Home Counties Premier League Division Two East Harpenden 224-10 (57.4) Stevenage 227-3 (44.1) HARPENDEN were beaten by Stevenage after falling short with the bat on the Common on Saturday. Hosts Harpenden were inserted and rising stars Adam Winchester

Home Counties Premier League Division Two East

Harpenden 224-10 (57.4) Stevenage 227-3 (44.1)

HARPENDEN were beaten by Stevenage after falling short with the bat on the Common on Saturday.

Hosts Harpenden were inserted and rising stars Adam Winchester (51) and Chris Bennett-Baggs (33) put together a good partnership before number four Sulaman Qadir took over with Harps 94-3. The former Pakistan Under 19s international composed a beautiful innings but did not find the support he required from the other end. Highly rated David Keenleyside, aged 16, was unfortunately run out just as he was finding his feet in his first appearance in the Home Counties Premier League.

Ollie Tuck took over and moved on to 13 before lunch, with Qadir poised on 35 as Harpenden came off at 145-4 from 38 overs. Stevenage restricted the scoring and motored through the overs using four spin bowlers, and bowling with spin from the second over all the way through the innings.

After lunch, Qadir began to threaten to take Harpenden out of sight. In the 41st over, he lashed out for a huge six and reached his half century with two consecutive fours in the 43rd over.

The controversial dismissal of Tuck (18), who felt he was harshly given out of his ground after playing and missing, proved the decisive blow to Harpenden hopes.

Qadir continued his scoring spree as he moved on to 90 but after he was kept off the strike for the best part of five overs, frustration crept in, and Stevenage struck to take the prize wicket. Harpenden fell to 224 all out off 57.2 overs, 50 runs short of the target set by first team manager Younis Ahmed. Stevenage bowler Azhar Ali picked up 5-82 off 22 overs.

Bowler Mark Mason was confident of extracting some swing in the late afternoon conditions and he blasted out Stevenage opener Tanweer Sikandar with his second ball, scattering the stumps.

Mason carried the Harpenden hopes and reduced Stevenage to 30-2 when he clean bowled Herts county player Gary Brown.

Ashley Bayes was the next to go as Mason clean bowled his third victim leaving Stevenage 59-3 before Naseer Ahmed (95 not out) and Syed Ali Kazmi (86 not out) guided the visitors to victory with a sparkling partnership on 227-3 off 44.1 overs.