REDBOURN'S climb up the table came creaking to a halt as they slipped up at Northwood Town.

A recent run of victories and winning draws had catapulted Chris Bellis' men firmly into the Division Four promotion picture but on Saturday they came unstuck in a 30-run defeat.

The damp and dark conditions meant whoever was going to win the toss was going to field first and it was with some relief that Redbourn asked their guests to have a go at the crease.

The conditions, coupled with tight opening spells from John Fleming and the in-form Peter Cridland, saw Northwood get off to a slow start. But with the bowling attack lacking any real penetration early on, the opening pair were still able to compile a half-century stand before the first wicket finally fell.

Things got even worse for Redbourn as the next two batsmen reached 178 before the second wicket arrived, although with Cridland finally starting to enjoy the success his earlier spell had deserved, the complexion of the innings changed dramatically.

Cridland led the fightback to end with figures of 4-54 as the home batsmen somehow capitulated from 178-2 to 198-7 at tea.

A positive start to the Redbourn response was needed and with a number of successful chases under their belts so far this season, their openers started off in the the right frame of mind.

They were led by another big score from the prolific Duncan Ferguson, who attacked the bowling with some scintillating strokes and was soon on his way to adding another half-century to an impressive sequence of scores this summer.

Ferguson eventually played one shot too many and was out for a very good 71, but had dominated the scoring and suddenly left Redbourn needing to start all over again.

They were not helped by a disastrous mini-collapse in the middle of the order as four wickets fell with the score stuck on 103.

That really triggered the beginning of the end for Redbourn's hopes and with the Northwood bowlers buoyed by their sudden success, it was they who went on to finish the game strongly.

Batsmen came and went without taking the score any closer to the target and only wicket-keeper Graeme Smyth managed to delay the inevitable.

His gutsy 35 was his biggest score since his summer switch from Premier Divison outfit North Mymms, but again no-one was able to play the supporting role and in the end, Redbourn ran out of wickets with 30 runs still required.

The defeat, plus last week's wash-out has seen the village side drop a place in the table to seventh spot.