On a hot and humid day ordinarily the call would be to bat first. With captain Tom Garner returning and the terrible toss record he has, Harlow surprisingly won the toss and chose to bat. This was far from an easy call on a pitch with plenty of demons and traditionally tough for scoring.

Openers Matt Hurley and Chris Whitworth faced a stern test. Chris was the first to go falling LBW after a delivery thudded into his thigh pad, one he’d probably rather forget. Conditions weren’t easy, and boundaries were at a premium, especially in the long field. Only 9 4's were hit all game for the visitors.
David Waters and Raihan Hussain were able to grind out the innings after Hurley and Chris fell, navigating a lively pitch and keeping the scoreboard ticking. Raihan mixed patient defence with occasional aggression, and Dave once again showed his value in the top order with another composed knock.

The innings built gradually through the middle overs before a late wobble saw a string of quick wickets fall. At 150-7, a below-par total looked likely until Umar Raza and Andre Riddell stepped up with effective cameos to get Harlow past 170. The innings closed on 181 all out, which felt around par on a pitch that you never feel comfortable on.

Barking’s chase began with early drama. A huge LBW shout against captain Hasnain Qureshi (in just the first few overs) was turned down, much to Harlow’s frustration. Shortly after, Jhangra played a loose shot and was caught by Gull Hassan off the bowling of Waters.

Joe Riddell then picked up the key wicket of Kam Sohal, bringing up his 200th senior league wicket a proud moment for one of Harlow’s most consistent performers over the past decade.

Barking’s Trivedi anchored the innings impressively, picking gaps and soaking up pressure. While wickets fell around him, he kept the hosts in the hunt. Harlow needed something special and Chris Whitworth delivered.

With the game finely balanced, Chris bowled two of the deliveries of the season. His first pitched outside off and turned sharply to hit the top of leg stump. Two balls later, near-identical line and length this time clattering into middle stump. Two wickets in the over, and the entire mood of the game shifted.

Barking, however, still had fight. Mahmood dug in and found support from Bidiwala, who defended with grit. At one point, with just 30 runs needed and two wickets in hand, the game had tilted back Barking’s way.

Then, a moment of brilliance a stunning one-handed diving catch from keeper Andre Riddell, off Joe’s bowling, removed Bidiwala. In the same over, Joe struck again to dismiss Duhig, swinging momentum back Harlow’s way.

Finally, with the pressure at its peak, George Jessey once again showed his brilliance, returned and cleaned up Mahmood ending the innings on 167 and sparking wild celebrations.

This was a game full of momentum swings — both teams were in control at different stages. Harlow’s batters fought hard in tough conditions, and the bowling unit, backed by better catching and big moments, dragged them over the line.

It was one of the most gripping wins of the season so far, and the first time Harlow have beaten Barking in the Essex League a hoodoo finally broken.

With three straight wins, Harlow now top the Division Three table on points and travel to Neo CC next Saturday, aiming to keep the run going.

Match Summary:
Harlow CC – 181 all out (Raihan Hussain 38, David Waters 27, Raza & A. Riddell 19 each)
Barking CC – 167 all out (Chris Whitworth 3-27, Joe Riddell 3-46 incl. 200th wicket, David Waters 2-32)
Result – Harlow won by 14 runs

2nd XI Report

The 2nd XI secured a commanding five-wicket victory over Gidea Park & Romford CC 2nd XI in an Essex League Division 7 fixture held at Marigolds. This win awarded Harlow 20 league points, enhancing their position in the standings.

Toss: Gidea Park & Romford CC won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Harlow CC 2nd XI won by 5 wickets
Points: Harlow CC – 20; Gidea Park & Romford CC – 5

Gidea Park & Romford CC Innings: 206/9 (45 overs)
Gidea Park & Romford CC faced early setbacks, losing three wickets for just five runs. However, a resilient 71-run innings by Dipesh Tailor stabilized their performance. Tailor's effort, supported by contributions from Hassan Junaid (30) and Alex Toft (16), propelled the team to a total of 206/9. Harlow's bowlers, Jack Fuller and Soulat Ali, each claimed three wickets, effectively containing the opposition.

Harlow CC Innings: 207/5 (31 overs)
In pursuit of 207, Harlow's top order laid a solid foundation. Rizwan Qayyum led with a composed 61, while Zabihullah Hakimi added a brisk 39. Waheed Azam's 30 further bolstered the chase. Despite losing five wickets, Harlow reached the target comfortably in 31 overs, showcasing a balanced and assertive batting approach.

Key Performances

Batting:
Rizwan Qayyum (Harlow CC): 61 runs
Zabihullah Hakimi (Harlow CC): 39 runs

Bowling:
Jack Fuller (Harlow CC): 9 overs, 3 wickets for 48 runs
Soulat Ali (Harlow CC): 9 overs, 3 wickets for 49 runs

This victory underscores Harlow CC 2nd XI's strong form. The team's ability to recover from early bowling challenges and execute a successful chase reflects their depth and resilience.

3rd XI Report

Harlow won the toss and decided to bat first, we always knew that this was going to be a tough game with Brentwood winning every game so far!! We lost early wickets and we struggled to score runs against a team that were bowling tightly and stopped every ball in the field. Ryan Williams was the only player that was able to score some runs scoring 39 not out. Ryan ran out of partners at the other end and we got bowled out for 110.

Ryan Williams - 39*

It was always going to be tough to defend a score that low and all bowlers that were used tried to get a wicket but Brentwood got the total without losing a wicket.

4th XI Report

4th XI vs Old Brentwoods CC 3rd
Harlow - 173 A/O
OB - 175 / 2
Harlow lose by 8 wickets

Electing to bat, Harlow posted a competitive score with Alex Coldwell scoring 63. It didn't prove to be enough in the end as Old Brentwood knocked it off with plenty of overs to spare.

5th XI Report

On a blisteringly hot summers day, Harlow won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Opening bowling pair of Lia Fisk and Benjamin Dack kept it on a great line and length to not only pick up a wicket each but they managed to keep runs down on a very fast outfield.

After 10 over we introduced Lawrence Forde into the attack and from five overs he picked up 3 wickets to keep Harlow in with a sniff at drinks.

The Bishop's Stortford batters looked as if they were used to a T20 format with the start they had. The boundaries were very short and enticing, but that only aided the Harlow bowlers to pick up wickets regularly. At the half-way stage, Harlow had restricted their opposition to 123-5.

After a stern word from their team manager, the Bishop's Stortford batters suddenly changed their scoring methods and quickly rotated the strike and punishing any loose bowling along the ground. This allowed them to have a huge partnership in the middle order, with the batters reaching a half-century and century in the process.

But the re-introduction of Lawrence meant the runs stopped flowing at the end of the innings. He picked up two wickets in two balls to be on a Hat-rick next time he steps up. With these two final wickets, he also collected his first ever senior five wicket haul at the age of 13. Tremendous effort Lawrence - well done! Amazing figures of 5-42 (off 7.2 overs)

Bishops Stortford closed their innings on 303-9. (Their centurion retired after passing 100)

Needing over 7 an over in reply, Ayaz thought he could take this on. Smashing a boundary 4 the very first ball of the innings, only to succumb 2nd ball trying to repeat his feat.

Then we started to fight back and tried hard to dig in to build some partnerships to bring the game back in our favour.

Marious Scholtz played another anchoring innings and punished any loose delivery. He built a partnership with our star of the game Lawrence Forde, and both players looked set to go big. The fight back was on and we began to get the runs on the board.

Needing to find a breakthrough, Stortford introduced spinners of a very high quality, the ball started ripping at right angles and they quickly made light work off the remaining wickets.

Despite Lawrence Forde (24 ) being the last man out he had a truly amazing game and showed just what a gem this young man could be for Harlow CC in the coming years

Unfortunately it’s another defeat but we’re still picking up good bowling points and hanging on in there.

But no doubt about it, the game belonged to Lawrence Forde for us. He was exhausted by the end of the game, but it was a pleasure to be his captain on the day and see him get these achievements.

We hold our heads high and we go onto next week with a smile on our face and know the first win of the season is there if we put all aspects together.