Joe took a turn to star as Radlett eased to win number three from as many league games, beating Hertford by a comfortable margin of 76 runs to hold onto top spot in the Premier Division on Saturday.

After openers Fraser Crawford (58) and Kabir Toor (27) had not matched the same high standards they had set in the opening weeks of the campaign, it fell to Cooke (89) to steer the defending champions towards victory.

A further 37 not out from Shane Burger solidified a total of 257 for four.

The bowling unit then got stuck into the Hertford line-up with Randeep Sanghera (one for 26) removing the wicket of opener Steve Gale (25) early on.

But Radlett were still made to work and Toor (three for 21) excelled as the home side removed their guests for 181 after 40.3 overs.

Hemel Hempstead Town are still searching for their first win of the season following a 50-run defeat at Bishop’s Stortford.

Having won the toss for the first time this season, Hemel put the home side into bat and were immediately punished as Matt Rodgers thrashed his way to 123 from 140 balls.

Brett Penny claimed a five-for but those wickets came at the expense of 58 runs as Stortford closed on an imposing 278 for seven.

To Hemel’s credit they gave chase wilfully and the pairing of Hemish Ilangaratne (40) and Jay O’Nien (75) provided cause for optimism.

Sam Jenkinson weighed in with a further 42 but it all went downhill from there and the visitors were removed for 228.

West Herts are still searching for their first Championship victory of the season after going down by an agonising seven runs at home to Shenley Village.

The away side made a bright start through opener Charles Thurston (83) but could not build from that position and were removed for 240.

Craig Sanders (two for 41) and Matthew Smith (two for 48) fared best with the ball for West Herts, whose reply fell just short in totalling 232 for six.

Kings Langley suffered a 14-run defeat in their clash against Dunstable in Division ruing missed chances in the field.

Opening bowlers Rob Clark and Richard Whitlock put Dunstable under considerable early pressure with the latter making an early breakthrough with the hosts only on five.

Langley’s bowlers continued to produce chances only for poor fielding to consistently let them down. Dunstable’s batsmen took full advantage in posting a substantial target of 260.

Kings’ batting line-up, which proved so frail the previous week, made an impressive effort at the chase with all of the top and middle order making valuable contributions alongside the steadying influence of Paul Ashford (57). But the side fell narrowly short of the target on 246 for eight.

In Division Two A, Radlett Seconds are top of the table after a third consecutive win, beating Northchurch by four wickets.

Winning the toss and bowling first, Radlett struggled with the positive batting of their opponents. Troy Barrett and Simeon Cohen were the pick of the bowlers with two wickets each while the rest were shared among Robin Willis, Lederman, Michael Lee and Daniel Foster as Northchurch made an impressive 292 for nine from their 50 overs.

Radlett’s reply did not start well and with the side on 70 for three things were looking bleak. It was Hugh McDowell who started the comeback, assisted impressively by Michael Lee, who scored his first league half-century for the club. Their partnership of 143 led to Radlett needing 85 from the last ten overs with McDowell still at the crease.

He was joined by Jonny Armitage and with wickets in hand Radlett were in control. Armitage smashed 34 off 15 balls to leave the team needing a run a ball off the last three overs.

McDowell guided the team home with ease, scoring the winning single with four balls to spare to finish on 124 not out off 115 balls with five fours and six sixes to his name.