Goresbrook got their Hamro Foundation Essex League Division Three campaign off to a winning start in convincing fashion.

Having seen their opening-day derby at Barking washed out - as only five fixtures in 18 divisions were completed - they welcomed Ardleigh Green & Havering-atte-Bower to May & Baker on Saturday.

And having won the toss and put the visitors into bat, captain Kane Messenger dismissed the dangerous Paul Hurworth for a first-ball duck and trapped Dave Rai lbw two balls later.

Messenger (3-10) struck again to send Alfie Horan packing before Muhammad Attaullah got in on the act and bowled Tom Gentle to make it 21-4.

Opening batter Choudhry Mahboob looked on from the other end as Dane Attard was trapped lbw by Attaullah (2-11), before Shane Barwick held onto a return catch to dismiss Green captain Lloyd Edwards.

Mahboob was seventh man out with the total on 61, falling to Barwick having faced 83 balls for his 30.

And after Livash Ramduth claimed the next scalp, Barwick (4-25) wrapped up the innings on a paltry 89 in the 38th over.

Shaun Ross fell for an unlucky 13 in reply, but Lee Jones and Barwick shared an unbroken 69-run stand to steer Brook to a nine-wicket victory inside 24 overs.

Barwick hit two sixes and six fours in his unbeaten 42 off 44 balls, with Jones finding the boundary twice as he added a more watchful 23 off 69 deliveries.

Goresbrook visit Woodford Green, who beat Newham in their opener, this weekend.

Barking, meanwhile, are set to welcome Newham to Mayesbrook Park after falling to a six-wicket defeat at Harlow Town.

Put into bat at Ash Tree Field, they lost wickets at regular intervals before succumbing for 157 in the 46th over.

Eman Shaikh held firm to score an unbeaten 81 from 115 balls, sharing an innings-best 42 for the eighth wicket with Bhavik Kothari, who was Barking's second-highest scorer with 18.

Saeed Rauff struck early in Harlow Town's reply and they lost three more wickets with their total stuck on 63 to give Barking hope.

But an unbroken 95-run stand between Patrick Yates (47*) and Shaun Alderson (30*) saw the home side to their target without further alarm in the 45th over.

*Goresbrook gave Premier Division side Hadleigh & Thundersley a fright before losing their delayed Dukes Essex League Cup tie on Sunday.

Having chosen to bat, Brook saw Shaun Ross hit 38 off 37 balls before they collapsed from 53-1 to 79-7.

The tail wagged to lift their total to 140 in the 44th over and Hadleigh slumped to 78-8 in reply as Shane Barwick, Kane Messenger (2-27) and Billy Chapman (2-35) made inroads.

A ninth wicket fell to Barwick (4-26) with Hadleigh still 25 runs short of their target, but their last two batters ensured they avoided a cup upset.

The seconds slipped to a five-wicket defeat against their Ardleigh Green & Havering-atte-Bower rivals on Saturday, after being dismissed for 171.

But the thirds were convincing winners at Shenfield fifths, after Andrew Livett's unbeaten 101 saw them post 190-3.

Livett dominated a 76-run opening stand with Martin Rooke and had late support from Muhammad Imran (26 off 12) and Abdullah Ahmed (23* off 17) during his 136-ball innings, which produced nine fours.