings I’ve ever seen in ridiculously tough conditions, so for us to get that total was mostly down to him. A fantastic effort to get us to that score.
“It was fully deserved, he was batting in the rain on Friday night before training then he turns up, and you just feel like he’s not going to fail at the minute as he’s such a hard worker and a really fantastic young player. It’s great to see him doing so well.”
Ellis-Grewal, who picked up four wickets, added: “It’s always nice to pick up a few wickets, I think we probably didn’t bowl that well at the start and gave them a few freebies, but it’s never an easy ground to bowl at as there is a big slope and very short boundaries.”
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