Super show by skipper Weekes

Middlesex County
Cricket League

Premier Division
Eastcote 193 all out
Hampstead 196

CAPTAIN Paul Weekes led Hampstead to victory on Saturday with a commanding all-round performance against Eastcote at Lymington Road in West Hampstead.
Having lost the toss, Weekes took his team into bowl first as Hampstead set about restricting the visitors’ lead early on. Eastcote started brightly and it took a brilliant piece of fielding from Sumeet Sharma to break the deadlock courtesy of a run-out.
Skipper Weekes brought himself into the attack and went on to claim a further four wickets at the expense of 60 runs, while Mohammed Ahktar was equally as dangerous as he took 5-70.
In the end, the home side were left chasing a winning score of 194 as Eastcote ended their innings on 193 all out after 63 overs.
Despite a series of early scares, Brandon Buckley and Imraan Mohammed knocked up respective scores of 43 and 22 runs to edge Hampstead to victory. But it was Weekes who guided his team home to a five-wicket win with an unbeaten 52, supported by Ahktar who added a quick fire 33.

DIVISION TWO
NORTH LONDON 172 AO
SOUTH LONDON 205 AO

A RESILIENT batting display from Paul Sylvester saw South Hampstead end North London’s unbeaten run on Saturday with a thrilling 33 run victory in a testing Division Two encounter.
Norths looked to be in a commanding position as the visitors struggled to 39-4 after 14 overs.
But a well-crafted score of 72 from Sylvester brought South Hampstead right back into the game as they went on to score 205 from 45.4 overs before the fall of their final wicket.
The vital figure of Chris Gane got North London’s reply off to a flying start as he notched up a score of 57 to leave the home side on 82-2 after 15 overs.
But when he was dismissed for lbw, South Hampstead drove home their advantage to restrict Norths’ reply to 172 all out off 44.4 overs.

DIVISION THREE
HORNSEY 159 AO
HIGHGATE 160 -5

HIGHGATE moved up into third in the table on Saturday with a convincing win over neighbours Hornsey.
Having won the toss, Hornsey were left regretting their decision to put Highgate in to field when star bowler Syed Karrar tore through their batting order as he took six wickets for 67 runs.
Captain Dave Benton was also in devastating form as he claimed 3-37, while Tony Duckett chipped in to take another wicket to leave Hornsey protected a slender lead of 159 following a difficult 47.1 overs spell.
In reply, Highgate needed a solid start and got just that with Jake Sharland and Chris Wilson combining to take the score past the 50 mark for the second successive week with a series of well-timed shots.
Wilson eventually fell with a score of 41, while Sharland recorded his second half-century against Hornsey this season before being dismissed for lbw with a score of 54.
With the damage already done, Highgate went on to hit a score of 160-5 off 38 overs to seal a convincing five-wicket victory.

FRIENDLY
WASHINGTON 233 - 9
ARCHWAY GRACES 156

WASHINGTON extended their winning streak to eight consecutive games on Sunday with a thrilling victory over Archway Graces at Potters Bar.
Boosted by the return of former captain Justin Gurney, the Wash chalked up a formidable 233-9 off their 40 overs, with the ever-impressive Paul Irons leading the charge with a patient score of 75.
Skipper Shawn Hill also put in a strong performance as he added 40 valuable runs late on as Washington hit 47 from the last five overs.
With Archway chasing a tough target, captain Hill, Chris Davis and Grattan McCoach all took two wickets apiece, while Tony Burt went one better to claim three wickets.
In the end, Archway finished the afternoon 77 runs off the pace.