MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION

Eastcote 186 all out

Stanmore 189-3

Stanmore won by seven wickets

STANMORE moved up to third in the Premier Division with victory over struggling Eastcote.

With points so precious at this stage of the season, Stanmore recorded a comfortable seven-wicket triumph over the bottom club to keep the heat on the leaders.

Stanmore, without skipper Marc Reingold and ex-England star Mark Ramprakash, won the toss and put the visitors in to bat.

It appeared a good decision, as Eastcote slid to 86-6 in 23 overs, with Phil Costard (23) and Christopher James (23) being the main contributors to their total.

However, Nathan Rabnott and Ajay Sangha changed the complexion of the match as they looked well in with a shout.

But Rabnott went for 68 and Sangha fell at 27 as the late revival was halted and Eastcote were dismissed for 186.

Sam Helm (4-48) and Murkesh Bhatt (2-32) were the main wicket takers.

In reply, the home team always looked in control and quickly raced to 72-0.

Eastcote refused to give in and made a real fist of it to leave Stanmore at 90-3 and threatening to collapse following the loss of Stevie Eskinazi (63).

Thankfully for Stanmore, Jake Whitaker and Talha Azam stepped up and eased the pressure with some solid hitting to swing the game back in the hosts’ favour.

Both remained unbeaten, Whitaker scoring a solid 62 and Azam getting a useful 35, as the duo formed a partnership of 99 to guide Stanmore to victory.