Radlett will host Welwyn Garden City tomorrow in their Herts Premier Division play-off semi-final after finishing top of the table last weekend.

The leaders closed the league campaign with an eighth consecutive win after beating Bishop’s Stortford by seven wickets.

Hosts Radlett chose to field first after winning the toss. Stortford struggled badly with the bat and had no answer as they were skittled out for just 91 in 29.5 overs.

Randeep Sanghera was in excellent form with the ball as he claimed five for 27 from eight overs. Stuart Browne took two for 19 and Kabir Toor chipped in with two for 20.

In reply, Radlett had few problems chasing down the lowly target. Rob Clements finished unbeaten on 25 and Joe Cooke scored 18 not out for the victors.

It was a good way for the Cobden Hill side to finish the regular season and they will be favourites when they take on fourth-placed Welwyn this weekend. But Radlett will be wary that their opponents did manage to hand them their first defeat of the season back in May.

Relegated Hemel Hempstead Town ended their season with a 97-run defeat to Harpenden.

Their opponents were put into bat first and were in trouble on 12 for two after four overs. But Harpenden recovered to post a competitive total of 202 for seven. Brett Penny snared three for 43 and Steve Reader also made a significant contribution, taking three for 26.

Hemel’s innings got off to a poor start and ultimately the side fell short as they were dismissed for 105. Sam Jenkinson hit 32 and Parth Mehta was unbeaten on 25 but the rest of the side failed to make an impact with the bat as the side finished bottom of the table.

Chorleywood won their third game in a row and in the process managed to secure their Championship status with a dramatic two-wicket win at West Herts – a result that condemned their hosts to relegation.

After Chorleywood won the toss they chose to bowl first in the overcast conditions – a decision that was vindicated as their bowlers kept up their high standards of recent weeks to dismiss the Stags for just 158 in exactly 50 overs.

Aussie Ryan Evans was once again the star performer for Wood as he dismissed the hosts’ top four batsmen early on to give his side a great start to such a vital game. Evans eventually finished by only conceding 14 runs from his 10-over spell as Wood pressed hard to put themselves in command.

There were also two wickets apiece for Jamie Smithson (two for 19) and Andrew Dunning (two for 20) as only four West Herts batsmen were able to reach double figures, with Craig Sanders top scoring on 67, before they were finally bowled out from the final ball of their 50 overs.

Wood opener Dave Bushnell started his side’s reply in belligerent style as he bludgeoned a rapid half-century before being dismissed for 50. The visitors then started to wobble after looking in control of the game for so long as they started to lose wickets at regular intervals and gave West Herts hope of pulling off a great escape.

In the end, it was left to wicketkeeper Freddie Dare, coming in at number nine, to hit the winning runs for his side in the 47th over and to spark scenes of celebration for Wood as they secured their place in the Championship for another season.

Duncan Hodges took three for 27 and there were two wickets apiece for Ian Gurney and Vinesh Gorasia but West Herts could not avoid a losing end to a disappointing season.

Wood skipper Tom Smithson said: “This really has been a great escape for us – for much of the season we’ve looked like favourites for relegation, but to win these last three games under that sort of pressure shows the character of our team and that we never know when we’re beaten. Obviously Ryan Evans has been the star over the last few weeks, both with bat and ball, but it has been a team effort and I’m proud of everybody who’s been part of it.”

In Division One, Kings Langley missed out on promotion by just two points despite beating Ampthill Town by six wickets in their final game.

Ampthill won the toss and opted to bat first but the decision backfired as they were dismissed for just 83. Rob Clark was in impressive form with three for 14 while there were two wickets apiece for Dan Donaldson, Christian James and Harry Sambrook.

Kings made short work of the run chase as they won with six wickets in hand after 20.3 overs. Ricky Mohammed opened with 27 and Sambrook was unbeaten on 29.

But Dunstable’s one-wicket win over Knebworth Park meant they pipped Langley to second place by the narrowest of margins.