LOOKING for a victory which would have put some daylight between Radlett Cricket Club and the HCPL relegation zone, the Cobden Hill outfit were unable to kill off Finchampstead after getting off to a storming start.

Having won the toss, Radlett skipper Dave Houghton inserted the men from Hampshire and his decision was instantly vindicated as Ian Edwards removed Hall with his first delivery. The ball jagged back sharply to send Hall's off-stump tumbling towards the slip.

Edwards immediately followed this up with another inswinging delivery to remove Ward lbw. With Stuart Browne also claiming two early wickets, Finch were staring down the barrel of a sixth consecutive defeat.

However, some inspired batting from Spencer (71) and McInnes (93) coupled with some indifferent bowling and fielding enabled the visitors to wriggle off the hook.

Indeed the pace at which the runs came meant that Finchamstead could declare on 264 for the loss of only six wickets in just 62 overs.

Radlett's response started well enough with Graham Dill and Nick Fielden playing positive shots but some excellent Finch fielding saved certain boundaries.

After one such fine stop, a frustrated Fielden was caught in the slips while Dill, Jim Chaudry and Jon Freedman soon followed and it was left to Tony Pickett and Houghton to carry the game to the visitors.

This they did to great effect with Pickett's 64 runs full of aggressive pull shots and classic cover drives before a misjudged decision by the Herts star proved to be his downfall as he was stumped with 143 runs still required for victory.

Following the loss of Cousens and with the score on 126-6, Houghton and Kervin Marc patiently moved the innings along with Houghton racking up another half-century to finish on 64 not out and Marc picking up a vital 39 as Radlett conceded six points to their potential relegation rivals.

June 26, 2002 16:00