The first day of the Herts Cricket League season began with a couple of very good victories for Hitchin, Ickleford and Stevenage.

Hitchin opened their Championship season by beating Luton Town & Indians by 30 runs at home.


Put into bat they made 165, the final wicket falling the penultimate over.

New signing Ajay Singh Momi started with a brisk 40 in 31 balls while there were a pair of 20s for Sanjay Chandarana and Alex Binnie, the latter remaining unbeaten as he shared a final-wicket partnership of 29 with Musa Ilyas (15).

Luton only required a run rate of three per over but they started carefully until a quick and accurate spell of bowling by Sam Rippington, ably supported by James Tilbury at the other end, reduced them to 27-2 off the first power play.

It was still felt that the visitors to Lucas Lane Luton were well in the game though and that only changed when Devender Singh was their ninth man out after a near run-a-ball 48.

That was in the 37th over and Hitchin wrapped it up with Saad Waqas's first ball of the 39th over.

Rippington ended up with 2-28 but Shaftab Khalid was the main dangerman, taking 4-38 from his 10 overs.

Preston's opening game in the division ended in a 59-run loss at Reed, although Nivin Sathyajith bagged himself 4-12.

The Division Two A success for Ickleford came by five wickets at home to Berkhamsted.

A damp wicket gave Ickleford's bowlers an early advantage and they grasped it with both hands, Thomas Brown taking 2-20 from seven overs while Eswar Krishnamurthy bowled six maidens in his 10 overs, claiming 1-9.

Tom Edwards also took a wicket but it was Axel Morris (3-25) and Luke Marsden (3-11) who ensured Berkhamsted were dismissed for 83 in 40 overs.

Kirshnamurthy then returned to hit 24 and there was 18 from Brown and 14 for Duncan Jenner before Jon Hilliard and Edwards saw Ickleford home.


Stevenage meanwhile beat Old Elizabethans by 54 runs, Moses Anil taking four wickets and Conor Hayward (40) and Michael Tyler (41) putting on 82 for the fifth wicket.

Letchworth though lost by five wickets to Kings Langley in Division Two B, Adam Jenkins' 3-16 the highlight.