Langleybury Seconds earned their fifth consecutive Division Four B win after a six-wicket victory over Leverstock Green Seconds.

After winning the toss, Leverstock Green chose to bat on the hottest Saturday of the summer. Ollie Ilott (one for 35) and George Pearce (two for 23) were wayward in the first six overs as Leverstock Green were 38 for no wicket, with a lot of the runs being extras.

Then Pearce took two wickets in an over and the side were on 45 for two. With the introduction of Andy Stone (two for 27), Ross Channer (two for 30) and Ian Woodward (three for 30) the run rate reduced and wickets fell at regular intervals. Leverstock Green were all out for 149 in the 41st over with Tom Callingham top scoring on 30.

In reply, Langleybury got off to a poor start as Danny Walker (seven), Pete Metcalfe (14), Tom Worrell (nought) and Alex Gunning (13) were quickly removed and Langleybury were in trouble at 68 for four in the 17th over. Fortunately, opener Ross Channer (64) was still there and with Ian Woodward (27) saw Langleybury home in the 33rd over with a partnership of 85.

The win keeps the pressure on Flitwick for second spot. With two games to go, Langleybury are 18 points from second place and promotion. It means Leverstock Green need to win one of their last two matches to be sure of retaining their status in the division.

In Division Five A, Hemel Hempstead Thirds kept their promotion hopes alive after edging to two-wicket victory over leaders Watford Town Seconds.

After winning the toss, Watford opted to bat first and scored 185 all out from 39 overs. Anjam Khan claimed three for 46 and there were also contributions from Martin Botha (two for 40) and Rahul Wickramsinghe (two for 48).

Hemel chased down the total and picked up an impressive victory after reaching the target for the loss of eight wickets. Aaron Wilson opened with 33 but it was a fine display from Khan as he scored an unbeaten 58 which steered the side to a precious victory.

In Division Six B, Abbots Langley Seconds remain in a battle to avoid the drop after a three-wicket defeat to Mill Hill Village.

Veteran Dave Carlisle showed he can still smash the ball around the park falling in the last over for a superb 96. He was well supported by Harry Khan (40) as Abbots made 231 for eight in the heat. In reply Mill Hill chased the total down but lost seven wickets in the process.

The result leaves Abbots two places above the bottom two with two weeks remaining.

In Division Eight B, Hemel Hempstead Fourths moved a step closer to securing their status after a 12-run win over Old Elizabethans Seconds.

It certainly did not look like going promisingly for the side when they were languishing on 69 for six. But a dramatic recovery from the side helped them post a total of 220 all out. Ryan Wilson top hit 43 along with 34 from Kyle Malan and a vital contribution of 59 from Chris Pearson.

Old Elizabethans produced a decent reply but ultimately fell short as Hemel dismissed them for 208 in 47.5 overs. Hassan Ashraf claimed three for 47 and there were two wickets apiece for Chris Pearson, Dawood Iqball and Jim Langley.

In Division Nine B, Leverstock Green Thirds performed admirably despite their 59-run defeat at leaders Datchworth Seconds.

Set 260 to win by the high-flyers, captain Gareth Tucker led the way with 62 as Green eventually made 200 all out near the end of their 50 overs.

Chris Saxby hit a middle-order 22 and there was 20 not out from Sash Ranamuni - making a welcome cameo appearance for Levy.

Earlier in the afternoon, Lewis Glasscoe starred with the ball for Green taking four for 45 from a maximum spell of ten overs.

Abbots Langley Thirds suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Flitwick Thirds.

The side were outclassed by a strong Flitwick outfit and could only post 118 all out with Nikhel Kotecha top scoring on 43.

This was never likely to be enough and Flitwick lost just three wickets in chasing down he total.

In Division Ten A, Chorleywood Thirds picked up a valuable seven-wicket win at home to Boxmoor to press their claims for a mid-table finish.

Boxmoor chose to bat first but were made to regret that decision as Wood bowled them all out for just 128 in 41.4 overs. Stand-in skipper Nigel Tyler and David Harrigan started the attack as they picked up two early wickets each before spinner Rich Lake continued his run of good form by taking his second successive four-wicket haul as he ran through the visitors lower order to finish with four for 20 from his five overs.

Jonathan Lyons then saw Wood safely home by the 32nd over with a stylish unbeaten 79, backed up by 22 from Mike Reeve as Wood comfortably secured the 30 points.

Langleybury Fourths earned a 40-run Regional Division B West victory over Rickmansworth Fourths.

Having lost the toss and been asked to bat, Langleybury got off to a steady rather than spectacular start against a varied Rickmansworth attack.

Veteran opener Ray McHugh was one ball away from carrying his bat for the second time this season, when he was caught for 67 off the penultimate ball of the innings. Bury finished on 184 for five from their 45 overs with extras contributing a 48 runs to this total.

In reply, Rickmansworth’s batsmen got off to a flyer, scoring 11 off the first over and another eight off the first four balls of the second over before the first wicket fell.

After this, wickets fell regularly and though they kept up with the required run rate, it was a case of whether they would have enough wickets to reach their target, having already had one player retire hurt due to a suspected broken finger. It proved not to be. The game was concluded when Bury’s occasional spinner Raj Mullapudi (two for eight) took two wickets in his second over to leave Ricky 144 all out.

In Regional Division C West, Watford Town Fifths recorded their tenth win of the season with an eight-wicket victory against Abbots Langley Fourths.

Abbots won the toss and decided to bat. It seemed a good decision as league leaders Town struggled to take wickets early on. But they stuck at their task and eventually started to take regular wickets. Abbots Langley finished on 139 all out with Aiden Hicks scoring 32.

It was a slow but steady start in reply by Town but once they picked up the pace they were able to pick off the required runs in just over 26 overs. Teenager Mayank Mishra led the way with 64 not out and opener Bilal Sajawal scored 43 as they eased to victory.