With the Herts and Essex cricket league entering its final 4 weeks of the season, now is a good time to update you all on the current standings which can be found here. Our best season since 2008 and continues. We are at the top of Division 5 with 347 points, 64 ahead of Hockerill IIs in second and 98 ahead of Bishops Stortford IVs in third. With 26 pts for a win we need another 7 points to be assured of promotion and 41 for the title. That could be decided on Saturday 15th August when we travel to Hockerill. A win will be enough. At the bottom of Division 5 Albury have had a terrible time and are already relegated, barring any points deductions. Ilford Catholic IIIs are 43 points clear of Thorley IIs who are in the other relegation spot.
In Division 1 Matching Green Is have a 60 point lead over Nazeing Common Is with last year’s champions, Stansted Is, and Ilford Catholic Is a further 2 pts behind waiting for them to slip up. Next week they face Ilford at home and a first defeat of the season would open up the title battle. At the bottom it is a 4 way battle to avoid the drop with 46 points separating Theydon Bois Is at the bottom, Hockerill Is, Molehill Green and South Loughton Is. One more win for Birchanger should ensure their continued run in the top flight.
Division 2 is a tight affair Aspenden, Standon and Puckeridge (Asps) are top with 302 followed by Three Caps 283, Farnham 259 and Stortford IIIs 249 and Epping Foresters Is 248. Three wins from 4 will see Asps clinch the title, although two of those are away games at Foresters and Stortford. At the bottom Cloghams (102) dropped further into the relegation mire by forfeiting their game against Stortford last week costing them a 20 pt penalty. Heavy defeats for Roding Valley Is (136) and Willingale (131) leave those two side trying to avoid the drop with Bengeo (157) looking nervously over their shoulders. A tricky match at home to Three Caps next week could bring Bengeo right back into the relegation dog fight.
Division 3 sees Ilford Catholic IIs unbeaten and 62 points ahead of Stansted Hall and Elsenham Is on 285, with Braughing snapping at their heals on 281. A win for them away at Ilford next Saturday will make this division a tight finish, especially as Stansted Hall make the same trip in 3 weeks’ time and then Braughing visit the Hall last game of the season. Essendon’s 8 points in defeat at Stansted Hall saw them safe for another season. Potter Street recorded their first win and will need to win their remaining 4 games to have any hope of staying up. Dunmow IIs are 43 points behind Abridge, defeat for Dunmow at Potter Street next week could see Abridge all but mathematically safe.
Division 4 is another tight affair. Roding Valley IIs are 7 clear of our friends at Thaxted (284) with Nazeing IIs (275) in third, Stansted IIs (265) fourth and Little Munden (245) in fifth. Thaxted vs Roding Valley last game of the saeason will make for a fitting finale to the season. At the bottom Ardeley Walkern are 50 points adrift of High Roding IIs (153), with Rickling Ramblers (161) and High Beach on 181 who both meet this weekend. Defeat at Nazeing and a win for Rickling could see Ardeley recorded successive relegations on Saturday.
Finally Division 6 appears to be a straight shoot-out between Three Caps IIs and Woodford Wells Vs with Three Caps having a 5 point advantage. The last game of the season is between these two at Three Caps could prove to be a winner takes all affair. Thundridge, who are 37 points behind will be hoping that to gain ground by defeating Three Caps this weekend and enable them to celebrate their 80th anniversary with promotion. At the bottom Stansted Hall and Elsenham IIs (101) and Hockerill IIIs (108) are battling it out to avoid the wooden spoon.
Good luck to everyone