Unicorns slipped to their sixth straight defeat in the ongoing Clydesdale Bank 40 tournament as Essex sealed an 8-wickets win over them in a Group C match played at the County Ground in Chelmsford.
After restricting the visitors to a modest 40-overs total of 183 for 9, the Eagles reached the target in the 38thover at the loss of just 2 wickets, preserving their record of being unbeaten in the tournament so far.
An unbeaten 149-run stand between opener, Mark Pettini and Matt Walker played a key role in Essex’s comprehensive win after the hosts lost Adam wheater and Owais Shah early on with only 35 on the board. Both Pettini and Walker scored half-centuries to take the side home.
Wheater was caught at slip by Michael Thornely off Dan Wheeldon for a third-ball duck. Shah, who had just returned from the lucrative Indian Premier League, made his debut for the Eagles. He could score only 13 before getting run out.
Shah’s departure brought Pettini to the crease, who in collaboration with Matt Walker, put forth a three-digit stand for the third wicket to seal the deal in the hosts’ favour.
Pettini played a painstaking 88-run knock off 106 balls laced with nine muscular boundaries and a six, whileWalker stroked his way to 71 runs from 94 deliveries plundering eight fours.
Fast bowler, Wheeldon, led the Unicorns attack with one wicket for 25 runs, from his quota of eight overs, three of which went without conceding a run.
Earlier, Unicorns, after being put into bat, could score only 183 runs from their allotted quota of 40 overs, losing nine wickets.
Benham was the leading scorer with an unbeaten knock of 54 runs from 85, including three fours.
The other major contributors for the tourists were Mike Thornley and Glen Querl with 36 and 23 runs respectively. The rest of Unicorns batsmen could not get past 20.
Chris Wright led the Essex attack with hostility and accuracy, returning with figures of 4 for 20. Left-arm spinner, Tim Phillips picked up 2 wickets, conceding 33 runs in his quota of eight overs.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Graham Napier and Reece Topley returned with one wicket each.
With nine points in five games, Essex stand at number two on the Group C points table, just behindSomerset.
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