Sandridge bounced back from last week’s loss to Southgate Compton in the rain with a convincing win against high-flying Broxbourne 2nds.

The unbeaten visitors won the toss, decided to field in muggy conditions and were immediately rewarded with the wickets of Kevin Murphy and Paul Rothery with just 14 on the board.

Skipper Lennie Peters (56), as so often has been the case, turned the tide with a quick-fire 76-run partnership with opener Adam Temple (21).

Despite a wobble when this pair and Andy Norman fell to leave the Ridge teetering at 106-5, a vigilant Ian Merryfield and swashbuckling Duncan Ferguson moved the score on to 150-6 and some late order hitting, notably from debutant keeper Tim Lacy, moved the hosts to a commanding 195-8, their highest score of the season.

In response, the visitors got off to a flying start and it wasn’t until the introduction of John Murphy that Sandridge found any success as Broxbourne’s opener Joel Bailey (20) fell to a ball that nipped back and plucked out the off stump.

Lawrence White got his name in the scorebook courtesy of a superb reaction slip catch to his left by Rothery and, with Murphy bowling Aussie Tim Rogers (8) and removing number five George Davies thank to another sharp catch from Merryfield in the gully, Broxbourne slipped from 39-0 to 69-5.

Broxbourne dug in and rebuilt the innings with a useful partnership between Andrew Wilkins (46) and Charlie Willis (22), leaving the hosts ruing three spilt chances as the visitors edged towards their target.

In the end, it took a neat catch at the wicket by Lacy off Peters to make the breakthrough and dismiss the stubborn opener, Willis.

Murphy deservedly picked up the top scorer from Ferguson’s well judged catch on the mid-wicket boundary to finish with 4-20, and White turned up the pace to mop up the tail cheaply to also claim a four-for.

From 122-5, Broxbourne succumbed to the all round pressure from the host’s attack and crumbled to 156 all out to give the Ridge their third 30-point haul of the season and move them to fifth in the table, just seven points off the top.