Division Seven Flamstead 226-2 (41) Hoddesdon III 104-10 (35) FLAMSTEAD continued their fine form to crush lowly Hoddesdon III on Saturday in Division Seven. Skipper Andy Taylor won his third consecutive toss and had no hesitation in deciding to bat first

Division Seven

Flamstead 226-2 (41) Hoddesdon III 104-10 (35)

FLAMSTEAD continued their fine form to crush lowly Hoddesdon III on Saturday in Division Seven.

Skipper Andy Taylor won his third consecutive toss and had no hesitation in deciding to bat first on a good looking Hoddesdon track.

Taylor and David Watson (21) put on 67 off 11 overs before vice captain David Oswin joined the party.

Oswin and Taylor put on 118 before Taylor fell for 68. Matt Brown (57 not out) then joined Oswin and another good partnership of 81 followed, with Brown dominating. When he had scored 35 he surpassed 1,000 runs for the season, becoming only the second batsman in the history of the club to achieve the feat. Skipper Taylor declared after just 43 overs with a massive 266-2 on the board and Oswin on 80 not out.

Hoddesdon reached 52 in reply before losing their first wicket to Brown with a full toss, thanks to a catch at mid on from John Shaw.

Brown (2 for 13) and off-spinner Mark Ridley (2 for 23) put Flamstead in command before young colt Josh Evans, aged 15, went through the tail. Evans finished with 5 for 13 off just 5.3 overs having bowled four victims and set up an excellent catch for wicket keeper Oswin. Hoddesdon were struck out for 104.

Skipper Taylor was happy with a fifth successive win for Flamstead. He said: "If only we had started the season with the sort of form we have shown in the past six weeks we would now be challenging for promotion. We have enjoyed a great run and it would be great to finish the season off in style by winning at Flitwick II next Saturday. They still have a chance of being champions as they are only one point behind the leaders.

"We have given a lot of our colts a chance in the firsts this summer and it has been lovely to see them put in some excellent performances. Josh Evans bowled very well, bowling fast and straight and thoroughly deserved his five wickets.