Benfleet leapfrogged Basildon & Pitsea in the table with this 64-run derby victory.

The hosts won the toss, elected to bat and saw the openers John Part (18) and Paul Tremain (65) put on 55 for the first wicket.

Jonathan Edwards hit an unbeaten, with a quickfire 51 from Mike Tremain and 27 from Andy Scott helping Benfleet to their declaration after 50.5 overs. Wayne Morgan (2-67) was the only Basildon bowler to claim a brace.

The new towners set about a positive reply but were undone when their last five wickets fell for only 12 runs, leaving Basildon all out for 202 after 46 overs.

Earlier Steve Parker (60), Danny Gray (42), Michael Gray (35) and Mark Amos (25) had kept the run chase going.

Benfleet president John Hunter (5-45) enjoyed a fine spell with the ball, but Ben West (4-65) claimed the last three Basildon wickets in the space of six deliveries.

"It was a very good game," said Benfleet spokesman Ron Steed. "A lot of people might be surprised that we are batting first and setting a total, and obviously a big total is useful.

"But that way you can put pressure on your opponents because they know they have to chase it. It worked against Basildon, although it looked tricky until we got Parker and Amos out."

Basildon skipper Paul Ayres admitted: "We did not field too well or bowl that tight and gave away 20 to 40 runs too many."

Published Monday, June 23, 2003

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