Preston lost by six wickets against well-drilled table toppers Leverstock Green in the Saracens Herts League Division Two. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Preston found themselves in trouble at 6-2 by the fifth over. The bowlers used the condi

Preston lost by six wickets against well-drilled table toppers Leverstock Green in the Saracens Herts League Division Two.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Preston found themselves in trouble at 6-2 by the fifth over.

The bowlers used the conditions excellently bowling great lines and lengths as all Preston's batsmen struggled to show any authority.

David Fleckney (28) and Adam Shelley (12no) were the only batsmen to reach double figures as Preston were dismissed in the 31st over for 83.

Preston knew that they had to take early wickets and Mark Waters (4-40) bowled superbly to allow Preston into the game.

Green were 39-3 by the 15th over but a dropped catch and a missed run out allowed Green off the hook.

Foley (36no) played with aggression and some luck as he guided Green home with six wickets in hand in the 25th over.

* Preston thirds were pulverised by visitors Luton Town and Indians.

Skipper Dave Saunders invited Luton to bat first but regretted his decision when the short boundary was exploited and a total of 199-8 in 47 overs was set.

The best effort with the ball came from Dilshan Wijesekera who took 3-34 from 12 overs but he received little support.

In reply, Preston were never at the races, only two batsmen made double figures - Simon Luxton (14) and Nigel Biggs (10) - as they were shot out for a miserable 62 to take a disappointing three points from the match.

The fourths lost by seven wickets to Hatfield Hyde thirds.

Runs proved difficult to come by as Preston could only reach 88-7 in the allotted 47 overs. The highlight of this modest total was a gritty 17 from 12-year-old debutant Chris Woodham who occupied the crease for a lengthy time.

Preston did make the home side work for their runs with Alan Cook taking two of the wickets on his return from seven years in Hong Kong.

* Preston enjoyed an exciting four-run victory in Sunday's friendly against Stevenage.

Batting first, Preston made 225-5 from their allocated 40 overs, with the aggressive Indika Samaraweera (74), Adam Shelley (43) and Ben Hill (34) the main run makers.

Preston's most successful bowlers were spinners Max Anderson (3-31) and Tom Mercer (2-47) as Stevenage were restricted to 221-8 from their 40 overs with Dave Carr unbeaten on 57.