Division Four Hoddesdon II 217-8 (53) Redbourn 218-8 (46.1) REDBOURN recorded a dramatic victory away at Hoddesdon on Saturday to boost their title hopes in Division Four. Fielding first, Redbourn took early wickets thanks to Ahmed Jamal (2-20)

Division Four

Hoddesdon II 217-8 (53) Redbourn 218-8 (46.1)

REDBOURN recorded a dramatic victory away at Hoddesdon on Saturday to boost their title hopes in Division Four.

Fielding first, Redbourn took early wickets thanks to Ahmed Jamal (2-20) and Jon Fleming (3-72), followed by a Darren Bassill (3-57) magic ball to remove the dangerous looking opener, leaving the hosts struggling on 85-5.

At this point Redbourn felt they were well on top but some uncharacteristic wayward bowling allowed Hoddesdon back into the game as they put on 114 for the sixth wicket, before finishing on 217-8.

Chris Yorath got the run chase going by hitting his first two balls for six, before being caught behind for 17. Redbourn then lost wickets at regular intervals and, at 105-7, were just looking to gain as many bonus points as possible.

Ahmed Jamal had other ideas, hitting 11 fours and a six in a 32 ball 55 to give Redbourn the chance of an unlikely victory. Once he was out, Gary Sandford took over and, with the support of Faisal Khan, scored the remaining 50 runs with five balls to spare. Sandford finished on 46 not out.

With other results going their way, Redbourn are now 47 points clear at the top of the table with just three games to go. Captain Dan Roe said: "We weren't at our best today with bat or ball but Jamal and Gary batted brilliantly to turn the game around. We've got a couple of big games coming up against fellow title contenders so we will have to up our game considerably if we want to stay at the top."

In Division Seven, Redbourn II kept their promotion hopes alive with victory against Hatfield II on Saturday.

Skipper Mauder won the toss and inserted the visitors. Tight bowling from Peter Cridland (2 for 23) and success for the spinners Lloyd and Darvell (2 for14) and David Wright (2 for 15) meant that Redbourn restricted Hatfield to 145-8.

In reply, Mauder and Speirs were both out in the early 30s, before contributions from Matt Cramer (19) and, most significantly, from Jamie Doherty. Redbourn reached 146-7 to win in 39 overs thanks to an assured 32 not out from Doherty. A good all-round team effort keeps the side in with an outside chance of promotion to Division Six.

There was plenty to play for as Redbourn III took on Welwyn V at Rothamsted on Saturday.

Both sides needed a win, with Redbourn looking to clinch the title and their opponents hoping to maintain their promotion charge.

Welwyn won the toss and chose to take on the league's meanest bowlers and, at 33-6 Redbourn looked to have to game sewn up. The seventh-wicket pair slowly worked their way into the game, taking the score over 100. Running out of overs they perished trying to pick up the scoring but they finished up with a competitive 129-8 in their 47 overs. Veteran Geoff Bassill bowled 20 straight overs and picked up four wickets while Jim Lee took three.

In reply, Redbourn youngster George Naismith put on 30 with his captain and Andy Green (15) helped Pritchard take the target below 50.

Welwyn kept the pressure up but Bajpai played with freedom while the skipper continued to chip away at the other end, ending up on 69 not out. Dennis Gibbs scored the winning runs to give Redbourn III the title in only their second season, with two games to spare.