Freddie Hampson and Brodie McGhie inspire Chipperfield

Hertfordshire League, Division 2B

As the Hertfordshire League moved into the 2nd half of the season, there was a second successive setback for Watford Town 1sts, who went down to Old Finchleians by six wickets, at Woodside.

Town were pleased to win the toss and bat first, under a baking sun, and in spite of the loss of an early wicket they were in a strong position at 219-3, thanks mainly to Gaurav Shinagare (73) and Suhaib Ahmad (65) but the innings then fell apart. Skipper Riahn Pieris was unfortunately run out when going well, having scored 37, as five wickets went down for the addition of only eight runs. When the last two wickets fell with the score on 245, Town felt they were well short of the defendable total they had been aiming for.

Amol Peshwe (right) who scored 130 not out for Watford Town 4ths, with Cijine John, who scored 70 not out in a partnership of 180 (Image: Richard Bayliss)

That pessimism proved well-founded as Old Finchleians made a blistering start to their innings. The openers put on 50 inside seven overs, and although the spin bowlers achieved some control, the visitors were relatively untroubled as they approached their target. Four of their first five batsmen scored half centuries and victory came with nearly four overs to spare.

Division 4A

Watford Town 2nds remain top of the table after a convincing win at local rivals Kings Langley. It didn't start well for Town, who batted first and lost three wickets before the score reached 40. Abubaker Shahid steadied the ship, however, scoring a careful 69 off 121 balls, and with the support of the middle order, took the total past 200, only for the last four wickets to fall for the addition of 13 runs. Ed Thackeray, with four wickets, and Asanga Gajasinghe, who took three wickets, were Kings Langly's most successful bowlers.

Facing a total of 214, the hosts passed 50 for the loss of only one wicket, but three more went down before they passed 100 as Town's bowlers again proved to be the team's main strength. There was a positive response from Ellis Lee-Knights, who top scored with 34, and Amit Chhalani (29) who shared a stand of 53, only for the last four wickets to go down for the addition of just two runs, leaving Town as winners by 46 runs. Waj Rajpurkar, who took 4 for 42, made the most decisive contribution with the ball.

Town are top of the table by three points over Mill Hill Village 1sts, and 57 points ahead of Shenley Village 2nds.

Division 7 West

Watford Town 3rds fielded a young team against Ickleford 2nds and in spite of the soaring temperatures and suffering defeat by just 16 tuns, they left skipper Rajiv Shrungarpure proud of their performance. "Against the team 3rd in the table, our youngsters were running, grinding for every run and fighting like warriors. We almost grabbed a win but unfortunately couldn't finish in style," he said.

Facing Ickleford's total of 238 for 7, in their 40 obvers, Town's reply was largely built around Abdul Farooqui's innings of 71, plus strong contributions of 39 from the skipper and 30 from Joy Mukherjee but in the end, but they fell just short of their target.

Town remain in 6th place, but only 31 points separate the top six.

Division 12 West

Watford Town 4th team still occupy the top spot in the table after a magnificent victory over Ley Hill 2nds, in a high scoring match at Woodside.

Batting first, Ley Hill's first four batsmen all passed the 30 mark, in spite of Town using seven different bowlers to try and stem the tide. With the added help of 46 extras, the innings closed on 236 for 3 after 40 overs.

Town were undaunted, however, especially skipper Amol Peshwe, who opened the batting and was still there at the end, with 130 to his name. He found a willing partner in Cijine John, who was also unbeaten, on 70, when they secured the victory in the 36th over. Peshwe's score put him on the honours board for the five highest scores across the whole of the Hertfordshire League, promoted on the League's social media pages (pictured).

Division 14 West

Watford Town 5ths faced their most important match of the season, so far, against their main rivals for the title, Potten End.

Town gave Potten the first use of the Woodside pitch and may have been regretting that decision, when the score reached 82 for 2, but four wickets then went down with only 11 runs added to the total, and Town seized the initiative. They chipped away at the tail, to leave themselves a victory target of just 131. Rizwan Bhatti, with 4 for 24, and Faisal Abid, 3 for 25, were Town's most successful bowlers.

The Watford reply was positive and with Abu Choudhury leading the way, scoring 48, the players were able to celebrate the win with 14 overs to spare. They earned 30 points for the victory, and by restricting Potten to just eight bonus points, leapfrogged their opponents to go top of the table.

With a surfeit of players on Saturday (July 11) Watford Town were able to field a sixth team, and arranged a friendly against Boxmoor 4ths, which turned out to be the club's most remarkable match of the day. Town were in deep trouble when they were bowled out for 65, but responded by bowling out Boxmoor for 63, to win by just two runs. Manif Khan, with 4-13, took the bowling honours.

Chess Valley Sunday League

Watford Town 1sts slipped off the top of the division one table, going down by 60 runs, to Brentham, who batted first, and reached 280-6 in their 45 overs. Watford's reply was going well, at 162-1, (Joy Mukherjee 76, Thrishul Muruganandh 74) until they collapsed to 220 all out. The weekend's most remarkable match took place at Chipperfield, where Watford Town 2nd team took on Chipperfield 1sts and were on the receiving end when the hosts smashed 380 for 5 in their 45 overs. That was mainly down to Freddy Hampson, (129 not out), and Brodie McGhie (157 from 86 balls). Town's opener, Naveed Eisakhil, decided that a counter-attack was required, scattering spectators with his 22 sixes and 13 fours, in his score of 222, off just 89 balls. After his dismissal, Abdul Farooqui picked up the baton, scoring 74 not out, to see his side home with 13 overs to spare!