Lawrence Walsh

Goresbrook 182-6 beat Barking 89 all out by 93 runs

Goresbrook moved into second spot in the Essex County Cricket League as they routed local rivals Barking for just 89, as paceman Israel Ochwo and spinner Lawrence Walsh shared eight wickets.

Skipper Kurt Whisker praised his side’s effort as the champions continued to rise up the table.

“I said last week that our batting was labouring a bit, but our bowlers had been excellent and this week’s performance was exactly that,” said Whisker.

“The important thing on tricky pitches is not to collapse completely and post something that the bowlers can defend and Jordan Harris has been outstanding in ensuring that we achieved that goal.

“He’s been promoted from the second team this season and looked at home immediately and there will be a few others in the seconds who are now thinking that they could do the same, which is great for competition at the club.”

Until their batting collapse, Barking were very much in the game, as after winning the toss and electing to field, their bowling was disciplined and Goresbrook struggled to post a competitive total.

Imran Butt dismissed ’Brook skipper Whisker early on and although Jordan Calverley and Toby Maund battled hard the hosts were finding runs hard to come by.

Maund eventually went for 31, but Calverley’s dismissal for 55, the second of Shahzad Mahmood’s four wickets, provoked a mini collapse as Michael Rooke and Walsh also perished to the off-spinner and Kane Messenger was run out by a sharp direct hit.

That left Goresbrook on 123-6 with just eight overs remaining, with some way to go to reach respectability.

Fortunately, Harris is currently in outstanding form and the diminutive right hander joined forces with Richard Williams to add 59 crucial runs.

Harris improvised well against the spinners and hit the ball hard down the ground and his unbeaten 35 shepherded ’Brook to the relative safety of 182-6.

In reply, Williams quickly dismissed visiting skipper Shaan Shafiq and although Bajwa and Afzal showed some aggressive intent, the introduction of Walsh’s wily leg breaks immediately broke the partnership.

Walsh was in top form, tempting the batsmen down the wicket and then turning the ball sharply past the bat and Ochwo proved the ideal foil at the other end, as the paceman blasted through the batsman’s defences for three clean bowled victims.

Barking eventually subsided in the 26th over with the maximum 20-point haul achieved leaving Goresbrook trailing pacesetters Scintilla by 12 points.