Harpenden picked up a third successive victory in the Hertfordshire Cricket League Premier Division on Saturday with a 22-run win over Totteridge Millhillians.
After winning the toss, Harpenden elected to bat first, but found themselves all out with a score of 152 from 39.5 overs.
Opening batsman and captain Nick Lamb top-scored with 26, including five fours, while Andrew Neal (25), Tom Beasley (23) and Dan Bradley (22) all made important contributions of their own.
Some efficient bowling limited the Millhillians reply, with two scores of 17 from Benjamin Lederman and Flynn McGaw and three 12s from Simon Webster, Shaun O’Brien and Iresh Saxena the closest anyone came to top scorer Matt Fletcher’s 29 not out.
Beasley took four wickets, while Jack Doyle claimed three for himself as they worked their way through the Totteridge batsmen.
Beasley’s final wicket saw Saxena dismissed leg before wicket and Totteridge were all out for 130.
Harpenden Seconds also had a successful Saturday, beating Sawbridgeworth in their First Division game by 17 runs.
After Sawbridgeworth had won the toss and elected to field first, an impressive innings from Harpenden, in particular from Nick Reeves and Barney Francis, who scored 87 and 83 respectively, saw them finish their 50 overs with a score of 320-3.
Sawbridgeworth pushed Harpenden close and made 303 runs but were finally all out after 49.2 overs.
Elsewhere, London Colney stayed top of Division Five A thanks to a convincing six-wicket win over Radlett Thirds.
After winning the toss, Colney opted to field first and some efficient bowling from Andy Coley saw him take four wickets for 51 runs, while Uzman Zaman pitched in with two for 19.
Liam Frame rounded off the innings by taking four for 21 and Radlett were bowled out for 127 in 25 overs.
Colney then got off to a good start with the bat, with opening pair Mitch Bradley and Matt Bristow hitting 13 and 25 respectively, but the loss of three quick wickets caused concern.
However, Scott Hadley stepped up to play a skipper’s innings and guided his team home with an unbeaten 43.
The win means Colney finished the first round of fixtures having only lost once.
Meanwhile, in Division Nine B Colney’s second XI were beaten by four wickets by Preston Thirds and slipped out of the promotion spots.
Batting first, Colney seemed to get off to a decent enough start, with opening pair Dileep Patel and John Gibbons posting a respectable 59 between them.
However, two blanks from Robert Dodkin and Paul Hadley did not help and Colney were all out for 134 from 44.1 overs.
John Gibbons’ gave Colney a good opportunity to salvage the game, as he took six wickets for 31, but Preston reached their target with overs to spare.
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