Westcliff lost out in a thrilling game at Shenfield but captain Tim Wade was not too disheartened.

"It was an excellent match and it really could have gone either way," he said. "We are getting closer now and hopefully we can get a win at Chelmsford next time."

After being put in to bat Westcliff managed 249 thanks to good knocks from Chris Williams (82), Jon Pratt (66) and Sunny Choksi (49).

But a middle order stutter left them 20 runs shy of their target and that was to prove costly when Australian batsman S Parsons took to the crease in reply.

He made 119 and proved the difference between the sides despite Williams weighing in with 5-50 to add to his batting exploits.

"He scored half their runs and he really held their innings together," said Wade of Parsons. "Once we got him out it became very interesting and we could easily have pinched it from them."

Published Monday, June 16, 2003

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