Premier Division

Radlett stayed top of the league after easing to a seven-wicket home victory over Welwyn Garden City on Saturday.

The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first but found it a struggle as they were dismissed for 138 in 41.5 overs.

Rob Clements was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed four for 17 from 12 overs.

Kabir Toor took two for 12 and Ben Lederman also came away with two for 45.

In reply, Radlett reached the target for the loss of three wickets in just 27.1 overs.

Joe Cooke finished unbeaten on 39 and Jonathan McLean top-scored for the victors, hitting 48.

The win means Radlett are 37 points clear of second-place North Mymms at the top of the table.

Hemel Hempstead Town suffered another blow in their battle to avoid the drop as they were beaten by 75 runs at North Mymms.

Eighty-one points adrift at the foot of the table with five to play, Hemel know only a remarkable run of form – a far reach from what they have shown so far this term – will be good enough to avoid relegation into the second tier.

It all began quite well for Hemel who, thanks to excellent spells from Parth Metha (four for 25) and Faisal Iqbal (three for eight) were able to restrict the home side to an underwhelming total of 185 all out.

Chasing 186 for an all-important win, Hemel got nowhere near.

Brett Penny opened with 38 but his lead was not followed by those beneath him and only three other Hemel batsmen even made it as far as double figures in a lowly reply of 111.

Championship Bottom side West Herts fell to yet another defeat as they lost out by 93 runs at Stevenage.

The visitors won the toss and decided to bowl first, a decision they would later regret.

Stevenage built steadily and the home side eventually put up a reasonable 237 for nine. That despite good returns with the ball from Matthew Smith (four for 49) and Ian Gurney (three for 41).

And West Herts looked in good shape to chase down that total as Barry Marshall (47) and Alastair Lewis (46) opened in stirring fashion.

But the runs quickly dried up and only Craig Sanders (10) and Daniel Woosley (15) even made it as far as double figures from that point as West Herts were skittled out for a disappointing 144, made all the more infuriating by the strong start to their reply.

Langleybury batted out a draw against Flitwick which might have looked unlikely after they lost a wicket in the first over.

Flitwick won the toss and batted first but Khalid Manzoor made an early breakthrough for Bury in the tenth over with the score on 14. However, that was their last success for another 29 overs, as a further 121 runs were scored, before Manzoor ran out Tom Russell (66).

Another partnership of 99 was again broken with a run out and Manzoor was involved again. This time it was the opener, George Thurstance with 139 and the score on 234.

Flitwick finished on 247 for six in their 60 overs.

Langleybury had a tough ask to win and the run chase was not helped when they lost a wicket in the first over and found themselves two down after just eight overs.

Will Oxley (34) and Luke Samarasinghe (33) put on 62 together to make the score more respectable.

Richard Soulsby (21), Richard Oxley (20 not out) and Dan O’Connell (24) made sure that Langleybury did avoided defeat as they played out the remaining overs to finish on 156 for eight after 55 overs.

Division One

Kings Langley continued their promotion push with a comfortable four-wicket victory over strugglers Knebworth Park.

Despite keeping wickets in hand, Knebworth struggled to increase the run rate and tight bowling from Kings ensured their opponents were restricted to 196 for six from their 53 overs. Skipper Christian James found himself among the wickets, taking four for 57 on a pitch that offered little turn.

Kings made better use of of the batsman-friendly track and were quickly out of the blocks with opener Ricky Mohammed making a typically brisk 30.

Tom Sambrook (76) and Daniel Donaldson (65) then came together for an explosive match-winning partnership of 148, which raced Kings to their victory target with 12 overs to spare.

Division Two A

Watford Town ended their six-match winless run with a six-wicket victory at Ickleford.

The hosts won the toss and decided to bat on a green wicket which surprised Town captain Ibby Hanif. But Ickleford did not start well, losing opener Kyle Blachard in the first over.

Watford took regular wickets and dismissed their opponents for 117 in 36.1 overs.

Ravi Panchal was pick of the bowlers, taking five for 32 with help from Asad Sajjad (two for 11).

With a low total to chase, Town took the aggressive approach and continued to hit the boundary throughout the innings despite losing a wicket in the first three overs.

Yogesh Pujari top-scored with 67 and a quick-fire 15 not out from Vidhi Kantumuchhu saw Watford clinch victory within 25 overs.

Radlett Seconds’ form will need to change if they are to get their promotion push back on track – a 36-run defeat against Holtwhites Trinibis their latest setback.

After losing the toss and being asked to field first, Radlett started well with Ross Carpenter (four for 66) picking up two early wickets.

Stan Tinkler (two for 41) and Daniel Foster (four for 40) – who strung together 32 consecutive dot balls towards the end of the innings – continued the good work and Holtwhites finished on 196.

Radlett’s response faltered early on and the loss of Hugh McDowell, Graham Dill and John Armitage left them on 28 for three and facing an uphill struggle.

Neel Malde stuck at it for a defiant 37 before joining his teammates back in the pavilion.

By this point Radlett were on 99 for seven with young Charlie Nicholls (54 not out) and captain Foster at the crease.

Their partnership of 52 was not enough though, and Radlett finished 36 runs short.

Division Two B

League-leaders Abbots Langley moved a step closer to promotion after easing to a seven-wicket win over Potton Town.

Potton could not live with their opponents as they were skittled out for just 54 in 21.1 overs.

Ibby Usman was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed seven for 36 which almost single-handedly destroyed Town.

Scoring the runs proved a formality and Matt Parkins found some form with an unbeaten 35 as Abbots won inside 11 overs.

An unbeaten knock of 108 from Matt Potton was enough to see Hemel Hempstead Town Seconds pick up their third consecutive league win and a seven-wicket success at home to Bushey.

The victory also moves Town to within shouting distance of the summit.

Batting first, Bushey relied on Chandan Sharma (87) to reach a reasonable score of 201 for nine. A couple of wickets each from Rory Fraser (two for 21) and Nick Hodgins (two for 32) ensured the visitors did not pile up too many runs.

In reply, losing Suren Perera for a duck with the second ball was not the ideal start to the innings though. But from wobbling at 36 for two, Hemel rallied and Tom Elborn (39) and Potton (108 not out) worked in perfect tandem to put on 73 for the third wicket.

The departure of Elborn to a dubious leg before wicket saw Matt Dale come to the middle and the two Matts put up an unbeaten 93 to see Hemel home with three overs to go, reaching 202 for three.

Division Three A

Chipperfield Clarendon were held to an entertaining draw against Wheathampstead.

A knock of 103 from Freddy Hampson was the stand-out contribution for Chipperfield as they finished on a total of 266 for eight from their innings.

But Wheathampstead did not attack at any pace and appeared happy to settle for the draw on a score of 228 for four from 47 overs.

It ended a run of successive wins for Chipperfield to leave them third bottom in the table.

Division Four A

Northwood Town edged to a 17-run win at Cheshunt to boost their survival hopes. 

Losing the toss, Town were inserted on a difficult wicket and from the off their batsmen struggled to settle.

Whilst none of the Town batsmen truly got to grips with the Cheshunt attack or the wicket, starts from Akshay Loomba (23), Suvin Mekwan (30) and Kyle Lawrence (21) helped push Town past 100 to make a game of it. 

An important 16 from 47 balls from Krunal Patel held the innings together after a number of middle order wickets fell in quick succession and that allowed Town to post 139.

Town made a great start when Lawrence and keeper Loomba combined to dismiss the opener and skipper Michael Lister bowled his opposite number Sam Stephenson for 18.

The side sensed an opportunity to get through Cheshunt’s fragile batting line-up. 

Patel took one for 15 but it was the re-emergence of openers Lawrence (five for 38) and Chan Silva (two for 28) that turned the game on its head. Lawrence tore through the Cheshunt middle order in an aggressive second spell.

With victory in sight, the in-form Silva duly delivered with two vital wickets to mop up the tail for 122.

Division Four B

Langleybury Seconds eased past Flitwick Seconds by nine wickets as an opening partnership of 109 helped Bury to a comprehensive win.

Flitwick won the toss and batted first. Ollie Ilott (two for 16) and Tom Brall (one for 19) opened the bowling and it was Brall who trapped the Flitwick captain plumb leg before wicket with the score at just 14. 

Wickets fell at regular intervals from there on and Steve Carter (three for 43), Habib Alam (two for 19) and Eddie Gunning (two for 24) all chipped in with wickets as Flitwick were bowled out for 126 in the 46th over. 

Danny Walker (59 not out) and Stuart Knox (60) opened for Langleybury and showed their opponents how to bat, with an opening partnership of 109. 

Langleybury are still third but with the top two still to play each other, they have a great chance of finishing in the promotion places.