The Seconds won three out of four, mainly thanks to the batting of John Wright, who top-scored in all four matches, including a stunning 86 not out to defeat Ingatestone. The most bizarre match came against Burnham, where play was stopped for an hour to airlift an injured member of the opposotion to hospital.

The Thirds fared just as well with three wins – new skipper Danny Curwood was getting good performances out of the side, leading the way with a 6 for 16 against South Woodham Ferrers, and with Murray Hall hitting a personal best of 80 against Hockley. A cancelled match at Ecko was the only thing that stopped the 3\’s from topping Division 10 at the end of the month.

The Fourths, unfortunately, were struggling, being bowled out for just 40 and 83 in their first two matches, but they came back with a good win at Havering-atte-Bower. The Sunday\’s results were no better, just winning the one match. There were poor batting performances against East Hanningfield and Chignal, although four wickets apeice from Tom Adams and Matt Nobes helped to defeat Ingatestone.

Player of the Month: John Wright (246 runs)

John\’s rightful elevation back to First XI cricket left the Seconds struggling. When reduced to 40 for 5 at bottom of the table Tillingham it was the turn of Mike Griffiths to step up and save Rayleigh, scoring his maiden ton for the club. Later, a disputed defeat against Ashingdon saw the Seconds\’ promotion hopes effectively finished.

Defeat in the top-of-the-table clash against Canvey Island dealt a big blow to the Thirds promotion challenge, however a 79 not out from rising star Luke Hedges capped an impressive Rayleigh batting display at Hullbridge which kept the side in touch with the league leaders. Andy James turned in a lifetime\’s best against Galleywood to win the Bowling Cup with 8 for 34.

Wins against Hutton and Ecko for the Fourths meant a successful month, Michael Robinson\’s 5 for 40 at Hutton possibly the pick of the performances.

One of the matches of the season came as Wickham Bishops visited the Sunday XI at Rawreth. Chasing a massive 315 for 3, Rayleigh managed an impressive 261 for 6, with John Suckling leading the way with 103, in so doing setting a record for the most number of runs scored at Rawreth Lane in a single match. Another loss and an acrimonious tied match against Ransomers finished a disappointing month for Sunday cricket.

Player of the Month: John Wright (294 runs)/ Andy James (13 wickets)

Three wins for the Seconds kept them in the top four in July, but the individual performance of the season came against Burnham. After a flooded Rawreth wicket was finally cleared, Tim Rees ripped through the opposition batting, taking a career best of 7 wickets for just 3 runs, reducing Burnham to 19 all out. Phil Wolff scored 100 against Ingatestone in another classic fightback – the story of much of the Seconds\’ erratic season.

The Thirds continued their good form, but two crucial losses meant they started to lose touch with the league leaders. Terry Tofts emerged as a star with both the bat and ball with 77 not out and 4 wickets against Hockley, and Ross Callow was starting to put together a good run of form in his second season for the club. Tom Neave, after having a good season for the 4\’s, took 6 for 27 in the win over South Woodham Ferrers.

The Fourths managed one win from four, including a draw against North Weald where Simon Harwood scored his maiden ton, hitting the season\’s third highest individual score of 122.

Three heavy defeats for the Sunday XI saw the side continuing their poor run, however Danny White echoed his saturday form by scoring two fifties, including 64 off just 32 balls in the run chase at Ingatestone, putting on 100 with John Suckling (76 not out) in the final few overs. Matt Nobes took six wickets for 47 in a 93-run loss to Springfield II\’s. The only Sunday Second XI fixture of the year saw Andy Thurogood, Murray Hall and Luke Hedges all scoring fifties in a 84-run victory over Bayerische Landesbank.

The RCC Tour of Norfolk was another success, but results didn\’t go our way. A poor batting performance at Great Melton was followed up by an even worse effort at Old Buckenham as Rayleigh were dismissed for just 105. The best match of the tour came at new fixture Lowestoft Town. In a fantastic seafront setting, chasing 225, Andy Thurogood and Richard Abley fought a rearguard action to reach 207. The tour turned sour in the final match at Fakenham. Set an improbable 276 to win, the opposition proceded to finish off our tail using their express overseas bowler, showing an irresponsible and unsporting side to their game.

Player of the Month : Danny White (460 runs)/Tim Rees (20 wickets)

The Seconds limped home with three defeats and a no-show. Simon Harwood scored 90 at Great Baddow, but with only one regular Second XI bowler in the side, Rayleigh could not halt Baddow\’s enevitable win. In the end, a poor batting performance at Sandon saw Rayleigh slump to a lowly 5th position.

The Thirds finished off the season in style with two wins – another fifty from Luke Hedges, 82 from Mike Hillis and a 4-54 from Danny Curwood were the highlights. A top half of the table final position gave promise for better things in 2005 if the Thirds can build on their successes of 2004.

The Fourths managed one more win – 75 and 50 from Yen Chin and Simon Hedges against Hutton and a fifty from Chris Horsley against North Weald saw the end to respectable season. One win at Mount was all the Sundays had to show from the month, with Simon Harwood and Craig Baird both scoring fifties in August.

Player of the Month : Craig Baird (256 runs)

Player of the Month : Chris Eldridge (274 runs)