Wanstead & Snaresbrook captain Joe Ellis-Grewal knows his side can’t afford to slip up as they continue to chase down front-runners Chelmsford and Hornchurch.
The Herons currently sit third in the Hamro Foundation Essex League Premier Division as they welcome strugglers Harold Wood to Overton Drive on Saturday.
They then face Billericay and Belhus which sees them have three winnable games in the coming weeks.
“We’ve got a few games coming up that I expect us to win, we can’t afford to slip up over these next few weeks,” said Ellis-Grewal.
“We know if we play good cricket that we’re going to be up there near the top for those last four one-day games.
“It’s really important to keep picking up results in the all-day games. I have said it before, it’s surprising that Harold Wood are down there, they’ve got some good players, and they’re not an easy team to beat so we know we have to play well.”
Wanstead nabbed a five-wicket victory over Hornchurch last weekend after winning the toss, electing to field and dismissing the hosts for 112 thanks to Eshun Kalley (3-25), Kishen Velani (3-47), and Ellis-Grewal (3-31).
The Herons reached their target with Kalley (30), Bilal Patel (27), and Robin Das (25) leading the charge.
Ellis-Grewal added: “It was a must-win game for us, Hornchurch are obviously up there and probably one of the favourites to win the league, but I felt we pretty much had the perfect game.
“There was a lot of waiting around for the rain to stop, but we finally got out there, it wasn’t ideal conditions to bowl in as the ball was wet but we stuck to it well.
“It was a good wicket actually so to keep them down to what we did and the way we bowled was excellent, then a couple of good innings with the bat. We lost a couple near the end, but the lads stood firm and got us over the line with plenty of time to spare.”
He added: “It’s always nice when a few bowlers share the wickets and it just shows that we’re not relying on any one bowler.
“Kishen didn’t get any on Saturday, but Robin had a really good knock, and Adnan Akram saw us home at the end with a good 16 not out."
Wanstead also bagged a spot in the Dukes Essex League Cup semi-final with a seven-wicket victory over Westcliff-on-Sea to complete a good weekend.
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