Chipperfield Clarendon Seconds were heavily beaten at Welwyn Garden City Thirds, a dismal batting display proving their undoing

Chipperfield Clarendon Seconds were heavily beaten at Welwyn Garden City Thirds, a dismal batting display proving their undoing.

Batting first, Chipperfield were quickly in trouble as they routinely lost wickets and despite Zac Webb’s (21) best efforts, they were all out for 88.

An early wicket might have unsettled Welwyn on another day but they comfortably cruised to the points in 20.2 overs, Steve Durrant taking three for 27.

Division Six A

Kings Langley Seconds returned to winning ways with a six-wicket success over struggling Wormley.

On a helpful surface, openers Rob Clark and Luke Jones ripped through the top order and at one stage Wormley were 30 for six.

A late-order rally ensured a final total of 84 all out with Clark bowling 15 overs in a row, claiming six wickets, and Jones picking up three wickets.

In reply, after a slight early wobble a steadying partnership between Matthew Langston and Scott Rolfe took them to the verge of victory. Rolfe finished on 43 not out at the end as Kings claimed the win which puts them third in the table.

Northwood Seconds earned a 45-run win over Hatfield & Crusaders Seconds.

Batting first on a difficult track, Northwood scored 181 for eight from their innings.

Aaditya Gairola was the pick of their batsmen as he hit 79. Keith Watson opened with 20 and Steve Hussey also chipped in with 21.

Hatfield & Crusaders were unable to build any momentum going and fell short as they were bowled out for 136 in 32 overs.

Jahanzeb Rizvi impressed with the ball as he returned figures of five for 51. Nigel Hussey was also in decent form, taking three wickets for 27 and Ram Nandiraju claimed two for 23.

Division Six B

Andrew Rueth’s five-for helped Abbots Langley Seconds clinch a draw from an entertaining encounter with Totteridge Millhillians Thirds.

Rueth took five for 48 to reduce Totteridge to 238 for nine.

Dave Carlisle (44) and skipper John Battams (43) led the way in reply with a succession of big shots. But that target proved too much and Abbots finished nine short with two wickets in the bank.

Division Seven A

Rickmansworth Seconds were comfortably beaten by Letchworth Thirds, going down by seven wickets.

There were healthy contributions of 49 from Ronesh Nathwani and 42 from Ben Alnutt as Rickmansworth posted what seemed like a decent enough 193 all out against Letchworth.

However, the home side made light work of the reply, knocking off the required runs with ten overs in hand for the loss of just three wickets.

Division Eight A

Langleybury Thirds failed to take advantage of a good position earned by Rishil Dhruva’s five-for, ultimately losing by 48 runs against league-leaders Berkhamsted Seconds.

Roger Ball won the toss and did not hesitate in asking Berkhamsted to bat.

Josh Spinks struck with two wickets in the second over and he and Simon Ross remained unplayable throughout their spells, Spinks finishing with three for 24.

Dhruva joined the attack and continued to put pressure on the Berkhamsted batters, finishing with figures of five for 31 to remove the opposition for 123.

With the wicket drying out, Langleybury fancied their chances of victory. But their batting let them down, a recurring theme this season.

Only Matt Fry (23) and Rob King (13) offered any resistance before they were all out for 76.

Division Eight B

Hemel Hempstead Town Fourths were trounced by 188 runs at Little Berkhamsted Sahibs on a bad day all round.

Little Berko’s Trevor Allum was the star of the show, smashing 119 to help his side to a total of 291 for four.

Vinnie Liddar took two wickets for Hemel but they came at a cost of 87 runs from his 15 overs.

And Little Berkhamsted rattled through the Hemel order in no time at all, removing their visitors for a paltry 104.

Only Phil Smith (34) and Scott Radcliffe (25) showed any staying power at the crease but their efforts proved futile.

Division Nine A

Kings Langley Thirds lost to Met Police Bushey Seconds by 63 runs.

In-form Met Police batted first and scored a respectable total of 196 all out.

Nauman Hijaz picked up three for 41 while Gordon Sambidge and Josh Lloyd claimed two wickets apiece.

Kings’ reply never really got off the ground and the side were dismissed for 133 in a disappointing defeat.

Logan Turner top-scored for Kings with 32 while Sifan Naeem contributed 21.

Division Nine B

Leverstock Green Thirds were involved in a rare 20-points-each tie at home to Knebworth Park Fourths.

Having restricted their visitors to 179 for six from their 53 overs, Stuart Evans led the run chase with 48 at number three.

A middle-order collapse left Dan Lake (33) and Karl Turner (23) to pick up the pieces but Levy couldn’t quite get over the line; Steve May (19) last out with the scores tied on 179.

Division Ten A Rickmansworth Thirds remain in mid-table, despite a heavy loss to Hitchin Thirds.

Hitchin rattled up to an imposing score of 239 for nine in 50 overs, with Jack Lee (three for 45) and Sean Lindsay (four for 35) the pick of the Ricky bowlers.

Adeel Usman with 27 and Ben Soames (25) were the only batsmen to come to terms with the Hitchin bowling, as from 60 for two, Ricky fell away to 127 all out.

Division Ten B

Northwood Thirds clinched a four-wicket victory over Watford Town Thirds.

Northwood fielded first and dismissed their opponents for 134.

Ben Knowles took three for 37 while Adam Bailey picked up two for 24 and Khurram Rana managed to claim two for 27.

Steve Lewis top-scored for Northwood with 30, Martin Mendelssohn contributed 25 and Indy Raja scored 24 as the side reached the target in 37 overs.

Regional Division B West

Watford Town Fourths fell to their first defeat of the season thanks in no small part to Chris Coleman’s three for eight for Langleybury Fourths.

Having lost the toss, Langleybury ensured a reasonable total was posted from their 47 overs, with Darren Crawley (43 not out), Tom McHugh (39) and Ed Almond (37) the pick of the bunch in a total of 189 for six.

But it was the bowling which really shone. Lewis Denham took two for 34 and was supported by Josh Cornes (two for 29), Jim Carson (three for 19) and most impressive of all, Coleman with three for eight.

All that meant Watford were out for a poor 88, ensuring a comfortable 102-run win for Bury.

Regional Division C West

George Mills took three for no runs to carry West Herts Fourths to a comfortable 78-run away win at Berkhamsted Fourths.

West Herts won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the hosts had to overcome a jittery start in eventually putting on 202 for seven.

Openers Mills (13) and Shaun Plunkett (16) were removed cheaply before a big 59 from Saqib Raja helped boost the visitors’ total.

Mills then took three for nought to help remove Berkhamsted for 124 with a ruthless spell.

An Achilles injury to skipper Greg Coulshed marred Leverstock Green Fourths’ seven-wicket win at Boxmoor Fourths.

Coulshed collapsed in agony during his seventh over but his teammates did him proud in his absence.

They restricted their hosts to 128 and passed the score in reply thanks largely to wicketkeeper Mike Parkes, the pick of the batsmen with 46, while Andy Welch’s unbeaten 22 helped steer Levy home with nine balls to spare.

Kings Langley Fourths secured back-to-back wins over Abbots Langley Fourths after a seven-wicket victory.

Abbots were bowled out for just 97 with Billy Stephenson taking three for 13, Samuel Hutchings claiming three for 26 and Jacob Hutchings returning figures of two for 12.

Kings reached the target easily for the loss of only three wickets.

Tony Thompson scored 23 while Warwick Smith hit an unbeaten 22 along with 20 from George Hunt.