Akhtar the hero bowls Hampstead into third

Middlesex County Cricket League
Premier Division

Richmond 228 All Out
Hampstead 229-3

HAMPSTEAD ended the season in third place on Saturday after Mohammed Akhtar led them to a seven-wicket home victory against Richmond.
Richmond made a steady start after Hampstead won the toss and elected to bowl first.
But hero of the hour Akhtar put in a brilliant bowling display as he claimed five-wickets at the expense of just 51 runs to restrict Richmond’s advantage to 228 all out.
With Hampstead chasing a testing target in front of their home supporters at Lymington Road, West Hampstead, Akhtar continued to steal the headlines, hitting an unbeaten 89 to help them to a winning total of 229-3.

Division Two
South Hampstead 270-3
Uxbridge 243 All Out

A MAMMOTH unbeaten score of 154 not out from James Nolan saw South Hampstead round off their season with a convincing win over relegated Uxbridge.
South Hampstead put in a devastating 50 over batting spell to take a lead of 270-3 before declaring thanks to Nolan’s match-winning performance and a well-crafted score of 67 from Avish Shah.
Uxbridge made a spirited reply, but couldn’t match South Hampstead’s titanic total as they ended play 28 runs short of victory on 243 all out.

Division Three
Bessborough 206-7
Highgate 203 All Out

HIGHGATE’S season came to a disappointing end on Saturday after a narrow home defeat saw them end their campaign in fourth place.
Dave Benton lost the toss, and Highgate were put into bat in damp conditions. Jake Sharland and Justin Lampard both fell early, before Tim Vanderpump followed to leave the hosts struggling on 39-3.
Sam Joseph made the most of an opportunity at the top of the order, and built a solid partnership with Chris Fletcher to move Highgate out of trouble. Fletcher went on to hit an unbeaten 75, while Joseph added an impressive half-century as Highgate were bowled all out with a score of 203 from 46.5 overs.
In reply, Bessborough’s chase got off to a poor start as Tony Duckett struck early for Highgate. But big hits from Dan Hawes (54) and an unbeaten 51 from Ian Barrie led Bessborough to victory as they finished on 206-7 off just under 48 overs.