Pros Beat Amateurs

The match start time was brought back to 1:15pm instead of the advertise 11:00am, so anyone reading this who turned up for 11am and had to sit and watch the practice for 2 hours, you are not alone! Mind you, we did get to see Nass having a knock in the nets!

Essex made vice-captain for the season Paul Grayson captain for the match and saw Richard Clinton, Mark Pettini and Ashley Cowan come in from those who played last Sunday in the win over Kent. The Board XI saw Essex staffers Andrew McGarry, Andy Clarke, Ravinder Bopara and Zoheb Sharif play, as well as captain Alex Richards, both Akram brothers and Nasser's brother Mel (who plays for Fives and Heronians).

Essex won the toss and decided to bat first and got off to an excellent start, with Darren Robinson and Richard Clinton making a first wicket partnership of 101 inside 18 overs, with Clarkey and McGarry opening the bowling for the Board XI. Richard Clinton in particular looked great, with some wonderful drives and made full use of the short boundary, this time to the non-members area of Chelmsford. He took apart Simon Moore when he came on, smashing him for 4 sixes over the short boundary into the flats, as Moore conceeded 40 in just 3 overs.

Robbo was content to play second-fiddle whilst Clinton smashed it around, but the partnership did get broken, as young Wanstead player Tony Paladino bowled Clinton with a yorker for an excellent 59, 101-1.

Mark Pettini got off the mark in unordinary fashion, chipping Paladino over long-on for six, when it looked for a while as if he would be caught on the boundary. He and Robinson added 44 for wicket 2, before Robbo fell just 1 run short of a fifty, when another youngster Chris Williams bowled Darren for 49 with another superb yorker, 145-2 inside 26 overs now, still 14 to go.

Pettini was next to go, as he was also bowled by a superb delivery from Williams, going for 25.

But Barry Hyam joined Graham Napier in adding 100 exactly for the 4th wicket with some busy cricket. Both players kept the board ticking over and hit the bad ball out of the ground or into the boards with an array of one-day shots. However, Paladino came back to get Napier for 30 and Essex were now 255-4 with 4 overs to go.

Captain Larry joined Hyam, as the lata passed a well deserved fifty, hitting 3 successive fours from team-mate Andy Clarke. 11 more runs were added for this partnership, which took Essex to 266-4 as the 40 overs ran out. Hyam finished his good knock unbeaten on 55, whilst Grayson was 8 not out.

Only the impressive looking pair of Paladino (2-52) and Williams (2-28) took wickets, 2-a-peice infact, as the Board XI lacked any real quality bowlers, with the exception of the two mentioned.

This left the Board XI with the hard task of scoring 267 in 40 overs for an impressive win and the club players kept up with the run-rate to begin with, but lost too many early wickets, slumping to 53-3.

Despite a quick-fire opening stand of 21 between Nick Carlier (Loughton) and Zoheb Sharif (11), it was Sharif who was first to go and unluckily too. He had already superbly hooked Grant for four before he again middled a hook shot from Joe Grant but this time hit it straight down the throat of Richard Clinton at 3rd man.

Next to go was Ravi Bopara, who was bowled by Cowan for just 2 and soon after Nasser's brother Mel Hussain went for only 9, as he played all round a Clinton ball (Clinton looking impressive with the ball as the bat).

To the Board XI's credit, even at 53-3 they still kept going for the runs and were rewarded with the 2nd highest partnership of the innings of 32 between Carlier and little Adnan Akram (Wanstead). But that was broken by James Middlebrook (who was to pick up 3 wickets again in successive Sundays) as Carlier hit straight back to the former Yorkshire spinner for a simple return catch, Carlier making a good 32, 85-4.

Arfan (also Wanstead) joined his brother at the crease, but couldn't make an impact as he top edged Middlebrook onto his pads and gave Robinson a simple catch at silly mid-off for nought, 94-5 and in trouble.

But captain and also Wanstead team-mate Alex Richards joined Adnan in adding 39 for the 6th wicket, with Adnan Akram looking excellent and playing some superb shots, but he was next, as Middlebrook picked up his third wicket with Adnan just nicking the ball to Hyam for 32 again, 133-6.

Two more wickets fell quickly, as Clarke was brilliantly stumped by Hyam off Clinton down the legside for nought and Williams being caught at mid-on, just chipping Grayson to fellow spinner Middlebrook and and when Richards went for a busy 36; the top scorer of the inns gave a catch to his Wanstead team-mate Arfan Akram (who was fielding for Essex as we only played 10 men!); the match was over at 158-9.

Last man McGarry joined keeper Matt Humphreys (Shenfield) and despite McGarry clipping Grant for four through mid-wicket (an unlikely shot for a number 11!), two balls later after getting the strike back, Humphreys missed a full-bunger slower ball from Joseph Grant and was lbw for 1 as The Board XI fell to 163 All Out and a defeat of 103 runs to their professional counterparts.

Richard Clinton was the star bowler with 3 wickets, though unfortunately no figures were given for him or Joe Grant! James Middlebrook was the next pick again with figures of 8-0-45-3, whilst Grant picked up 2 wickets, Grayson was very ecomonical as always with 8-3-28-1, but despite a wicket, Ashley Cowan looked out of form and was expensive with figures of 8-0-31-1.

So, all in all, a good day for cricket and good practice for both teams, with the club fixtures starting in early May and Essex's next week. Next up for Essex it's Northants at Wantage Road on Wednesday for the last friendly.