Bushey remain in pole position in Herts Division Four after getting the better of fifth-placed Hertford Seconds by seven wickets.

Having been asked to field, Bushey were hoping for early wickets and Imran Mustafa (two for 33) made the breakthrough. Asif then claimed four wickets in 16 overs and when the spin bowlers were introduced, Hertford found themselves in trouble.

Farooq Hameed (three for 17) and Lakhmir Singh (one for 12) made sure the visitors were restricted to a below-par total of 135 all out in 52.2 overs.

Bushey started their innings cautiously, knowing that they had failed to chase a small total two weeks ago.

Nomaan Ilyas went early but Chandan Sharma (61) set out to stay in the middle until the end. He was helped by Narendra Gogna (34) as Bushey widened the gap between them and their opponents to 76 points.

Northwood Town’s recent hot streak came to an end with a four-wicket defeat at home to London Colney.

Winning the toss and batting first, Town failed to assert themselves and were bowled out for 166 from 46 overs.

Only Jamie Cotton (47) and form batsman Kunal Sanghi (30) had any real success with the bat as Town’s tail-end failed to pick up the slack.

In reply, Colney were never really troubled and solid 50s from overseas player Adam Buckmaster and captain Tim Fretter saw them reach the target for the loss of six wickets.

Town captain Michael Lister was disappointed with his side’s batting display and said: “We have been in good form recently so it was a shame that we failed to take the initiative at any point during our innings.

“I think we got what we deserved in the end but it’s a good lesson for the team and nobody gave up in the field so we’ll just move on and look forward to next week’s game at Ampthill Town when we get another opportunity to show what we can do.”

Rickmansworth continued their rise up the table with a six-wicket win at Ware to make it six victories out of their last seven matches.

The visitors opted to bowl after winning the toss and it proved to be a wise decision as Ware were dismissed for 127 from 39 overs.

Ben Cutler was particularly impressive, taking five for 61 from 14 overs, while Majid Khan collected three wickets and Stuart Darbyshire chipped in with another one.

In reply, Rickmansworth reached the target for the loss of four wickets from 27 overs with Sohail Bashir (52) continuing his run of form. Fraser Patterson (41) was again the other main contributor.

Chorleywood Seconds just lost out in a thriller by one wicket at Preston Seconds in Division Five.

Wood batted first, but were bowled out for a disappointing 149, with Jonathan Lyons (41) top-scoring.

In the field, Wood never let Preston get away and build any big partnerships that would have swung the game their way.

Josh Ryan bowled with great control to take four wickets, but the home side were just able to crawl over the line with their last pair at the crease to hand Wood their sixth defeat of the year as a place in mid-table now looks assured.

Langleybury Seconds faced a tough test against Dunstable Seconds, going down by 39 runs.

After being put into bat, Dunstable started well and opener Andrew Boocock (47) helped them on their way.

Ian Horton (30) and Kashifa Ali (38) also made useful contributions but Andy Stone’s five for 56 helped bowl them out for 179. Tom Brall also took two for 45 runs.

In reply, Bury were in early trouble as they slipped to 39 for four. Andy Felton (44) and Matt Fry (24) tried to see their side over the line, but they fell short after being dismissed for 140 to leave them seventh in the table.

Hemel Hempstead Thirds were unable to take the two wickets they needed for victory in Division Six as they were held to a draw by Redbourn Seconds.

Put into bat first, Hemel got off to a shaky start, losing both openers – Chris Nuttal and Rahul Wickramsinghe – for ducks.

Half-centuries from Giles Berry and tail-ender Phil Freebey steadied the ship though, as Hemel finished on 213 all out.

Dan Thatcher was the most effective Redbourn bowler, picking up five for 48 as well as claiming five maidens.

In response, Redbourn managed 203 for eight, with Ed Hales (55) and Jack Dyer (47) top-scoring for the visitors.