Essex put on a brilliant display of cricket over the weekend as numerous teams from all levels were in action, including the Over-50s, Disability XI, U19s, Women’s U21s and more.
Also on a day of Exciting and Engaging cricket, a multi-faith XI from East London played the Vatican’s own touring St Peter’s Cricket Club in a Light of Faith match at Walthamstow on the 15th Anniversary of 9/11, whilst East London’s Gujarat Metropolitan Cricket League and Elliot Davis Cricket League played their finals.
Essex Cricket Head of Operations Dan Feist said, “This weekend along with the last month has really shown that the vision to really bring Cricket together as we look to Unleash the game is moving forward. The range and amount of Cricket on show was exceptional along with the people involved from a wide range of ages, cultures and communities. It shows that we have a game that we can be proud of that really supports our drive to Excite, Engage and Enhance the Communities,”
At Walthamstow, cricketers of many religions, including Sikhs, Muslims, Anglicans and Hindus, came together to form the multi-faith XI, captained by Sajid Patel of the National Cricket League, as they played St Peters in the Light of Faith Game.
Newham councillors Mukesh Patel and Forhad Hussain were just two of the players to make up the squad, whilst Feist, former England and Essex captain Graham Gooch, Greater London Assembly Member Councillor Unmesh Desai and East London Cricket Coordinator Arfan Akram were also in attendance.
On a great day for cricket, the multi-faith XI were put in to bat by St Peters and made 69-6 in their 20 overs, and then St Peters chased down the total in 11 overs for a six wicket win.
A much closer match took place at Hutton Cricket Club in the Matchplay Finals. The Hutton U16s posted 223-6 in 40 overs against Upminster in the Plate Final, and in reply, Upminster reached an identical score of 223-6 with one delivery remaining. With the game hanging in the balance, Hutton’s Connor Librick lifted his team to victory, bowling the Upminster batsman to give Hutton the win by virtue of having lost less wickets in their innings. It was less tense in the Matchplay Cup Final, though, as Galleywood defeated Ilford by seven wickets.
The Essex U19s tournament finished at Billericay with the semi-finals and finals taking place. Wanstead and Snaresbrook eased past Colchester and East Essex by 43 runs behind an unbeaten 52 from Feroze Khushi and a four-fer courtesy of Misem Ali Syed Zaidi. The Oakfield Parkonians secured the right to face the defending champions as they knocked off Goresbrook, but in the final, Wanstead proved to the best for the second year in a row.
In women’s cricket, the Essex County Ground hosted the U21s final between Colchester and Harold Wood. On a rainy day, Colchester batted first and were bowled out for 90 in the 14th over, after the match was reduced to 15 overs a side. In reply, Harold Wood were unable to get going against a stellar Colchester bowling attack and tight fielding, as Colchester won by 33 runs.
Meanwhile, England captain Heather Knight dropped by Wanstead and Snaresbrook to do a coaching session for the younger girls.
In the Disability Finals at Harold Wood, Saffron Walden and Harold Wood were named joint winners; whilst over at Rayleigh Cricket Club, Wickford emerged as champions of the Warsop Sunday League. And in the Gujarat Metropolitan Cricket League, in the 40-over KO Shield, Aztecs beat Aryana by six wickets.
But that wasn’t all the cricket that was going on, as Orsett and Thurrock Cricket Club defeated Stratford and West Ham CC in the Foundation Cup; whilst up in Derby, the Essex Over-50s run came to an end in the final, as Leicestershire and Rutland put on a 60-run 10th wicket partnership to take the championship.
But despite their loss, the Over-50s continued with the weekend theme—and long Essex tradition—of Exciting, Engaging and Enhancing Cricket.
