Premier Division

West Herts secured their second win on the bounce by 37 runs at local rivals Radlett to strengthen their grip on fifth place in the table.

The Park Avenue club found the going tough early on at Cobden Hill, losing their top four for just 46 runs as Radlett captain Kabir Toor (4-43), Anthony Hill (2-28) and Randeep Sanghera (1-46) shared the early breakthroughs.

Will Jones delivered another inspired performance to continue his excellent season with bat and ball as he made an indispensable 89 to anchor the West Herts innings.

He had useful support with Matthew Smith adding 28 and Craig Sanders chipping in with 22 but both were victims of the impressive Toor.

Late runs from Avinash Mane (20) took the Watford club to 234-7 from their allotted 60 overs as the game remained firmly in the balance at the interval.

Radlett lost both openers cheaply, however, as Christopher Arul fell for a duck at the hands of Daniel Woosley (1-31) and Fraser Crawford (16) soon joined him after Mane (1-20) had trapped him leg before wicket.

However, an excellent partnership of 91 between Joe Cooke (57) and all-rounder Toor had their victory charge firmly back on track.

Toor, who is the division’s leading run scoring with 770 for the season, continued his fine campaign with the bat to post 86 before another of the top tier’s leading lights induced the most improbable of collapses.

Sitting at 150-3, Radlett looked well set to score the additional 85 required for victory until Jones returned with a blistering spell to finish with figures of 6-35 – including the prized dismissal of the hosts’ skipper to bowl them out for 197.

Man-of-the-match Jones’ exploits leave him with 39 wickets for the season, the most in the Premier Division, and ensured that the Stags continue their recent upturn in fortunes at the expense of their out-of-form rivals.

Watford Observer: Will Jones West Herts

Will Jones receives his man of the match award from West Herts sponsor Andy Button

Championship

Hemel Hempstead Town registered a hard-fought three-wicket victory at home to Reed in a low-scoring affair at Heath Park to remain third in the Championship.

Reed batted first but did not account for the inspired performance of Steve Reader (4-11), who reduced the north Hertfordshire side to 23-4.

Skipper Tom Greaves (38) and Stuart Smith’s 31 helped kick-start their innings before a pair of wickets for Parth Mehta (2-24) and Lewis Hodgins (2-25).

Jack Tidey smashed a rapid 24 to lead his side to 144 but it looked short of a competitive total as Brett Penny’s run out of Toby Fynn for seven brought the Reed innings to a premature close.

Hemel’s reply started promisingly as openers Hemish Ilangaratne (26) and Johan Maritz (17) put on 43 inside five overs before the pair fell.

Greaves (4-70) struck three times in quick succession, including the wicket of Penny for a duck, as Town’s innings stuttered at 55-4.

That brought captain Jack Doodson to the crease and he led from the front with a match-winning 47 to lead his side to victory.

He had good support from Ed Langley (17) and Shidhu Kanade (13 not out) as Hemel reached their victory target inside 40 overs to move to within a point of second-placed Ampthill Town.

Division Two A

An excellent stand of 166 between Kashif Ali and Ahsan Malik propelled Watford Town to a crushing 140-run victory over Abbots Langley.

Abbots’ Matt Parkins made a bright start with the ball, accounting for two Watford players including Ali Nasar Mitru.

But the runs soon flowed as Muaaz Ali Ahmed (76) and Naseer Ahmed (38) helped take Town past 150.

That merely acted as the prelude, however, for the partnership of the match between Ali, who scored an unbeaten century with 105, and Malik (76), as the Woodside club posted an intimidating total.

The Abbots reply suffered the irreversible setbacks of losing Matt Longworth for three and both Nick Gurney and Will Graves for ducks.

Simon Hamilton scored 33, and Parkins a creditable 31, but the visitors were well short of Watford’s tally losing their final five wickets for just 28 runs to finish all out on 182.

Division Four B

West Herts Seconds remain in control at the summit after a fine victory against Baldock kept them on track for the title.

The Stags remain 34 points ahead of nearest challengers Leverstock Green Seconds following a comprehensive 74-run home success.

Their victory charge was spearheaded by the impressive Vinny Gorasia (117), who hit a century at the top of the order.

He was well supported by both Lachlan McLean (47) and fellow opener Kie Farrell (45) as West Herts posted 296-6 from their 50 overs.

In reply the hosts shared the wickets with two apiece for McLean (2-20), Rajan Sanghera (2-32) and Raoul Harding (2-39), while James Peacock top-scored for Baldock with 60.

However, economical bowling across the board from West Herts saw their north Herts visitors fall well short of their target, finishing on 222-8.

Division Five A

Watford Town Seconds’ hopes of breaching the top two suffered a setback as they slipped to defeat at fifth-placed Hertford Thirds.

Town remain in third despite the loss but face a battle heading into the final month of the season with as many as four clubs vying to usurp Holtwhites Trinibis Seconds into second.

Watford batted first and posted 295-9 thanks to a fine stand between Gunjan Hazarika and Suhas Sawant, who put on in excess of 100 for the second wicket.

Both players eventually made 85 but the innings subsided once the pair fell, with 32 wides helping the visitors to what appeared to be a commanding score.

Hertford faltered in reply to sit at 45-3, but a fourth-wicket partnership of 137 changed the complexion of the match.

Jeff Hurrell’s unbeaten 113 proved decisive as he led his side to a comfortable six-wicket victory.

Division Six B

Hemel Hempstead Town Thirds exacted revenge for a loss in June to Bushey Seconds by beating the same opponents by 85 runs in the reverse fixture at the Nursery Ground.

The win for second-placed Hemel moves them to within five points of leaders Abbots Langley Seconds who the Heath Park club will play in a likely title decider in four games’ time.

Hosts Hemel posted 264-7 from their 50 overs thanks to 84 from Bryan Davies, a well-constructed 79 from captain and opener Graham Clark that set the tone at the top of the order, and a useful 31 from Charlie Hoskins.

In reply, Town shared the wickets as Davies (3-32), Sunny Kullar (3-40) and Ed Grayson (2-33) chipped in to help remove Bushey for 179 and secure a comfortable win that firmly exorcised Hemel’s early-season demons.

Division Nine B

Hemel Hempstead Town Fourths remain in with an outside chance of catching the pacesetters after an extraordinary 10-wicket thrashing of fifth-placed Preston Thirds.

Town sit fourth, 39 points off third place, but did their late-season prospects no harm at all by bowling out their hapless opponents for just 23.

The Hitchin club withstood just 11 overs of intense bombardment as they proved no match for the exploits of Nic Benson (3-2), Martyn Bell (3-6) and Dil Khan (3-14), who mercilessly tore through the Preston card.

Chasing a measly target it took Hemel inside five overs to secure an emphatic victory with Mike Samuels racking up 23 of those runs.

With forthcoming matches against second-placed Old Minchendenians and third-placed Sandridge Seconds, the destiny of Hemel’s campaign will surely hinge on the outcome of them both.