highbeachcc.com - 2009 Match Reports

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Birchanger v High Beach, Sat 2 May 2009 (HECL Div 2)

Birchanger 225-6, High Beach 158-9

A weakened High Beach, lacking inspiration, were thoroughly beaten by a disciplined Birchanger. Stand in skipper Alex Brooks won the toss and opted to field on a pitch which was considered to be an unknown quantity and which proved to become slower and lower as the ball softened. Despite beating the bat on a number of occasions the Beach’s openers went wicketless. The first wicket did not fall until Brooks brought himself on and managed to generate a lot of movement off the wicket, comprehensively bowling Gooch (19). At the other end with the shine off the ball Birchanger’s opener Edwards began to tuck into the Beach’s second string bowlers. It was a relief when Edwards (47) holed out in the deep to Gregory. A big partnership then developed between Bass (39) and Hussein. The Beach proved to be their own worst enemies and managed to drop both players on several occasions. With overs running out and the need to score becoming more urgent, Birchanger lost several wickets to attacking shots. However, Hussein continued to plunder runs at will eventually being dismissed in the final over for 74. Birchanger finished on 225, a big total on a pitch where runs did not come easily. The pick of the bowlers for the Beach was Brooks whose figures of (2-27) was good reward for his efforts. In reply the Beach found batting difficult against some accurate and probing bowling from the Birchanger openers. Sumner (12) was the first to depart, caught at midwicket, when he tried to up the run rate. He was soon followed by Daniel Hanna (0) yorked by Gillard. The introduction of Evans did at least up the scoring and there were hopes that the Beach might still have a chance. At the other end Chris Apps continued to find scoring difficult and was out in the 23^rd over for 9, desperately trying to increase the scoring rate. With the score on 85, Beach’s last realistic chance of victory ended with the dismissal of Evans (41), bowled trying to pull a ball that died on him. With overs running out and the required rate increasing to above 7 an over players had to go for their shots. Glasgow (9) looked in good form until he spooned a catch to point while Reece Hanna despatched his first ball for 6 and then promptly holed out. In fact the Beach’s final total was due to Brooks who batted well for 35 until being stumped by Bass off of Ager for 35. In the end the Beach were forced to try to garner as many batting points as possible and the last wicket pair of Robin Bear (8 not out) and Jim Kent (8 not out), dragged the Beach over 150 for a third batting point. The Beach will be desperately hoping for a much better performance in all areas when they play Langley next week.

High Beach v Langley, Sat 9 May 2009 (HECL Div 2)High Beach 149-all out, Langley 150-0

High Beach were comprehensively outplayed in all departments by a confident and powerful Langley outfit.

The Beach lost the toss and were inserted on a wicket which offered both carry and lateral movement. First to depart was Sumner (10) who was looking to hit over the top and only succeeded in putting the ball to mid on. He was soon joined by Daniel Hanna who recorded a second successive league duck when he chased a wide ball from Abrahams. In their contrasting styles both Harvey and Abrahams were causing the Beach batsmen problems.

The Beach were in further trouble when with the score on just 28, Danny Fowler (7) was bowled by Harvey and shortly afterwards Smith (4) was caught and bowled by Abrahams. Further disaster befell the Beach an over later when star batsman Evans (15) was stumped off of Harvey.

The Beach then staged a mini recovery with Paul Glasgow and Alex Brooks, putting on 40 for the sixth wicket. Glasgow (21) wafted at a wide one and was caught behind. The Beach’s hopes of recording a good total now rested on Brooks, who began to compile an innings of maturity which belied his tender years. Brooks tried to marshal the tail to get some kind of score on the board and was helped by a quickfire cameo of 23 from Reece Hanna.

Sadly Brooks and the tail were not able to see out the remaining overs and the Beach were bowled out in the 34^th over for 149, Brooks remaining unbeaten on 46 not out. The score was a minimum of 50 short of an adequate score.

For Langley the pick of the bowlers were Abrahams (3-34) who generated movement and lift throughout and schemer Harvey (3-40). However the Beach hoped that early inroads into the Langley batting would put them under pressure. It was not to happen, none of the Beach bowlers were able to bowl a required line to pressurise the Langley batsmen and nor did the Beach field particularly well. This resulted in the ball going to all parts of the ground and Langley reached their total in the 23^rd over. Both Langley’s batsmen Bailey and Hancock finished on 65 not out.

Hockerill v High Beach, Sat 16 May 2009 (HECL Div 2)

High Beach 124- all out, Hockerill 127-4

High Beach were consigned to their third successive defeat after once again failing to post a decent score, however their much improved bowling performance will give them hope for the rest of the season.

On losing the toss the Beach were asked to bat on a pitch which was slow with some lateral movement and also with elements of low bounce. The Beach’s openers provided a solid looking platform scoring 32 before Danny Fowler (21) stepped in front of his stumps and was LBW. The departure of Barckley Sumner (6) when the score was on 46, led to a major collapse. Six wickets were lost for the addition of just 25 runs.

In fact the Beach’s total was some what of a recovery and was due to a well considered innings by Rodney Bear who mixed aggression with watchfulness. Blocking good balls and scoring heavily when offered width. He was joined in a critical stand by his father Robin.

However, when Rodney Bear (33) was caught in the deep off of the spin of Brady the innings was close to the end. The beach’s total of 124 was at least 50 runs light on what was not the easiest pitch for stroke play.

For Hockerill the stand out bowlers were the openers B Francis and Commercial who bowled stump to stump with good discipline and who both picked up three wickets.

For the Beach to have any chance of winning they needed early wickets and succeeded in this with both openers soon back in the pavilion. Paul Glasgow bowled an excellent spell getting Curtis for a duck. Veteran Jim Kent used his swingers to good effect to have Foster (10) smartly caught by Sumner standing up behind the stumps.

The early wickets brought Hockerill’s skipper A Francis to the wicket, despite playing with several broken fingers he began to grind out a hugely important innings.

Coming on first change Reece Hanna bowled an excellent hostile spell and was unlucky not to pick up more than a single wicket. Despite the Beach bowling well they could not dismiss Francis, despite being very unlucky that he was not considered to have been run out. Gradually the tide turned in Hockerill’s favour and they finally ran out victors in the 36^th over.

The Beach will be keen to break their duck in their next game against Dunmow back at Pepper Alley.

High Beach v Dunmow II, Sat 23 May 2009 (HECL Div2)

High Beach 83 all out, Dunmow II’s 84-5

High Beach suffered more misery when for the fourth week in succession their batting failed. The Beach lost the toss on a pitch offering good pace but were undone by the overhead conditions which allowed the ball to swing prodigiously.

First to depart for the Beach was Danny Fowler (0) who was bowled by young opening bowler Sneath. Sneath then quickly picked up Mickey Evans (4) who was also castled. Further disaster befell the Beach when opener Barckley Sumner (11) was caught LBW by Sneath, who was swinging the ball both ways.

With the score still on 29 the Beach were soon four down with Daniel Hanna (6) bowled by left armer Lewis. The score had advanced to 45 when Alex Brooks (0) was adjudged LBW. With half the side back in the hutch and not even 50 on the board the Beach were facing disaster. A partnership of 30 between Paul Glasgow and stand-in skipper Rodney Bear looked to be repairing the damage but that came to an end when Bear (8) was also LBW.

Any chance of the Beach reaching a respectable score ended when Glasgow (32) was also LBW. The tail enders were soon cleaned up and the Beach were all out for 83. Pick of the bowlers for Dunmow were 14 year old J Sneath (3-14) and Gibson who picked up (4-18).

The only chance for the Beach was to get early wickets and to hope the ball kept on swinging. Both hopes were achieved. Ageing pace bowler Paul Glasgow was able to summon up a hostile opening spell. He trapped opener Pearce (0) in his first over. Then in his second he had the other opener Sneath (10) well caught by keeper Sumner and then got Bush caught at point first ball. In his 3^rd over Glasgow picked up Langford who put the longest of long hops to square leg.

With the score on 27-4 the Beach looked right back in the game. However for Dunmow Connolly and Gypps began to assert themselves. Fatally for the Beach they dropped both players, probably the difference between winning and losing the game. The Beach did finally get Connolly (40) brilliantly caught at short cover but with the score on 74 it was too late and Dunmow were able to run out winners by five wickets.

The Beach will again be encouraged by their bowling and will hope to find some form with the bat

High Beach v Ashdon, Sat 29 May 2009 (HECL Div 2)

Ashdon 194-7, High Beach 197-3

Finally at the fifth time of asking High Beach recorded their first league victory of the season. The Beach won the toss and elected to field on a flat looking pitch with a fast outfield.Opening bowlers Glasgow and Kent both got the ball to swing and restricted scoring but were unable to make an initial breakthrough. The first wicket did not fall until the introduction of Danny Fowler, making his farewell appearance prior to joining the army, he had opener Salt (6) comprehensively bowled. In fact Ashdon’s final total of 194, was largely down to some late order hitting by Bartram who scored a doughty 33 not out at the end.All of the Beach’s bowlers contributed and Fowler will be very pleased with his farewell figures of (3-43).In normal circumstances Ashdon’s score would be considered at least 50 runs short on such a good pitch, however the Beach’s collective batting had been very poor and achieving any score was proving a challenge. In reply the Beach got off to yet another poor start with opener Sumner bowled by P Salt for a duck. Salt then began to pose problems for all the Beach batsmen, as he bowled with good pace and regularly nipped the ball away from the right hander. Salt also picked up the wicket of Apps (14) well caught at slip. A strong partnership then developed between Fowler and Evans who started to score freely. In fact it was a surprise when the partnership had produced 70, that Fowler (45) was bowled by Noakes. However this was only a temporary hiccup. Evans and Daniel Hanna who had both been out of form began to score very heavily and really started to tuck into the Ashdon bowling which began to wilt under the weight of shot in the heat. Evans finished on a very pleasing 86 not out and Hanna recorded an undefeated 42, the victory target being reached with 13 overs remaining. For Ashdown the pick of the bowlers was P Salt with (2-41). High Beach will now be keen to build on their success with their derby game against Theydon Bois next week.

Theydon Bois I v High Beach, Sat 6 June 2009 (HECL Div2)High Beach 194-9, Theydon Bois I 195-2

After a brave batting display High Beach were swamped by the tsunami of Theydon Bois’ batting in a hard fought derby game. Upon losing the toss the Beach were asked to bat on a pitch offering bounce and movement in the air. Openers Sumner and Apps found the going difficult against the quartet of Theydon’s quicker bowlers, who were keen to test the batsmen with a barrage of shorter balls. The batsman duly dug and slowly put together a stand which ended with the score on 60 when Apps (26) was caught at point off a top edged cut.

Batting at number three Alex Brooks played several nice shot before playing over the top of a straight ball and being bowled by Mornach for seven. He was replaced by Evans who began playing some nice shots. With the score on 91 and in the 30th over Sumner (28), who had found the going very difficult, was stumped off of the off spinner Stoner. With overs running out the Beach batsmen went for their shots and were able to up their scoring rate. In particular the batsmen tried to target Stoner but often perished for being too ambitious. With the departure of Evans for (23) the Beach’s chances of achieving a good score fell on 16 year old Reece Hanna, who played a series of highly attractive shots. He was finally dismissed in the final over for an excellent 57.

Although the Beach would have hoped to have scored over 200 their final score of 194 was a reasonable score because of the quality of the bowling. For Theydon Bois Stoner returned the excellent figures of 6-43.

In reply the Beach got off to an excellent start with aged swinger Jim Kent claiming the wicket of Mornoch (2), who gave a soft catch to mid off. However, following the early dismissal the Beach’s bowling fell apart, lacking discipline and accuracy and was not always assisted by the field placing. The Beach’s predicament was made more difficult because they were faced by two high class batsmen, both Mellwaine and Bullievant were hitting the ball to all parts of the ground.

With the victory line in site Bullivant (86) surprisingly holed out to deep mid off, off of the bowling of Daniel Hanna. The wicket only temporarily delayed the victory and Theydon Bois ran out winners with over 14 overs remaining. Mellwaine was left undefeated on 86 not out.

High Beach v High Roding II, Sat 13 June 2009 (HECL Div 2)

High Beach 177-9, High Roding 178-8

High Beach eventually lost a tight, tense and thrilling match due to a failure to score sufficient runs when they set High Roding a total to chase.

After yet again losing the toss the Beach were inserted on a wicket which offered swing and seam with the new ball. Openers Sumner and Apps produced a strong foundation, putting on 53 for the first wicket before Sumner (21) was caught off a loopy full toss that should have sailed over the boundary. Following his departure Apps and Brooks then put on 50 for the second wicket but the scoring rate was becoming a concern as overs were starting to run out. Both players departed in quick succession, Apps was caught and bowled for 49 while Brooks (29) was caught off spinner Sewell. In between these wickets Danny Hanna (0) was adjudged LBW off the accurate bowling of Everett.

Trying to up the run rate Glasgow (7) perished in the deep off of Sewell. The Beach’s hopes of reaching 200, the minimum total needed on such a pitch, was left to Gilbert and skipper Rodney Bear. However it was not to be as Bear (5) fell LBW to Everett and Gilbert (16) was unluckily caught in the gully after an edged drive was diverted off of the keeper’s shoulder. With overs running out Smith (8) and Islam (1) strangely opted for a strategy of defence and watchfulness and there were three maidens in the last five overs.

In fact the Beach’s total of 177 was solely due to number 10 John Gregory who hit a super quickfire 26 off just 10 balls in the last 2 overs.

Although 177 was not a humiliating score it was clearly short of what was needed on a pitch where the outfield was very quick. In reply High Roding made a quick start and were scoring at 5 an over early on. However the two Roding openers were soon dismissed with Glasgow and Rodney Bear both picking up a wicket each.

The brakes were then firmly put on the Roding innings by some excellent slow and spin bowling by Islam (1-27) and Robin Bear (1-20). However, Roding’s fifth wicket partnership between Sewell and Tadman slowly dragged themselves back into the match. Only 40 were needed when seamer Gregory, after changing ends, bowled Tadman (35).

The game very suddenly became exciting and tense as Gregory picked up two more wickets and Brooks one. With only 2 wickets left Roding still needed 20 runs but the Beach could not dismiss Ginn (13*) and Everett (8*) who dragged Roding past the winning post with just six balls to spare.

High Beach will be pleased with their bowling and fielding performance but the batting remains a major concern.

Harlow Town I v High Beach, Sat 20 June 2009 (HECL Div2)

Harlow Town I 274-3, High Beach 108-all out

High Beach were outclassed by a very powerful top of the table Harlow Town team.

On winning the toss the Beach decided to field. However, despite the ball swinging for Glasgow and Kent the Beach could not make an early breakthrough until Glasgow bowled opener Yates for 14. His dismissal introduced the talented Upadhan and he and Gladwin put on an incredible stand of 166 for the second wicket. All the Beach bowlers struggled against the two batsmen who scored quickly around the wicket. The partnership was finally broken when Robin Bear had Upadhan (67) brilliantly caught at long on by Alex Brooks.

Harlow weren’t finished and their final total of 274 could have been even higher but for the late introduction of Mick Evans who bowled 7 overs at the death, picking up 1-25. Gladwin was the star of the innings carrying his bat and finishing unbeaten on 136.

The Beach were left facing a massive score to chase and their task was going to be made more difficult because a number of players were carrying injuries. Skipper Rodney Bear promoted himself to open the batting and scored a quick 12 in agricultural fashion before being bowled by a slower ball by Calver. His dismissal produced a collapse with Brooks (0) being bowled by the pacy Alderson and then Evans (4), Apps (8), Reece Hanna (0) and Islam (0) all falling to Calver with the score on just 33. Thirteen runs later Sumner (4) was also dismissed by the same bowler.

In fact the Beach were only spared total embarrassment by the batting of Glasgow and Danny Hanna (31) who put on 53 for the eighth wicket. However once both were dismissed the end was in sight. The returning Calver bowled Robin Bear (2) to return standout figures of 7-31.

The Beach were all out for just 108 and will hope for far better next week against Thorley.

Langley v High Beach , Sat 11 July 2009 (HECL Div 2)

High Beach 136-all out, Langley 139-2

High Beach lost a crucial toss and suffered a heavy defeat in a game shortened by the weather. Following early showers the match was reduced to 40 overs.

The Beach were asked to bat on a pitch which was decidedly juicy and the bowlers were able to offer prodigious sideways movement. Despite this the Beach got off to a steady start but disaster befell the innings when a calling mix up resulted in skipper Mickey Bear being run out for 19 when he was going well. Following his departure the Beach then began to find scoring difficult and the innings suffered a further setback when Sumner (9) was also run out. The innings was in full scale crisis when Glasgow was bowled by the impressive Jaffrey for a duck. He was soon followed by Brooks (4), caught and bowled by Jaffrey. With the score on 55 half the Beach team were back in the hutch, when Danny Fowler (9) who had found scoring very difficult, was caught at slip. In fact the Beach’s total and a measure of respectability was largely due to the impressive Fiesal Islam who scored a well timed 44. Islam batted well with the tail and the Beach were eventually all out for 136 in their final over.

For Langley, Jaffrey produced the excellent figures of (4-17).

If the Beach were to have any chance of winning they needed early wickets. It was not to be although the ball beat the bat and the Langley batsmen were drawn into false shots, a wicket didn’t fall.

The Beach were also hindered by the dropping of at least five catches. For Langley opener Hancock played particularly impressively in scoring 58, before being well caught at slip. In truth however the Beach were outplayed in all three departments by an impressive Langley unit.

The Beach will need to improve their performance in order to avoid relegation.

High Beach vs Hockerill, Sat 18 July 2009 (HECL Div2)

High Beach 197-all out, Hockerill 200-5

High Beach slipped deeper into relegation trouble after being beaten at home by mid-table Hockerill. Despite missing several key players High Beach had high hopes of winning the game, but losing the toss and being asked to bat made that task more difficult.

The Beach got off to a dreadful start when opener Sumner was bowled for a golden duck. They then lost their second wicket with just 21 on the board when skipper Mickey Bear(16) hit a skier to mid off. An excellent fast scoring partnership then developed between Feisal Islam and Mickey Evans. Evans took the fight to the Hockerill bowlers and scored a stunning 69 off of just 36 balls. Sadly with the score on 104, Evans steered a leg side ball from Hassan into the hands of short fine leg. Following his departure and due to Hassan’s parsimony the scoring slowed. The big hitting Steve Game was not in his usual fast scoring form and contributed 19 before Hassan bowled him and then soon had the capable Paul Glasgow (3) caught at mid off.

With the score on 177, Islam was finally bowled trying to pull Francis, for a well compiled disciplined 38. Then with the score on 192, Rodney Bear (23) missed an expansive drive and was bowled. With overs still available the Beach were all out for 197, perhaps 25 runs short of a par score. The pick of the bowlers for Hockerill was Hassan who recorded the excellent figures of 3-25.

In reply the Beach openers bowled good spells with Glasgow swinging the ball and 16 year old Reece Hanna bowling with excellent pace and hostility. However the field did not back up the bowlers with Hockerill being given two early lives. Despite this setback the bowlers came back and picked up an opener each. With the score 25-2 the Beach appeared to be right in the game. It was not to be a mixture of excellent batting by Francis and some poor bowling by the Beach support bowlers changed the game. Francis couldn’t be contained and he scored an excellent 111 and was not out until victory was in sight for his team. Hockerill’s margin of victory was underlined as they reached their target with over 10 overs remaining. The only comfort for the Beach were the excellent figures of Hanna (3-27) and Glasgow (2-27).

Unless the Beach’s performances improve dramatically immediately they will be relegated.

Ashdon v High Beach, Sat 25 July 2009 (HECL Div 2)

High Beach 168-all out, Ashdon 170-5

High Beach appear doomed to relegation after losing a proverbial six pointer against fellow strugglers Ashdon.

Due to a fixture mix up and late arrival the match was reduced to 40 overs. The Beach were forced to concede the toss and asked to bat. They got off to a slow start against some high quality seam bowling from Ashdon’s Salt. Skipper Mickey Bear (28) was first out with the score on 40, bowled driving at Salt. The Beach had reached 55 when his fellow opener Sumner (22), trying to pressurise the bowlers, was caught in the covers. The Beach’s middle order then continued to accumulate runs but never fully got on top of the Ashdon change bowlers. Islam again top scored with a well-crafted 30 and Alex Brooks occupied the crease in compiling a slightly obdurate 19.

However on a good pitch the Beach needed to score 200 in order to maximise their chances of securing a vital victories. This led to a procession of wickets falling, with quick scorers Reece Hanna (1) and Paul Glasgow (10) falling at critical times. For Ashdon Gardiner, bowling his gentle seamers picked up 5-28. In fact the Beach’s final score was largely thanks to some late order hitting from John Gregory (18 not out) and Robin Bear 17. The last wicket falling on the last ball of the innings. The score was still 30 runs short of a good total.

In reply the Beach’s openers Glasgow and Hanna pulled tightly and Hanna accounted for the Ashdon’s two openers. Ashdon’s number 3, Ford, played several big shots until he was caught by the keeper after skying the ball off of the gentle swing of Jim Kent. Gregory then got in on the act by bowling Ashdon’s number 4. With just 60 on the board the Beach looked well in the game. But yet again the Beach were thwarted. For Ashdon Hall (39) and Salt (44 not out), compiled a century stand, to which the Beach had no answer, to effectively win the game for Ashdon.

The Beach will continuing battling until the end of the season but is unlikely that they can now save themselves.

Dunmow II v High Beach, Sat 1 Aug 2009 (HECL Div 2)

High Beach 218-8, Dunmow II 32-2 - match abandoned

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth as the weather again intervened to deny High Beach a likely and much needed victory. Asking to bat first the Beach lost their first wicket with the score on 19, when Sumner (1) was bowled by Lewis. Opener Chris Apps (8) soon followed bowled by a slower ball from Sneath. The Beach were then placed in real difficulty when skipper Mickey bear was bowled by Lewis first ball.

A 40 partnership between Islam and Evans began to restore the innings before, with the score on 71, Evans was bowled by Wickes for 23. Although they did not find scoring easy Islam and Gilbert put on 40 for the 5^th wicket before Islam (31) was trapped in front by Iliffe. Gilbert (21) then departed soon after caught off a leading edge by leg spinner Strong. Brooks and Glasgow then increased the scoring and took the total to 150 before Brooks (21) was bowled by Strong. Reece Hanna hit a quick 9 before being caught behind with the score on 180 with only 6 overs left. However, some hard hitting and good running by Glasgow (51 not out) and John Gregory (15 not out) dragged the score to 218. A good total but not impossible to chase.

In reply Dunmow found the going difficult against some excellent new ball bowling by Hanna and Glasgow. Hanna picking up the wickets of both Dunmow openers. However, with the score on 32-2 after 12 overs the anticipated rain descended and the teams had no option but to abandon the game.

Although denied victory the Beach will take a great deal of comfort from their performance.

High Beach v Theydon Bois, Sat 8 Aug 2009 (HECL Div 2) High Beach 147-all out, Theydon Bois 148-0

High Beach suffered yet another defeat which has sent them to the very brink of the relegation trapdoor.

Losing the toss on a damp pitch which offered lateral movement and some variable bounce with the new ball the Beach were immediately under the cosh from some excellent new ball bowling by De Conig.

De Conig picked up all four top order wickets with none of the Beach players recording double figures.

The Beach’s total was built on a gritty innings by number five bat Chris Kent who batted for most of the innings for 43, before eventually holing out to the spinner Stoner.

Kent was supported by firstly Glasgow (18) who was looking to counterattack when he was bowled by Theydon Bois’s skipper Bullivant. He was followed by an entertaining cameo by Reece Hanna who hit 32, including a couple of sweetly struck sixes. Batting at the end of the innings Kevin McManus scored an unorthdox 16.

However the Beach tail were unable to deal with a returning De Conig who picked up the last two wickets to finish with the excellent figures of 6-29.

In reply the Beach opneing bowlers Hanna and Glasgow bowled excellent opening spells but they were unable to dismiss either of the Thydon openers Marra and Stoner.

Once the openers had completed their spells the two batsment were able to tuck into the support bowlers and increase their scoring rate. The batsmen were virtually chancelesss and the stand coupld not be broken.

Theydon Bois were able to rack up a 10 wicket win with Marra unbeaten on 68 and Stoner recording an impressive 67 not out.

High Roding II vs High Beach, Sat 15 Aug 2009 (HECL Div2)

High Roding 275-5, High Beach 133-10

In possibly their worst performance of the season High Beach’s relegation was confirmed against a strongly motivated High Roding team.

High Roding batted first and their eventual total was built round an attacking 85 made by opener Dawson and a gritty 81 compiled by High Roding skipper Sewell, then at the death youngster Barr hit a powerful undefeated 51.

All the Beach bowlers took heavy punishment apart from Kent (1-12). Several drop catches also hurt the Beach.

In reply the Beach never got going. Mickey Evans hit a cameo 32 from 13 balls but failed to kick on. Fiesal Islam made a highly watchful 25, but no one was scoring freely at the other end.

The Beach were spared from total embarrassment by Barckley Sumner batting down the order who hit a quick 26, before holing out to point.

For High Roding, skipper Sewell capped a fine match returning figures of 5-53.

Such a poor performance explains why the Beach will ply their trade in division 3 next season.

High Beach v Harlow Town, Sat 22 Aug 2009 (HECL Div 2)High Beach 124-all out, Harlow Town 127-2

High Beach who were relegated from Division 2 the previous week were outclassed by champions Harlow Town, in their final home game of the season.

Batting first the Beach got off to a very poor start when they were reduced to 15-3 with Mickey Bear (0), Sumner (2) and Apps (9) all quickly back in the pavilion. All three batsmen fell to the probing medium pace of Hooper.

Evans and Brooks began to repair the innings, Evans was playing freely against the seamers while Brooks dug in.

The pair were parted with the score on 51 when Brooks (8) was surprised by extra bounce by a delivery from Hayter and was caught in the gully.

Harlow Town then applied an effective brake to the innings with the introduction of spin. Off spinner Upadhyay bowled an excellent line and length and was able to pick up the wickets of Evans (32), Fowler (21), Kent (5) and Hanna (0) and finished with figures of 4-20.

It was left to Paul Glasgow to try to marshal the tail and he was last man out for 29.

On a sporting pitch but an incredibly fast outfield the score was entirely inadequate.

In reply the Beach bowled with good discipline and asked questions of all the Harlow Town batsman. However the only breakthrough were made by veteran swinger Kent who took 2-20.

For Harlow Town opener Ali scored an unbeaten 76. Victory was achieved for Harlow Town with 15 overs remaining.

Thorley v High Beach, Sat 29 Aug 2009 (HECL Div 2)

High Beach 152-all out, Thorley 155-2

High Beach produced a miserable performance to end a thoroughly miserable season.

Playing next to bottom Thorley who needed to win to stay, up the game should have been very even.

The Beach got off to a good start and established a firm foundation with the openers putting on 57 for the first wicket before skipper Mickey Bear was out for 30. His fellow opener Apps (22) departed soon after.

Witht the loss of the two wickets the innings lost momentum that it never really regained. Number 3 Alex Brooks produced a listless innings and found scoring dififcult before departing for 11. Batting four Paul Glasgow was also initally subdued but he and Sumner started to rebuild the innings, before with the score on 107, Sumner (13) was well caught at point.

Glasgow then holed out for 21 and the innings pace all but died.

The remaining batsmen were unable to score quickly and the Beach were all out for 152, with one ball of the innings remaining.

For Thorley the bowling honous were taken by miltary medium seamer Sydes who produced the excellent figures of 6-33.

If the Beach were to have any hopes they needed to take early wickets. Swinger Glasgow did acoount for Mills (14) early. But opener Edell playing a watchful innings for an undefeated (48*) and Blacklwell scored a very classy 85.

In fact Blackwell was not dismissed until the scores were level. Thorley taking just 30 overs to reach their total.

It is going to be vital that the Beach go away and regroup over the winter and come back a new and stronger force for next year in division 3.