Championship

Langleybury continue to struggle at the bottom of the table. They were beaten by seven wickets by Hoddesdon on Saturday.

Bury batted first and reached 219 for seven from their 60 overs. Rhys Williams was the stand-out performer as he scored 88 in the middle of the innings.

Stuart Knox (35), Khalid Manzoor (20 not out) and Richard Oxley (16 not out) added useful runs to the total.

In reply, Hoddesdon lost an early wicket to Josh Godden (one for 33) but then they took control of the contest and a partnership of 161 steered them to victory.

Chorleywood’s poor batting display was ruthlessly punished by West Herts as the Stags recorded a comfortable 89-run win.

West Herts batted first and scored 183 for nine from their 58 overs.

That proved far too much for Wood to chase down and they were skittled for just 94 in the 24th over.

Premier Division

Hemel Hempstead consolidated fourth spot in the table after they recorded a thumping ten-wicket victory against Potters Bar.

Hemel won the toss and inserted their opponents. It looked the right decision as Bar were in trouble on 73 for six.

Brett Penny (two for 29), Steve Reader (three for 38) and Brad Finch (three for 33) tore through the top order before Ben Taylor offered some resistance with 66.

That allowed Potters Bar to post a final total of 178 but they were not close to defending it.

Hemel raced to victory in 33 overs. Penny scored 118 not out and captain Hemish Ilangaratne struck 55 to see their side to victory.

The duo’s opening partnership was the highest since the pair put on 181 at North Mymms in 2010.

Division One

Kings Langley produced a solid display as they played out a draw against fourth-placed Dunstable.

Kings batted first and posted a commanding total of 246 for nine. Paul Ashford continued his good form by scoring 103 and there were good contributions from Harry Sambrook (35) and Mark Brazier (25).

Dunstable were in trouble at 22 for four but a 126-run partnership between Luke Cherry (69) and Bradley Matthews (55) frustrated the Langley bowlers.

Dunstable were able to see out the game and ended on 181 for seven. Kings’ Matt Wells was the pick of the bowlers, taking five for 29.

Division Two

Watford Town had to settle for a draw against Preston after they were unable to bowl out their stubborn opponents.

After winning the toss, Town went on to post a total of 184 for nine on a tricky wicket. The openers were dismissed early into the innings but Gulfraz Riaz and Ibrar Hanif brought brief stability until they departed.

Mohammed Abid (40) and Pavan Chesetty (60) provided important runs to the Town score.

The wicket had retained moisture from the previous evening but as it dried out during the Preston reply, spinner Abid was introduced.

He claimed four for 39 to halt Preston’s progress and they decided to bat out the remainder of the game to collect a share of the points.

Met Police Bushey’s clash against Radlett Seconds ended as a tie after both sides posted scores of 130.

Bushey started the game in the field and bowlers Daniel Nightingale and Ben Goode restricted runs early on and claimed wickets.

Alex Carter and Karan Joshi (seven for 33) were brought into the attack and impressed as Radlett were dismissed for 130.

While their fielding and bowling was strong, Met’s batting let them down once again. They were in trouble at 25 for five before a partnership between Dave Soulsby and Simon Hamilton (46) stopped the flow of wickets.

However, after their resistance was ended, batsmen started to return to the pavilion with regularity.

It was left to Carter and Nightingale to hang on and they brought the score level. They fell one run short of securing victory but it was a stout defence of Bushey’s final wicket.

A depleted Northwood side suffered a one-wicket defeat against St Margaretsbury.

Wood batted first and lost a flurry of wickets early into their innings. Dhaval Panchal (68) and Stu Reeve (70) helped get the side back on track as they ended on 195 for eight.

The league leaders’ reply started quickly before spinners Ross Noach (two for 58) and Panchal (four for 58) halted their progress.

The final pair needed 28 runs to seal victory and two big hits which found the boundary managed to secure a narrow victory.

Hemel Hempstead Seconds have moved back into fourth in the table after Bryan Davies inspired the side to a 20-run victory against Abbots Langley.

Hemel lost the toss and were put into bat. They went on to post 176 all out. Jon Pearson top-scored with 31 while Suren Perera struck 27. Chris Blunt added 26 but no Hemel batsman was able to reach a commanding total.

The pick of the Abbots bowlers was Steve Wallis, who claimed six for 63.

However, Davies was the stand-out performer with the ball as he played a vital role in securing victory for Hemel.

He took eight for 40 to help dismiss Abbots for 156. Only Mat Parkins with 24 stayed at the crease for any length of time as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

Leverstock Green surrendered top spot after a below-par display at Northchurch saw them beaten by seven runs.

Werner Labuschagn (105) batted Green out of the match after they had posted a modest 175 all out – thanks in the main to Kyle Claxton’s patient 53 and a useful lower-order 38 from skipper Dave Tyson.

In reply, Green’s bowling and fielding didn’t hit its recent high levels, so much so that Northchurch knocked off the required runs in just 30 overs to leave Levy one point behind leaders St Margaretsbury.

Division Three

Second-placed Bushey continued their rich vein of form with a three-wicket win on a testing Chipperfield Clarendon pitch.

Chipperfield chose to bat on a drying surface and were in trouble at 17 for three, with Derek Walsh taking the wicket of the threatening Gary Wise.

After Luke Strudwick fell at 62, Farooq Hameed took control with Lakmir Singh and they finished with four for 58 and two for 27 respectively.

The Bushey batters faced some hostile bowling as the pitch retained its bounce but Chandan Sharma (50) helped the side get halfway to their target.

Singh (40) and Neil Jackson (31) took the score to 150 before Singh was caught behind off a short ball.

However, Bushey got over the line despite losing a few late wickets thanks to a cover drive from skipper Nomaan Ilyas.

Division Four

Langleybury Seconds suffered their fourth defeat of the campaign as they were beaten by 70 runs against Ampthill Town Seconds.

Bury started the game in the field but were able to restrict Town, who scored 213 for eight from their 53 overs.

Bury had 48 overs in which to chase down their target, however, after losing the first wicket for ten and being five down for 48 it was not unexpected when they were dismissed for 143. The only bright spot was Matt Fry’s 84 not out.

Chorleywood Seconds suffered a disappointing seven-wicket defeat against Broxbourne.

Wood started the game at the crease but never got going and were dismissed for just 109 from their 47.1 overs.

Broxbourne completed their run chase with little bother, easing to victory in the 22nd over for the loss of only three wickets.

Division Five

Captain Dayle Littlejohn’s performances have been key to Leverstock Green Seconds’ success this year and while he was again in the thick of the action, brother Lee stole top billing with an excellent 77 not out – the backbone of a successful run chase at home to Hertford Thirds.

Earlier, Dayle had snared seven for 66 and seen Imran Iqbal take two wickets as Hertford were removed for 143 at Bedmond Road.

Green’s reply was faltering over 90 runs short and five wickets down when the Littlejohn brothers came together at the crease.

Dayle’s studious 28 not out allowed brother Lee to play positively – hitting 14 fours and a six during his match-winning knock.

Hemel Hempstead Thirds slipped to back-to-back defeats as they were beaten by four wickets by Preston Seconds.

Hemel batted first and posted a competitive total of 209 for nine with Will Langley scoring 92 and Scott Radcliffe notching 41.

However, the bowlers were not able to make inroads into the Preston attack and 93 from Barry Turner and 52 from Adam Shelley helped the visitors chase down the required runs in 43 overs.

Rory Fraser was the best performer with the ball for Hemel as he ended with three for 33.