Division Four Ampthill Town II 94-10 (49.4) Redbourn 95-3 (27.3) REDBOURN won their eighth match of the season with an emphatic success against Ampthill Town IIs on Saturday. Skipper Dan Roe won the toss and made the easy decision to ask the opposition

Division Four

Ampthill Town II 94-10 (49.4) Redbourn 95-3 (27.3)

REDBOURN won their eighth match of the season with an emphatic success against Ampthill Town IIs on Saturday.

Skipper Dan Roe won the toss and made the easy decision to ask the opposition to bat first on a wicket that was still affected from the rain during the week.

Tight bowling from Jon Fleming and Faiz Ahmed gave Ampthill's opening batsmen a testing time on a wicket that was proving difficult to bat on.

Ahmed (2 for 24) and Fleming reduced the visitors to 25 for 3 before Ben Roe picked up wicket in a cameo four over spell and Darren Bassill found his line and some swing.

There was no respite for the Ampthill batsmen, as Bassill ripped through the middle and late order taking 5 for 21 off 12.3 overs. Fleming (2 for 28) returned to take his second wicket as Ampthill were bowled out for just 94 in 49.3 overs.

In reply, Redbourn found the going just as tough as Ampthill's young bowlers gave them a testing time. A few missed chances let the openers off the hook, and Chris Yorath was to make them pay as he went onto score 32, in an opening stand of 48. Simon Osman (16) and Geoff Tookey also fell, but Ben Roe batted with patience and his unbeaten 24 saw the home side reach their target for the loss of three wickets.

With other results going their way, Redbourn now lead Division Four by 21 points. Skipper Dan Roe said: "I saw a marked improvement in our fielding today, and the bowlers did exactly what they needed to do on that wicket. At the start, I felt that we should be able to restrict them to 150, so bowling them out for 94 was a nice bonus.

"Our batsmen didn't find the conditions any easier and their young bowlers really showed some promise. However, we were able to knock off the runs comfortably enough. We have three very tough matches coming up, and we'll need to keep the momentum going."

Redbourn II lost ground on the promotion places in Division Seven after their match at London Colney was cancelled due to the weather.

Redbourn III got back to winning ways at Rickmansworth to continue their charge at the top of Division 13.

Ricky's batsman played shots from the start but the bowlers pinned them back with regular wickets. The ever reliable Jimmy Lee took four wickets for 43 runs with his nagging variation, while Dan Darvell was the pick of the bowlers taking 2 for 25 with his left arm spin.

Once again, the real stars were the fielders who kept the pressure on and took their chances, leaving Ricky all out for 125.

Following the loss of Jack Dyer and Andy Green (18), Matt Cramer, smarting from being dropped from the seconds smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 56 off 29 balls.

With skipper John Pritchard contributing an unbeaten 23, Redbourn cruised home to win by eight wickets on 128-2.

The win took Redbourn 34 points clear at the top of the table and a content Pritchard commented: "We appear to have the force with us at the moment. It was nice to get back to winning ways after last week's disappointing draw.