Cricket season back in full swing

Middlesex County Cricket League

Premier Division
Richmond 183 all out
Hampstead 110 all out

HAMPSTEAD suffered their third defeat of the season on Saturday when they were undone in their testing away encounter against Richmond.
Hampstead won the toss and opted to start in the field, a decision that favoured Richmond as batsman Ollie Hutton and Nick Compton went on to hit respective scores of 60 and 54 runs.
Paul Weeks put in a magnificent performance for Hampstead as he claimed seven wickets at the expense of 58 runs. But Richmond still managed to amass a testing target as they finished their innings on 183 all out after 63 overs.
A well crafted half-century from Mohammed Aktar proved the highlight of Hampstead’s 39 over reply. In the end the visitors ended 74 runs short of victory, finishing the afternoon on 110 all out.

Division Two
South Hampstead 237 All Out
Uxbridge 129-5

SOUTH Hampstead picked up a frustrating four-points on Saturday when their away match against Uxbridge ended in a winning-draw.
Batting first, the visitors looked well on their way to victory when they scored 237 off an attacking 48.4 over spell. But a resilient Uxbridge side held out for a point as they ended play on 129-5 off 51 overs.

Division Three
Highgate 228-5 dec
Bessborough 179-9

HIGHGATE came within a single wicket of clinching victory on Saturday when they returned to action against Bessborough.
The visitors were put into bat first and got off to a slow start as openers Jake Sharland and Chris Wilson combined to give Highgate a lead of 51 without loss after 16 overs.
Debutant Wilson played out a solid 18 runs before losing his wicket, while Sharland went on the offensive with three boundaries in quick succession before he went for 41.
But it was the partnership between Justin Lampard and captain Dave Benton that ignited the game for Highgate. The pair mixed solid defence with selective attacking shots as they formed a formidable partnership, with Lampard hitting a well crafted 89 runs and Benton securing an unbeaten half-century.
In the end, Highgate declared on 228-5 from a confident 51 over spell.
Highgate’s Syed Karrar went on to finish the match with five-wickets to his name at the expense of just 69 runs as the visitors closed in on the win. Benton was also in dangerous form as he took 3-49.
Despite Highgate’s efforts, Bessborough held on to their final wicket to end their innings on 179-9 from 51 overs, leaving the away side with four points for the winning-draw.

Friendly
Pacific 190
Washington 192-1

WASHINGTON sealed a nine-wicket victory against old rivals Pacific on Sunday.
Pacific were left regretting their decision to bat first when opening bowlers Dominic Butcher and skipper Shawn Hill tore through their batting order. Butcher went on to take 3-30, while Hill finished with 2-29.
Washington then introduced their secret bowling weapon, as Taran Persaud came into play to claim another four wickets for just 34 runs.
Pacific dug deep to add another 90 runs from the last 10 overs before David Gluckman wrapped up the innings to leave them protecting a slender lead of 190.
An unbroken partnership of 153 between Paul ‘The Mighty One’ Irons and Tony Harris led Washington to victory as they finished on 192-1.