Ickwell Cricket Club have one hand on the Bedfordshire County Cricket League Division One title, and a spot in the Premier Division, after defeating closest rivals, Bedford Cricket Club by five wickets in their title clash on Sunday (10 August).
They have a 25-point advantage at the top, plus a game in hand as promotion now seems assured with Bedford now looking behind them as they look to gain a third Premier League play-off spot in fourth years with a second place finish.
Batting first in Ickwell, Bedford could only post 162, led again by captain Rohit Mehmi who top scored with 69 but it never looked enough thanks in large to a five-wicket haul for Alec Wing (5-36).
Despite the early loss of the Welch brothers – leaving Ickwell at 9-2 in the early stages – the ship was settled thanks to a blistering 78 from Sean Stevens who helped his side home with seven overs remaining.
Bedford will now have to focus on keeping their play-off spot, as they are 19 points clear of third placed, Ampthill who lost by 56 runs against Harlington.
Biddenham drop to third
There was a moment a fortnight ago where Biddenham Cricket Club were looking at mounting an unlikely title challenge in the league’s top tier, but back-to-back defeats have put paid to any outside title hopes.
Biddenham lost by five wickets at relegation-threatened, Caldecote on Sunday after being dismissed for 148, as Caldecote chased their target with relative ease, leaving seven overs to spare.
Queen’s Park Westfield continue to battle away in mid table and picked up their sixth victory of the season with a low-scoring three-wicket win at Dunstable Town.
Shivasurya Krishna’s late burst of 4-17 helped dismiss Dunstable for just 127 at Lancot Park; a total that Westfield would have looked to have chased down easily, only to lose seven wickets in their response.
Farhan Hussain top scored with 31 for the visitors, as they eventually chased the modest target with 13 balls to spare.
Montieth ton leads the way for Harrold
Harrold jumped into the promotion places in Division Two after thrashing Elstow by 166 runs.
Their mammoth total of 278/9 was anchored by an excellent century from Cameron Montieth, who struck 110 from just 68 balls in an innings that included 17 fours and three sixes.
Faheem Mahmood took 4-38 with ball in hand for Elstow, but their chase with the bat rarely gained momentum, with captain, Vikram Masih top scoring in a total of just 112.
The only side above Harrold are Queen’s Park Westfield’s 2nd XI who won their ninth game of the campaign with a five-wicket victory against Letchworth Garden City at Allen Park.
Riley Wade’s 55 had taken Letchworth to a decent total of 182 batting first, but Muhammad Shoaib Yaqub’s 81 led an excellent riposte from Westfield, ably supported by Mohammad Ali’s 33-ball 49 as they chased their target inside 28 overs.
Queen’s Park’s 3rd XI are still facing the threat of relegation, as they sit in seventh from nine teams in Division Three thanks to a meek loss league leaders, Langford.
Bedford’s 2nd XI are now top of Division Four after exacting some revenge on Ickwell Cricket Club, with victory over their 2nd XI.
Half centuries from Harry Midgley (53 not out) and Sam Barrow helped Ickwell to 203/6 at The Bury but Suhas Gatty (57 not out) and Manish Kumar responded in kind to take Bedford over the line by four wickets.
Ickwell, now in third, still hold the upper hand in Division Four as they have a game in hand, with Milton Keynes Rising Stars in second.
Winless Kempston Hammers are all but relegated in Division Five after another heavy loss against Offley and Stopsley, while Harrold completed an excellent weekend for the club with a 2nd XI victory in Division Six against Elstow’s 2nd XI.
