Hurley left to rue plethora of dropped catches in heavy 231-run defeat
For the second week in succession, Hurley were made to rue a plethora of dropped catches as Emmbrook & Bearwood racked up 333 for 4 in 45 overs and then consigned them to a 231-run defeat.
With Andy Lazenbury smashing an unbeaten 207 from 121 deliveries the chances of Hurley bouncing back from last weekend's defeat to Pinkneys Green always looked slim.
The afternoon started well enough for Hurley with Naeem Khan making an early breakthrough with a rising delivery that Alex Cobb (11) edged to Mike Walton.
Aman Singh replaced Navjot at the Football Ground end and bowled Matt Loxton (11) in his first over, however, this simply brought Lazenbury to the crease and momentum quickly switched to Emmbrook.
With the score on 87 for 3 Lazenbury made his intentions clear from the start, clearing the ropes of the short boundaries on both sides of the ground no less than 19 times.
Hurley had their chances to dismiss him but, just as they did against Pinkneys Green, they spilled half a dozen chances - most on the boundary.
He passed his century and then
150 with ease and, despite tiring as the reached his double century, he was cheered by the sizable crowd and warmly applauded by the
Hurley team as he walked off at the end. The final total of 333 for 4 was always going to be a tough ask for Hurley's inconsistent batting lineup.
Richard Cole, from the Football Ground End, accounted for both openers, caught behind by Narraway with only 20 runs on the board. Clive Williams (33) and Yasir Gul (19) showed some dogged resistance with a 36-run partnership in 16 overs, but the match was over as far as a meaningful contest was concerned.
Four wickets in three overs saw the visitors slump to 62 for 6 with Mike Walton coming in to face an Andy Robertson hat-trick ball, which he safely negotiated. The only thing Hurley could hope to gain from the match was a batting pint or two and Williams and Walton set out their stall to try and frustrate the bowling for as long as possible. Williams eventually fell to a run out, hitting the ball firmly to mid-wicket and setting off for a non-existent single. Walton was left to bat with the tail and a spirited 20 from Naeem Khan helped get the side to triple figures for an extra batting point.
Hurley's 2nd team bounced back from last weekend's defeat to Emmbrook and Bearwood to beat the Lee's 2nd team by six wickets at Shepherds Lane.
Having bowled out The Lee for just 102 runs with the excellent Joban Singh taking 5-23, they made hard work of the chase, reaching it for the loss of four wickets with Josh Cole top scoring with 37.