NORTH Middlesex took over at the top of the Premier Division table on Saturday following a resounding six-wicket win against Stanmore in the Middlesex County Cricket League.

Electing to start in the field at their Park Road ground in Crouch End, North Midd had to be patient in their hunt for an opening wicket.

Then, two came along in quick succession as Joel Hughes and Harry Meehan both grabbed a scalp each to remove openers Steven Reingold (for 20 runs) and Rishi Pandya (18), leaving Stanmore on 38-2.

Another flurry of wickets saw the visitors go from 62-3 to 87-6. Matthew Moran quickly found his length as he picked up 2-24. Alex MacQueen then stole centre-stage, taking four wickets at the expense of just 45 runs – including that of Ayush Sahota, who top-scored for Stanmore with 36.

With Jeremy Warner also finishing with figures of 2-14, Stanmore were bowled out for 162 after 53 overs.

North Midd suffered a slight set-back in their response when MacQueen came and went for 21 after being bowled by Thomas Brock. But a formidable partnership between Divyanshu Bhartiya (32 runs) and Jacob Miltz (67) left the home side on the brink of a significant victory against a side who had started the day top of the table.

With Evan Flowers and Will Vanderspar chipping in with 21 and 20 runs respectively, North Midd reached their winning total of 165-4 inside 28 overs.

Elsewhere, Hampstead slipped to second from bottom after suffering a rare home defeat against Shepherd’s Bush despite the efforts of Steve McGiffin, who claimed a six-wicket haul.

Fin Trenouth top-scored for the visitors at Lymington Road in West Hampstead with a well-crafted 90 off 121 balls. With skipper Ali Easton also batting well for 53, Shepherd’s Bush reached 238 before being dismissed in the 61st over.

Bowler McGiffin couldn’t have done much more for the home side after taking 6-83 in an energy-sapping 21-over spell that included five maidens.

Squeezed by a strong Shepherd’s Bush bowling line-up, Hampstead found runs hard to come by. Openers Nick Taylor and Ciaran Johnson managed just two and four runs respectively as the home side soon found themselves struggling on 25-2.

Callum Jackson at least reached double figures with 26 runs, while Mubasher Hassan top-scored with 36 as Hampstead slowly started to edge towards their target.

But Henry Blofield (4-47) and Easton (2-30) made sure they didn’t get there as Hampstead were bowled out in the 45th over for 183 – handing Shepherd’s Bush a 55-run victory.