Saracens Herts League

Championship

Chorleywood fell to a narrow eight-run defeat in a high-scoring affair at Flitwick on Saturday, leaving them a win shy of survival going into the final weekend of the season.

Batting first, Flitwick took full advantage of good batting conditions to post an imposing total of 325 for six.

Dave Bushnell still manage to pick up three for 61 and Will Pendred took two for 47 but Wood had been left with work to do.

James Rose (85), Ed Lye (69) and Pendred (65) went some way to chasing down Flitwick’s score, with Chorleywood eventually succumbing on 317 for six following a late flurry of wickets.

Premier Division

Hemel Hempstead were crushed by eight wickets against North Mymms, who leapfrogged Town into fifth place.

Put into bat, Hemel started sluggishly, with Hemish Ilangaratne (16) and Josh Graves (19) struggling to support Brett Penny (31).

The middle order faced similar difficulties with the bat, before Jon Pearson hit 66 to help push Hemel’s total up to 212 all out.

Hamza Qayyum (94) and Neil Bamford (78 not out) then made minimal fuss of steering North Mymms to victory, closing on 213 for two.

Division One

Kings Langley lost to the division leaders, Shenley Village, by six wickets, despite scoring an extremely competitive 302 for four.

Duncan Fleming (160 not out) and Shandy Ratnakuran (51) put on 115 for the first wicket. Paul Ashford then added 48 runs and Ricky Mohammed made 32 as Shenley struggled to take wickets.

Shenley’s opener, Charlie Thurston, got on top of the Kings bowlers as he plundered 172 not out, leading his side to a six-wicket victory.

Division Two

Abbots Langley are just above the relegation zone following a five-wicket loss at home to Old Albanian.

The home side struggled to make any headway against some accurate bowling. However, Mat Parkins hit 94 and Blesson Ghoghe made a patient 44 to see Abbots to a respectable 182.

With their opening bowlers away, Chris Theaker (one for 28) and Ibby Usman (two for 68) were unable to make early inroads, as OA’s cantered to victory with 186 for five.

A disappointing showing with the bat saw Hemel Hempstead Seconds beaten by three wickets against Cockfosters.

James Stead wasted little time in dismantling the Hemel line-up, taking four for 60 as the home side struggled to build any momentum.

Chris Blunt (49) and Tom Waterton (36) made some progress but the hosts slumped to 167 all out.

The away side made hard work of reaching the required total but Andrews Stokes (39) and Declan O’Leary (31) made good contributions at opposing ends of the order to see Cockfosters to 168 for seven.

Bryan Davies claimed four wickets for Hemel but at a cost of 75 runs.

Division Three

Bushey squeezed to a two-wicket win at Hertford Seconds, thanks to the partnership of Chandan Sharma and Narenda Gogna.

Hertford batted first after winning the toss and, much like the previous week, Farooq Hameed proved the star, taking six for 49.

Mohammed Asif (two for 46) had helped keep the run rate low, until Oliver Ray (50) and Jamie Riddle (74) pushed Hertford up to 202. Bushey’s opening partnership of Sharma (51) and Gogna (35) put on a crucial partnership to guide Bushey to 204 for eight.

Division Four

Captain Jeremy Hinds dragged his team across the line with an unbeaten 45 as Chorleywood Seconds defeated Hertingfordbury by two wickets.

Visitors Hertingfordbury batted first but regretted that decision when they were dismissed for an under-par 112 in the 35th over; Jamie Smithson starring with the ball by finishing with five for 49.

The Wood reply was built around Hinds’ unbeaten knock of 45, the captain ploughing a lone furrow before being supported by Smithson (13 not out) as the home side snuck home with 113 for eight.

Division Five

Fifteen-year-old Charlie Hardwick was the star for Watford Town Seconds, hitting a half-century to see his side past Hoddesdon Seconds by four wickets.

Electing to bat first, hosts Hoddesdon struggled to 158 for six against tight bowling.

In reply Gunjan Hazarika (48) and Hardwick (67) put together the key partnership as Town made 159 for six.

Hemel Hempstead Thirds were the only side in the league to win, beating Wormley by 48 runs to remain top of the league.

After an uninspiring start, big knocks from the middle order saw Barney Stalin (70 not out) and Anjam Khan (64 not out) put on the runs to help Hemel to 264 for four.

Ed Langley (four for 31) and Khan (four for 79) then helped dismantle the Wormley line-up, with Waqas Butt (39) and Andrew Ryan (31) top-scoring in a total of 216 all out.

Division Six

Kings Langley Seconds slumped to a 70-run defeat at Shenley Village Seconds after dismissing their hosts for 155.

Duane Smith took four for 45 and Josh Oldham removed three Shenley wickets for 17 runs as Kings left themselves in a good position.

Mike Cooke was the only Kings batsman to put up any resistance and he top-scored with 28 as his side were bowled out for a disappointing 85 in the 34th over.

Abbots Langley Seconds fell to a heavy eight-wicket defeat against Reed Seconds.

Only Neel Patel with 51 and Lewis Hodgins with 28 ever got going for the home side, as Abbots could only muster 143 for nine.

Hodgins and Neil White bowled economically in reply but couldn’t stop Reed easing to victory with a total of 144 for two.

Division Eight

Strong batting from the top of the order was not enough to steer Hemel Hempstead Fourths to a win as they were held to a draw by Dunstable Thirds.

Mike Samuels (56 not out), Rhys Fowler (72) and Jim Langley (80) built the Hemel total to 280 all out but they were made to pay for their failure to remove the visitors.

Dunstable reached 234 for seven to secure a share of the spoils.

Division Nine

Kings Langley Thirds slipped to fifth place after losing to promotion rivals Welwyn Garden City Fourths by six wickets.

Hosts Kings scored a respectable 277 for five, with youngsters David Burnell and Joe Tasker making 140 and 54 not out respectively.

Their visitors took to the task with relish and chased down the runs to close on 281 for four in the 49th over.

Abbots Langley Thirds lost against Stevenage Fourths by six wickets but remain safely in the middle of the pack.

Home side Abbots batted first and lost wickets regularly, as Stevenage took control.

Gary Hyams managed a fine 58 not out and, along with Kam Patel (22), took Abbots to a modest 147 for eight.

Bob Russell then bowled 22 overs to finish with figures of four for 61, but he alone was unable to stop a Stevenage win as the visitors made 148 for six.

Division Ten

Chorleywood Thirds were left to rue a poor bowling performance as they lost by four wickets at home to Shenley Village Thirds.

Wood chose to bat first and put on a competitive total of 223 for eight, before declaring after 50.5 overs.

Will Bryant continued his good run of form in top-scoring with an unbeaten 40, despite coming in at number nine. Simon Dare hit 33; whilst a number of other Wood batsmen got starts but were then dismissed without going on to make a significant score.

Shenley’s batsmen got off to a flying start in reply, as they scored at more than a run a ball for the first 15 overs.

Wood did stem the flow as they picked up a couple of cheap wickets in the middle order. But a lack of disciplined bowling cost them dear as the visitors’ lower order were able to hit their way to victory with more than five overs to spare, scoring 227 for six.

Division 11 West

For the second year running, Watford Town Thirds are divisional champions, with promotion secured in a five-wicket win at Old Albanian Thirds.

The hosts reached 170 for six, with three wickets apiece for Jidran Mohmand and Tamiur Abbas.

In reply, a stand of 66 from Hasseb Khan (40) and Vikrant Malhotra (47) eased the visitors to 171 for five and news of Harpenden Fifths’ loss sealed Town’s promotion.

Southern League

Radlett Women beat Purley Redoubtables by 81 runs on Sunday to secure their 15th consecutive victory and leave promotion to the Premier Division well within their grasp.

Batting first, Radlett were able to put up a commanding total of 224 for six, with the partnership of Hannah Smith (22) and Cath McNeill (55) getting them off to a strong start.

Chloe Jackson (47) and Sian Ruck (27 not out) provided a similarly fruitful pairing to leave Radlett in a strong position.

Kathy Morley (four for 16) starred with the ball in reply, helping dismiss the visitors for 143, with Anje Lague (two for 31) playing a supporting role.

Earlier in the day, Radlett had dispatched with Chesham in a one-sided North London League fixture, winning by ten wickets.

The ruthless Amy Price (six for six) and Katie Pankhurst (three for six) dismissed Chesham for 19 before Radlett strolled to 20 for one.