Baldock made it two wins on the bounce in the Saracens Herts League Division Five. The game was a personal triumph for seamer Alistair Jones who bowled out Old Owens almost single handedly. Baldock were 36-2 after 15 overs after surprisingly being asked t

Baldock made it two wins on the bounce in the Saracens Herts League Division Five.

The game was a personal triumph for seamer Alistair Jones who bowled out Old Owens almost single handedly.

Baldock were 36-2 after 15 overs after surprisingly being asked to bat first.

Rob Peacock galvanised the innings with a confident and stylish innings that gave the momentum back to Baldock.

His wicket fell for 48 with Baldock 70-3 but the positive mood continued with a stand of 80 in 15 overs between Andy Payne and Matt Ayre.

Ayre fell for 40 but Payne went on to 72 that took Baldock to nearly 200. The lower order perished trying to push on but Baldock reached 216 all out off 53 overs.

The reply was initially rapid but they were soon strangled by some accurate bowling by Ayre and Jones who took a wicket each to leave the hosts at 40-2.

Old Owens needed 86 off 15 overs with Aussie Stuart going well but the reintroduction of Jones brought the game back into Baldock's favour.

He bowled Stuart for a fine 55 and then set about running through the careless lower middle order with some probing bowling which left Owens at 138-8.

Jones claimed the last two wickets to bowl out the hosts for 145 in 44.4 overs.

He finished with career best figures of 8-25 in 16.4 overs in an almost faultless display of seam bowling.

The seconds lost a game they should have won at Bushey seconds.

They bowled out the visitors for a paltry 116 with Phil Lucy taking 4-12. Wicketkeeper Andy Diplock took five catches in a great display behind the stumps.

Baldock capitulated to 86 all out with only three batters reaching double figures.

The thirds took the field for the first time in Division 13 and got an honourable draw against Bentley Heath seconds.

Pick of the bowlers was under-14 Luke Mongston who took 3-36 as Bentley Heath reached 196.

The reply was built around a splendid century by Barry Gazely who anchored the innings.

Gazely's ton was his first century and it almost took Baldock to a unlikely win. But the loss of his wicket ended that dream and the late order hung on to reach 156-9 and the draw.

n Preston held out for a draw at Cockfosters in Division Two with the last pair at the crease.

Their seconds were also soon in trouble at 46-4 in reply to Hatfield Crusaders' 252-8.

However, 17-year-old Ben Hill and the vastly more experienced Dave Clark steadied the ship with a 50-run partnership before Clark was dismissed for 17.

Hill was joined by Louis Harrington-Smith and they resisted everything Hatfield could throw at them. Hill passed his maiden league fifty and in the penultimate over went on to complete an accomplished century, ending up 106no.

With Harrington-Smith 36no, Preston finished 212-5 for a well-earned draw.

The thirds hosted Wormley thirds and the visitors won the toss and inserted Preston.

Simon Luxton nudged 55 but the highlight of the innings was a maiden half century from Peter Murrell who hit 85 in Preston's final total of 219-7.

The visitors never got out of first gear with Graham Byford (3-21) and Nigel Biggs (3-11) getting among the early wickets.

After some stubborn batting, Ian Murrell picked up two crucial wickets but the last Wormley pair blocked out well for five overs to draw the match, and leave the home side frustrated with 19 points.

n Ickleford fell short in their second successive run chase away against London Colney.

After the previous week's mammoth 270, the villagers offered a far more convincing fielding and bowling display in hot conditions after losing the toss and showed resilience to keep the Colney batsmen in check on a good pitch.

A couple of chunky partnerships were broken by the ever reliable Tom Reilly, who returned excellent figures of 5-54, supported by Duncan Jenner (2-41).

This enabled Ickleford to restrict the home side to 214-8 from their 53 overs - a situation which had looked highly unlikely at 160-2.

The Ickleford response never gained any real momentum, with a slow opening 20 overs putting pressure on the middle order.

As wickets fell steadily, every batsman got into double figures, with Peter Watson (32) the highest scorer.

But they were unable to get close as the run rate escalated, eventually finishing on a disappointing 175-7, with Reilly and Adam Brockett seeing them to safety.

The seconds had a frustrating draw against Offley and Stopsley.

Ickleford batted first and reached 237-8 as three batsmen dominated the innings. Mark Howard provided the foundation with a well-hit 60, while Matt Deacon provided solid support with 43 and Tony Martin made an unbeaten 43 in his first game for two years.

Offley made no attempt to chase victory and their innings became turgid. Despite many bowling changes, only eight wickets were taken as Offley limped to 140. Tom Walker and Scott Crouch each took two wickets.

Ickleford thirds gained a debut win on their return to league cricket.

On a poor wicket, Ickleford did well to reach 94 with Luke Camalleri making 26.

Stevenage fifths found the wicket equally difficult and made just 55. Roy Izzard took 4-16 in 16 overs while John Williams took 4-10 in seven overs.