Harlow CC’s final pre-season outing saw them hosting Sawbridgeworth in a 40-over friendly that featured several familiar faces including ex-Harlow players George Kenny, Alan Jones, and former 1st XI skipper Rehman Ahmed, who captained the hosts for the day.

Winning the toss, Harlow elected to bat first on a beautiful day and a flat wicket. The top order made a positive start, with Zabi Hakimi and Chris Whitworth negotiating the new ball smartly. Whitworth in particular looked in fine touch, peppering the boundary on his way to a fluent 48.
The stand gave Harlow a solid platform, and James Forde, returning after a season away, added an elegant 18 to keep the momentum going. But once again, the innings was anchored by David Waters, who continues to impress with bat in hand. The young Aussie followed up last week’s 73 with a superb 86, mixing classy stroke play with aggressive intent to drive Harlow past 200.
Despite that platform, a flurry of late wickets meant the visitors closed on 206-9, perhaps 20 or 30 runs shy of what felt par on a good surface.

In reply, Sawbridgeworth’s openers Joe Joyce and Alan Jones got off to a flying start, showing both class and experience. Harlow’s new-ball pair of Joe Riddell and Waters bowled with admirable discipline, but the margin for error against two set batters was razor-thin.

It took a clever piece of bowling from Chris Whitworth to break the stand, trapping Joyce LBW and lifting Harlow’s spirits. That was followed by a big moment the dismissal of former Harlow captain Rehman Ahmed, out LBW to Rhys Stewart without argument, walking off before the umpire’s finger was even raised.

From there, the game tightened. Harlow’s spin unit took over, with George Jessey again showing his growing maturity by picking up a brace of wickets. The fielding effort also remained sharp throughout, with a couple of half-chances just evading outstretched hands, one of these was unfortunately from Jones where a fully stretched and diving Gull Hassan narrowly missed the chance to take a stunning catch which could have resulted in an even tighter finish.

Sawbridgeworth were five down with some work to do, but Alan Jones remained the anchor. The former Harlow man was in imperious form, finding gaps, rotating the strike, and punishing anything short or full. He carried his bat with a magnificent 120 not out, sealing the match with a towering six to finish the chase at 207-6.

While the result didn’t swing their way, Harlow take plenty of positives into next week including consistent runs from Waters, promising signs from Forde, another mature outing from Jessey, and a team that stayed competitive throughout against a strong and experienced side.

Next up the Essex League season opener at home against London Eagles with pink balls and coloured kit making their debut in the league.