DIVISION THREE: Uxbridge 258-4 (10pts) beat Ickenham 254-9dec (0pts) by six wickets
A whirlwind effort with the bat propelled Uxbridge to victory in the derby clash with Ickenham as they reached 258 for four inside just 40 overs.
Andre Jason and Nick Hardy set the tone with an opening stand of 140 in only 20 overs, destroying an opening Ickenham attack which had enjoyed some success in recent weeks.
From then on there was only going to be one winner and further cameo performances took the visitors home with 41 balls to spare.
The win took Uxbridge up to third place behind leaders Harrow Town, whom they visit on Saturday, and High-gate, while Ickenham could do with ending a two-game losing run at home to second bottom Wycombe House.
Having lost the toss Ickenham batted solidly, with most of their batters getting starts but unfortunately not going on.
The top three of Daniel Cooper (25), Tim Budd (27) and Gordon Summerfield (22) typified that and it was left to captain Jamie Taylor (52 off 49 balls) to make the only half-century, while Dean Waller (47), Paul Sims (24) and Paul Waller (26) also chipped in before Ickenham declared on 254 for nine with 46 overs left in the game.
However, hard hitting from Uxbridge openers Jason and Hardy soon took the game away from the hosts, Jason smashing two sixes and 12 fours on his way to 72 from 67 balls and when Hardy fell for 93 from 82 including a six and 16 fours, Uxbridge already had the finish line in sight at 203 for two.
Bal Mangat (27), Riz Dar (19), Chris Alder (21 not out) and Tony Stephens (7 not out) completed the job despite Dean Waller (3-42) picking up late wickets. [25a0] Uxbridge third XI picked up four points from a winning draw against Acton to remain in second place in their division.
Chris Darvill (3-71), Peter Parfitt (1-30) and Bryan Winson (3-58) all bowled tight spells beforeActon stepped up the rate later in the innings to declare on 220 for seven.
Uxbridge made a slow start and lost Sunny Sandhu (20) and Richard Tinsley (16) before Winson (59) and Michael Darvill took Uxbridge closer to the target and Rob Darvill (30 not out) scored quickly to pass the winning draw target of 188.
The Park Road side needed 33 off the last three overs but when Michael Darvill was stumped for 46 it proved beyond them and they ended on 203 for six. [25a0] A direct throw earned Ickenham seconds a surprise win over Finchley II by just four runs.
Ickenham were restricted to 181 despite contributions right down the order as Sri Lankan left-arm spin-ner De Silva took six for 57, but when the hosts batted wickets fell regularly as Ickenham held their catches and Steve Room completed a slick run out off his own bowling.
Finchley slipped to 104 for eight before Mohammad and De Silva put on 56 for the ninth wicket and when De Silva went in the 41st over at 160 for nine, they had the winning draw under their belt if they could keep the final wicket intact.
But they went for broke, scoring at five an over with nearly six overs to go until from the first ball of the final over they took what should have been a safe single to deep extra cover, only for Amit Sharma to hit one stump with the batsman short of his ground. [25a0] Ickenham third team claimed a losing draw after a disciplined bowling effort restricted Brentham III to 227 for eight declared and they replied in similar fashion to reach 211 for eight in reply.
