After two tough defeats, Harlow CC arrived at Hornchurch Athletic looking to bounce back and reignite their promotion push. Despite a late reshuffle to the playing XI due to a no-show, spirits remained high as Harlow won the toss and elected to bat first.

Early conditions proved tricky, with Matt Hurley falling LBW cheaply. However, the innings stabilised thanks to a solid partnership between Whitworth (41) and Waters (31), who negotiated the early movement with patience and grit.

Contributions from Gull (25) and Garner (22), the latter showing some welcome signs of form, added crucial runs in the middle order. But the standout performance came from Max Baulcomb. Returning to the 1st XI, Baulcomb lit up the innings with a commanding 84 – blending power with finesse in a knock that truly anchored the innings. Credit also goes to young debutant Harrison Wren, aged just 14, who supported brilliantly at the back end, showing maturity beyond his years.

Harlow closed their innings on a competitive 258 – a defendable score under the conditions.

With the ball, Harlow got off to a dream start. Joe Riddell struck twice early, followed by a stunning caught-and-bowled from waters, leaving the hosts struggling at 28-3. Momentum was firmly with Harlow.

But the tide turned during a mammoth 177-run 4th wicket stand that left the visitors on the back foot. Harlow looked out of the contest – until a superb piece of fielding from Waters led to a run out, and Oliver Allen took a sensational catch on the boundary to spark new life into the game.

With 40 runs needed and just three wickets remaining, the pressure was on. The atmosphere was electric. However, a few costly missed chances in the field proved decisive. Hornchurch held their nerve and chased the target down, dealing Harlow a third consecutive defeat.

A spirited performance but a fielding display littered with errors ultimately cost the side.

Despite the result, Harlow sit only 3 points off second place and 15 behind the leaders – all to play for.

Next up: A massive home clash against London Eagles, The final timed match of the season before the return to the preferred limited overs format. Be there, be loud, and back the boys!

2nd XI

Match Report – Harlow CC 2nd XI vs Loughton CC 2nd XI:
On a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Marigolds, Harlow CC 2nd XI won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that paid off immediately on a responsive surface that offered plenty for the bowlers.

Loughton CC 2nd XI Innings: 91 all out (28.4 overs)
Loughton found it difficult to build any momentum as Harlow’s bowlers extracted movement and maintained relentless pressure from the outset. Despite a valiant effort from Kashish Midha, who top-scored with a gritty 33, wickets fell at regular intervals with no major partnerships to stabilise the innings.

The standout performance came from Muhammad Umar Raza, who delivered an exceptional spell of 4 wickets for just 7 runs in 7.4 overs. His control and precision dismantled the lower order, finishing with outstanding figures.

He was well supported by Soulat Ali, who claimed 3 for 41 in a hard-working 12-over spell, including the key wickets of opener Agam Potti and captain Vidhyarthi Kantumuchhu.

Jack Fuller struck early, removing both Lodhi and Shaik to set the tone with 2 important wickets, while Harris Hamid chipped in with one to wrap up the tail.

Loughton never got going and collapsed to 91 all out in 28.4 overs, a reflection of Harlow’s clinical and disciplined bowling attack.

Harlow CC 2nd XI Innings: 92/3 (17.4 overs)
Chasing a modest target, Harlow CC did lose a couple of early wickets, but they were never in real trouble. The innings was paced sensibly, with calculated aggression and composure.

Openers Arshad Muhammed and Rizwan Qayyum fell cheaply for 6 and 4 respectively, before Abdul Munim steadied the ship with a well-compiled 21. His innings ended in controversial fashion when Maeez Sandhi was credited with a bowled dismissal, although it was clear the wicketkeeper had dislodged the bail with his glove—a decision that left the Harlow camp stunned.

Despite that hiccup, Zabihullah Hakimi took command of the chase with a fluent and unbeaten 41, showcasing calmness and maturity as he guided Harlow to victory. Muhammad Umar Raza, fresh from his bowling heroics, joined him at the end and remained not out on 2.

Harlow wrapped up the chase in just 17.4 overs, securing a dominant 7-wicket victory and collecting the full 20 league points on offer.

A complete all-round performance from Harlow CC 2nd XI sees them continue their excellent form in the league. Ruthless with the ball and clinical with the bat, they showcased their depth and confidence at home. For Loughton CC, the match served as a reminder of the need to strengthen their batting resilience ahead of future fixtures.

3rd XI

3rd team match report:

Harlow travelled to Harold Wood in a tough fixture where Harold Wood are towards the top of the table. Harlow won the toss and decided to bat first as we need to get some points at the moment. We struggled at the start losing some early wickets but Waleed scored 38 and Ryan scored 24 to help us score some runs during the middle. Simon and Faz also added some runs with both scoring 20 runs each. It was always a struggle throughout our innings with us never really getting any momentum and we got bowled out for 156.

W Ahmed 38, R Williams 24, A Mustehsan 22, F Javed 21, S Baulcomb 20

Harlow started the bowling innings well with both Muhammad Yameen and Tyler taking a wicket each in their first couple of overs. It was always going to be difficult defending 156 but we gave a good effort with every bowler getting a wicket, we should’ve had another wicket until the square leg umpire called a no ball when it was mid way in the air. They then added an extra 30-40 runs which didn’t help but we ended up losing the game by 6 wickets in 25 overs.

F Javed 1/35, T Dobson 1/38, M Yameen 1/38, A Moiz 1/46

4th XI

Harlow won the toss and opted to bowl first.
We got regular wickets early on and at one point we had Walthamstow at 53/6! At the fall of the wicket I said to the team not to get complacent, we didn’t but….Stows 7& 8 decided to put bat to ball and the last 4 wickets added 96 runs.
Despite the 149 all out total we actually bowled the best we had all season, Dan Knight 3/39, Emilia 2/16, Sam Robinson 2/13 and Ronnie 1/27 plus two run-outs grabbed the 10 wickets and some fiery spells Myles Baldock 0/21 off of eight overs and Dan Whellams 0/21 from 7 overs completed our bowling effort.

Chasing 150 to win, Jonny Allen looked confident in his patient innings of 30 but was adjudged (unluckily) LBW after clearly hitting the ball first (Stow’s keepers comment).
We lost wickets quickly and were struggling for runs against a very tight bowling outfit from our visitors. Only 3 other batters made it to double figures, Ayaz(11)
Rob (17) and Sam (12) as we dissolved for a pitiful 100 all out.

Disappointing result after being in such a good position early on.
But fair play to Walthamstow, they were a good bunch of players, and complimented us on us being fair and a pleasure to play against considering some of the opposition they’d experienced this season.
Always good to get a nice word for the club.

Saturday we’re away at Frenford looking to seek only our 2nd win of the season, a win isn’t far away.