Division Two A

Leverstock Green produced a dominant display to see off Northwood by nine wickets to move 23 points clear of second-placed Radlett Seconds, who they host this weekend.

Noted for his penchant for scoring 30s and 40s, Lewis Koch broke free this time with a fine 89, supported by Miles Barnard’s 70 not out as Levy knocked off Northwood’s 162 all out for the loss of just one wicket.

Wickets were shared around earlier in the day when Wood, who elected to bat first on the Leverstock Green Road, couldn’t find a way to deal with two-wicket Majid Khan, whose 14 overs went for just 24.

Adam Thomas picked up three for 40 while Ajit Kumar and skipper Dayle Littlejohn harvested two dismissals apiece to put the side 28 points clear of third place with just four games remaining in the promotion race.

Radlett Seconds returned to winning ways with a comprehensive seven-wicket home win over rivals St Albans to move back into second place.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, captain Dan Foster found his side on the back foot as St Albans were at 104 for one after 20 overs.

Radlett then increased their efforts in the field with good spells from Troy Barrett (three for 43) and Foster (three for 12), who removed St Albans’ middle order and left the tail for Stan Tinkler, playing against his former club, to pick up figures of four for 58 and bowl St Albans out for 168.

The reply started poorly as Alex Cooke (1) was run out and Noah Lipschitz (16) was clean bowled.

This brought Hugh McDowell and Neel Malde to the crease with the score 35 for two and the pair batted superbly together; their partnership of 94 providing Radlett with the platform to finish the game convincingly.

McDowell was eventually run out for 59 but Malde ended on 55 not out and continued along with Michael Lee (19 not out) to finish the innings with 17 overs remaining and seven wickets in the bank.

Watford Town picked up an 87-run home win over ten-man Northchurch with the bowling of Kabir Ali and Ravi Panchal vital.

Captain Ibby Hanif won the toss and decided to bat on a dry wicket and take advantage of Northchurch’s one-man disadvantage.

Batting first Town started well with shots from Yogesh Pujari (42) and Waqas Choudhry (6) catching the eye but leaving the home side in trouble at 69 for five from 19 overs.

Pujari was caught off a mis-timed shot and Watford were in trouble. In came Hanif (40) and Pavan Chesetty (37), who took the score to 125 before Pavan (39) was bowled by Tom Garraway and Hanif was caught.

But Watford made it to 207 off 49 overs with Panchal (41) and Naghman Latif (16) chipping in.

Northchuch were never in the game after losing two wickets in first two overs and were eventually bowled out for 120. Wickets was shared among Ali (three for 28), Panchal (two for 23) and Chesetty (two for 45).

Division Two B

Abbots Langley continued their good form by picking up a 29-run win at Bushey.

Batting first for Abbots, Scott Newman top-scored with 45 whilst there were good contributions from Sam Bailey and Nick Gurney as the visitors put on a par score of 157 all out.

Bushey’s innings began well and the hosts found themselves at 100 for three but a second spell for Chris Chellew was key. The Australian managed to pick up the remaining wickets and finish with five for 32 as Bushey were dismissed for 128.

Hemel Hempstead Town Seconds moved up to third in the table after easing to a 119-win over Met Police Bushey at Aldenham Road.

Batting first, Hemel made 228-9 from their innings.

Suren Perera opened with 47 but the star of the show was Nick Hodgins after scoring 105 which featured 19 fours and one six. Alex Carter claimed three for 39 while Karan Joshi and Simon Hamilton picked up two wickets apiece.

Met Police Bushey fell well short of the target and were bowled out for 111 in just 23.1 overs with Hamilton the top scorer on 57.

The wickets were shared out among the bowlers with Charlie Hoskins claiming three for 27, Billy May taking three for 33, and further contributions from Rory Fraser (two for 16) and Bryan Davies (two for 32).

Division Four A

Chorleywood Seconds maintained their grip on second place in the table with a dominating eight-wicket win at Northampton Exiles.

After Exiles chose to bat first, Wood’s bowlers produced an outstanding display to dismiss them for just 60 in 27 overs. Steve Dellavedova continued his excellent run of form as he finished with four wickets for just 16 runs from his eight overs – with two early wickets and then two more late on as he returned to mop up the tail.

There was also two wickets apiece for Andrew Neal (two for 11) and Will Bryant, who picked up two for four from his six-over spell.

Wood lost Ben Frais and Ray Collins early in their run-chase but stand-in skipper Rohan Lee (34 not out) and Jonathan Rice (11 not out) saw their side to their ninth win of the season and kept them in touch with league leaders Berkhamsted with just four games to go.

Northwood Town produced an excellent all-round performance to defeat Southgate Adelaide by 50 runs, improving their recent record to three wins out of four.

Batting first, Town got off to a strong start with in-form Akshay Loomba (39) playing a patient and controlled innings at the top of the order. He was ably supported by Suvin Mekwan (38), who mixed solid defence with a number of beautifully timed drives.

After he departed, Kyle Lawrence (50 off 64 balls) came in to play the innings of the day and push Town into a comfortable position at drinks, with a score of over 200 well within reach for the home side.

Justin Edgar (25) and Raj Kotecha (12) gave Town some impetus and helped take the side to a total of 215 for nine.

Veer Vadgama took three for 32) cleaned up the opposition captain, off-stump at a perfect angle to point the way back to the pavilion, and then the star of recent victories, Chandana Silva (four for nine), joined the attack and wrapped things up for Town.

The win was achieved in style, with Edgar taking two outrageous catches as Southgate Adelaide were dismissed for 165.

Division Four B

Langleybury Seconds followed up their previous week’s nine-wicket win over leaders Flitwick with a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over bottom side Hertingfordbury.

Winning the toss and bowling first, Bury dismissed their hosts for 97, Steve Carter claiming four wickets and, along with Ed Gunning, were the pick of the bowlers.

Alex Gunning and Dan Walker opened up with the former winning the race to a half-century as he scored 52 not out. Walker was unbeaten for the second week running as he finished on 34 not out.

Asked to score 162 to beat St Albans Seconds after a disciplined performance in the field, things looked set fair for a Leverstock Green Seconds victory after top-order contributions from Jamie Wallis (40) and Sam Revell (30).

But the last five wickets were lost while within 40 runs of victory as Green were removed for 146 which resulted in a 15-run defeat.

Division Five A

Hemel Hempstead Town Thirds avenged their trouncing earlier in the season with a 46-run victory over West Herts Seconds.

Batting first, Hemel managed to score 214 for nine from their innings.

Taq Hussain top-scored with 44 while there were solid contributions from Chris Nuttal (25), Andy Turbutt (29), Lian Jahn (24 not out) and Dave Jenkins (26). Raoul Harding took three for 39 for West Herts.

In reply, West Herts were bowled out for 168 with Stephen Pich managing 48. Adam Moulster was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed four for 48 while Anjam Khan picked up three for 36.

Division Six A

Kings Langley Seconds took a backwards step in their quest for promotion after a disappointing two-run defeat at the hands of Northwood Seconds.

Some resolute batting from the Northwood top order made it difficult for Kings to take regular wickets on a flat batting wicket. Teenager Scott Rolfe was the pick of the bowlers, claiming two for 23 from his 15 overs to help Kings limit Northwood to 182 for six from their allotted overs.

In reply, early wickets put Kings on the back foot but the middle order started to rebuild the innings and made them the favourites with 10 overs to go.

When captain Tom Clark fell for 49 with two overs remaining, Kings required five runs from the last wicket. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t to be, with the 10th wicket falling with just two runs needed to win.

Division Six B

Abbots Langley Seconds picked up vital batting points as they drew at Hexton, Lewis Hodgins stealing the show with a six-for.

Having won the toss Hexton batted first and had good contributions from the top order.

The pick of the Abbots bowlers was youngster Hodgins, who finished with figures of six for 73 after bowling his maximum 15 overs.

In reply Abbots never really got going but a good partnership towards the end of the innings between Mark Bishop (46) and Daniel Roche (34) brought their side to a respectable score and ensured they took something from the game.