Essex Falcons v Middlesex
D40 Pursuit South-East
Harlow Town Cricket Club
Sunday 19 May 2024
Essex Falcons: Martyn Doe, Matthew Hazell, Isaac Elles, Lee Wheeler, Alfie Jeeves, Benny Fryatt, Jack Gair, Billy Gibbons, Joel Barker, Matthew Thomas, Teresa Fitten, Andy Catherell.
Middlesex: Naseer Butt, Moazzam Rashid, Joe Batten, Craig Fowler, Fraser Church, Sue Benson, Chloe Sainsbury, Connor Flaunty, H Rashid, Sunil Sagar, Jai Charan.
Toss: Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Middlesex won by 96 runs
Match Report
Words: Brian Jeeves
Essex Falcons returned to D40 Pursuit South-East action but found themselves on the wrong end of a heavy defeat at the hands of an experienced Middlesex side at Harlow Town Cricket Club.
Indeed, the Essex bowlers found it tough going against some reasonably fluent Seaxes batting.
Isaac Elles did his utmost to stem the tide, finishing with figures of 8-4-13-3, while Matt Thomas – returning to the side – and skipper Lee Wheeler claimed two wickets apiece.
However, a half-century from Craig Fowler, coupled with contributions from wicketkeeper/batter, Naseer Butt (34), Sue Benson (22) and Chloe Sainsbury (20*) helped Middlesex to a competitive 194 for nine.
Unfortunately, Essex were never really in the hunt, losing wickets at regular intervals. Tailender Thomas displayed great spirit, top-scoring with a quickfire 22 – his best for the county.
But his efforts were in vain as Sainsbury (4-2-5-3) and Moazzam Rashid (8-3-21-3) did the bulk of the damage with the ball for the victorious visitors.
