THE Ashes wasn’t the only place to see first-rate cricket this week, with the action in the Middlesex County League really starting to heat up.

North Middlesex were strong in the field on Saturday as they restricted visitors Brondesbury to 181 runs at their Park Road ground in Crouch End.

Joel Hughes got North Midd off to the perfect start as he removed opener Lalit Bose early doors to leave Brondesbury on 5-1. Alex MacQueen (2-54) also proved pivotal in the opening exchanges as he collected the wickets of Karan Parmar and John Richardson for 35 and 31 runs respectively.

Will Vanderspar then stole centre-stage as he tore through the middle order on his way to claiming four wickets at the expense of just 39 runs.

Harry Meehan (2-21) and Jeremy Warner (1-13) also both bowled well as Brondesbury were dismissed for 181 in the 59th over.

North Midd had to survive some early scares of their own, with openers MacQueen (13 runs) and Divyanshu Bhartiya (10) both falling victim to Wes Morrick, who finished the afternoon boasting figures of 3-51.

Evan Flowers steadied the ship, however, as he whacked 68 runs off 61 balls in a commanding knock that included nine fours and three sixes. Jacob Miltz (36) and Vanderspar (30 not out) also performed well with the bat in hand as North Midd reached their winning target of 183-4 in the 39th over to seal a six-wicket win.

The victory leaves North Midd fifth in the 10-team table on 36 points, 12 points behind new leaders Stanmore.

Elsewhere, Hampstead’s woes on the road continued as they lost by 156 runs away to Teddington. The home support witnessed some brilliant batting displays from their side at Bushy Park, with Isaiah Snell setting the standards with a well-crafted 73, Joe Ludlow hitting 46 and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala scoring 62.

But it was Chris Wakefield who took the plaudits as he smashed the ball all around the ground on his way to recording an unbeatable 119 off 131 balls in a mighty knock that included no fewer than 16 fours.

It saw Teddington post a massive score of 314-3 off 56 overs before declaring – a total that Hampstead just couldn’t chase down.

Having been Hampstead’s best bowler with 3-74, Will Roberts then showed his ability with the bat as he top-scored for the visitors with a rapid 63 not out off just 32 balls.
Mubasher Hassan’s side saw their reply cut short by Teddington’s tenacious bowlers – led by Callum Donnelly who took 3-33 – as they were dismissed in the 36th over for 158. The defeat leaves Hampstead eighth in the table ahead of another away day this Saturday against ninth-placed Crouch End.