The top three in the Bedfordshire County Cricket League were all winners again on Sunday (16 August), with the Premier Division title race heading to the wire.
Queen’s Park Westfield picked up maximum points at home to Ickwell, while Bedford comfortably saw off Flitwick at The Bury to also claim 30 points.
Luton Town and Indians were also victors over Dunstable Town, but picked up two less bonus points.
How key those two points could be come the first weekend of September remains to be seen, but with all three sides in top form, the title race is hotting up with just three matchdays remaining.
Queen’s Park hold the advantage
Queen’s Park Westfield remain 18 points clear courtesy of a 105-run victory against Ickwell.
They were once again led by talisman, Zahid Ali Khan who hit an unbeaten 69 in an imposing Westfield total of 247/9 at Allen Park, with Alec Wing taking three wickets for Ickwell, who never looked like chasing down the target.
They fell for 142, giving Westfield a maximum haul of points to maintain their advantage over Luton Town and Indians, who squeezed past fourth placed, Dunstable Town by 21 runs.
Seven points further back in third are Bedford, who were also comfortable victors against a depleted Flitwick side.
Flitwick were missing a number of players due to Bedfordshire’s red ball fixture in Cumbria, while Bedford captain, Rohit Mehmi was also absent as he was making his National Counties debut in the same fixture.
Without a number of leading batters, Flitwick lost wickets at regular intervals batting first, eventually falling for just 122 with last weekend’s centurion, Vedant Somal picking up five wickets with the ball.
Rohan Mehmi led the charge in the chase, scoring a swift 65 to help Bedford overhaul their target inside 22 overs to also pick up maximum points.
At the bottom of the division, Biddenham are now deep in trouble, losing to Lutonian in a basement clash.
Abdul Asad’s 67 helped Lutonian to 265/7 batting first, with Amarpal Singh picking up an impressive 4/37, but it was too high a total for Biddenham to usurp, falling for 179.
The defeat leaves them 26 points from safety.
Around the grounds
Queen’s Park Westfield’s 2nd XI’s outside chances of promotion are all but over thanks to a 68-run loss at third placed, Harlington.
Raja Shahid and Mohammad Ali picked up three wickets apiece for Queen’s Park in a Harlington total of 238, led by a stunning 21-ball 73 from Nasir Shah in an innings that included eight sixes.
Ameer Hamza (58 not out) was the only Queen’s Park batter to get going in the chase, as Westfield were dismissed for 170.
Elstow continue to hold a slender advantage at the top of Division Three, once again piling on the runs at The Warren to beat Eversholt by 88 runs.
Ben Brading (69) and Gurraj Galsin (53) were both half centurions as Elstow posted 261/8 from their allocation of 40 overs, while Mathumithan Senthilkumar picked up 3-17 as Eversholt fell short on 173.
Elstow’s promotion was confirmed after Bedford’s erratic form with bat in hand continued at Henlow as they were skittled for just 78, losing by nine wickets.
Queen’s Park Westfield 3rd XI drifted ever closer to the relegation zone with an 87-run loss at Ickwell 2nd XI. They sit just eight points above Dunstable Town 3rd XI in Division Four.
Westfield’s 4th XI confirmed their own relegation from Division Five a while ago, winning just one game all season and their poor form continued on Sunday with a six-wicket loss against Bletchley.
Perhaps the stand out innings from across the League came from Division Six, as Harrold 2nd XI’s Ollie Jackson plundered 160 from 122 balls as Harrold smashed Kempston Hammers.
Harrold posted an imposing 306/4, which Kempston fell well short of thanks in large to 3-25 for Raef Ball. They remain 25 points clear of Offley and Stopsley at the top.
