Barnet 204-9

Luton 164

A superb innings of 76 by Singh saw Barnet on the way to their second successive Hertfordshire League Premier Division victory, when they beat Luton by 40 runs on Saturday.

Barnet won the toss and took first knock on a slow wicket with the ball tending to stop and making stroke play difficult.

Following an early loss, A Vadgama (29) and Singh took few chances and the score improved to 67, before Vadgama was bowled by left-arm spinner Ahamed (3-67 in 15 overs), who caused all the batsmen to play and miss.

Singh batted well and was particularly severe on any loose ball. His stand of 49 with Shukla (21) for the fifth wicket was an important turning point in the game, taking Barnet from 107-4 to 156-5 at a time when the loss of further wickets would have been disastrous for the home side.

After Singh's departure, the tail wagged fitfully and the innings closed at 204-9, after 53 overs.

Luton lost an early wicket when skipper A Hassan bowled their overseas' player, Australian Lunn, for only two.

Following this setback, Luton always appeared to be struggling as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Though Luton's sixth wicket fell at only 109, they only needed 103 runs to win when the last 20 overs began.

While the visitors' hard-hitting middle order batsman Bhaguandass (39) was at the crease there was always the possibility that he would steer his side to an unlikely win.

But he was brilliantly caught on the square leg boundary by Ghadria, who also bowled with fire and aggression, and was rewarded with the fine figures of 4-27 in 13 overs.

Newcomer Rashid took 3-69 with his mixture of leg spin and googlies. Though not as accurate as in the previous match, he always posed problems for the batsmen and is invaluable in removing the tailenders.

Barnet won comfortably in the end, having seven overs to spare, and after losing their first three matches, are now sitting comfortably in mid-table.

Earlier in the week, Barnet beat Chipperfield by 11 runs in the first round of the Becker KO Cup. They are home to Welwyn Garden City in the second round on Thursday, June 25.

Barnet will be out to make it three league wins in a row when they visit Stevenage on Saturday.

OTHER RESULTS: Barnet II 200-7 (A Saunders 74), Stevenage II 204-8. Barnet III 208-4 (N Wright 72), UCA 84 (M Sparrow 4-14).

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.