Brentwood succumbed to another league defeat, at home to Chelmsford, on Saturday.
Their visitors must have thought that Christmas had arrived early this year, as Brentwood somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Batting first, Brentwood got off to a solid start against an accurate Chelmsford attack.
Opener Ian Coleman (30) maintained his good early season form and, with skipper Micky Davis (43) skilfully finding the gaps in the field, a good score in excess of 200 looked possible.
However, the innings faltered somewhat in mid-term.
Danny Hazle (24), Gary Jones (21) and Nigel Porter (19 not out) all made useful scores, but Brentwood could muster no more than 190 for nine from their 52 overs.
They need one or more of their several talented batsmen to play the big innings that will put opponents under real pressure.
The Brentwood bowlers all maintained good line and length and Chelmsford found it difficult to keep up with the required scoring rate.
However, despite losing wickets (one to an incredible one-handed gully catch low to his left by Richard Whitehall), they stuck to their task.
The turning point in the match came with the Chelmsford score at 109 for five with only 12 overs remaining.
They looked to be out of the game, but with Brentwood setting - not without some justification - very attacking fields in an attempt to secure victory, the runs began to flow.
Brentwood did not enjoy the rub of the green, but will still be wondering how Chelmsford were able to manoeuvre themselves into a winning position.
The last over arrived with Chelmsford needing only two runs to win.
A wicket for Nick Haste off the second ball momentarily raised Brentwood's hopes but it was a false dawn, and the call of a no-ball off the penultimate ball brought a curious game to a curious end.
Nick Haste (3-56) was the main wicket-taker, with Danesh Kayani (2-33) and Richard Whitehall (2-56) also enjoying some success.
This Saturday, Brentwood's first team are at Orsett for a Shepherd & Neame Essex League match.
l Brentwood's second team continued their impressive start to the season with a convincing win against Harlow.
Their strong batting line-up enabled them to declare at 231 for four (Dave Murphy 57, Chris Boon 44 n.o, Dave Berry 39, Shane Surujbally 35, and Tom Davey 32).
With skipper Stuart Townson (4-46) and Ash Patel (4-64) again among the wickets, Harlow were dismissed for 194.
l Brentwood third team got much the worst of a draw against Ilford.
Ilford declared at a massive 269 for two, leaving Brentwood with limited options when they came to bat.
They achieved a draw with few problems, Chris Eaton batting well for his 59 not out, and had reached 163 for five when stumps were drawn.
l Brentwood's fourth team also drew.
Batting first against Orsett, they declared at 197 for six, skipper Alan Houston leading the way with a majestic 81 not out, and Ken Hobbs contributing 35.
They had Orsett in trouble with James Apicella (5-26) in fine form, but were unable to deliver the coup de grace, Orsett finishing on 126 for eight.
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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