RADLETT CRICKET CLUB picked up their first victory of the season in emphatic fashion after a stunning ten-wicket victory over neighbours Beaconsfield.

Matt Evans' men have been inconsistent in recent weeks, preventing the Cobden Hill outfit from picking up a couple of crucial victories, but, on Saturday the whole team, for once, played in unison and the result was evident.

On a pitch that had yielded over 450 runs the previous week, both teams would have wanted to bat first and register a large total to place pressure on the side batting second. The Beaconsfield captain Storie won the toss and put his side in, but from here on in, Radlett reigned supreme as Kervin Marc dismissed Storie who had been looking for his third consecutive century for a golden duck as the ball cut back and kept relatively low before striking the pads giving the umpire little choice but to raise the finger.

Drepaul followed shortly, also a victim of Marc's pace and when Perks, O' Reilly and Aitkins departed in the space of two runs, Beaconsfield were reeling at 24-5.

Having been in a similar position the previous week only to subsequently let their opponents of the hook, Radlett obviously had learned their lessons as Stuart Browne and Marc continued to wreak havoc in the Beaconsfield innings.

Browne was fully supported by his fielders as his eventual haul of five wickets for a typically miserly 36 runs was in part due to three brilliant catches, two by Oz Edwards at silly point and one in the slip cordon by Nick Fielden as Beaconsfield reached 95-9 by lunch.

The break was only a temporary reprieve though as Mahood, the Beaconsfield number 11, lasted only one ball before being spectacularly bowled by a picture-book Marc delivery. The West Indian fast bowler has been in inspired form of late and his figures of 4-30 were testament to his contribution on Saturday.

Having failed to successfully chase a similar target earlier in the season against Basingstoke Radlett could have been forgiven for being a little cautious in reply but Fielden and Matt Evans took charge of the innings from the outset.

Although both played tentatively, runs continued to flow and as the target drew nearer, the opening pair began to hit the boundary with more regularity and Fielden claimed the shot of the day with a mammoth hooked six over deep square leg off the hapless Sarfraz who was having a nightmare day.

In the end, the first wicket pair needed only 19 overs to score the required runs with Fielden smashing the last ball for four to reach his half-century and Evans finishing on 41 for an early finish that even the most optimistic Radllett supporter could not have envisaged possible.

July 3, 2002 16:30