FINCHAMPSTEAD FLY TO THE TOP OF THE TABLE AS BINFIELD FOLLOW CLOSE BEHIND

FINCHAMPSTEAD made it two wins from two to soar to the top of the table in the Home Counties Women’s Cricket League.

The hosts, Knebworth Park, put Finch into bat first in the contest.

The opening batting pair for Finch, Frankie Nicklin and Millie Allerton put 20 runs on the board before the first wicket fell when Alleton fell for five.

Nicklin was next to go when she was removed for 13, with the score on 46-2.

But Finch got back on track and surpassed the century mark before their next wicket came.

A strong middle order of the innings saw Ashleigh Muttitt hit 44 runs from 37 balls as she top scored in the match, while Freya Johnson added 21 before she was trapped LBW and Sophie Armstrong-Wood contributed with 2r runs.

The final Finch wicket came in the 35th over after the visitors had put 190 runs on the board to set a challenging test for the home side.

With a decent total to defend,

Finch made an early breakthrough when Molly Bulteel took the wicket of Elizabeth Ruxton for one run, with 8-1 on the scoreboard.

Knebworth recovered well and put up a fight as they managed to move onto 111-4 to give themselves a shot at victory.

But Finch ended the match brilliantly as they took the final five wickets for a return of just four runs.

Mriganka Nawale ended the day with three wickets which helped Finch to seal a 70-run success.

BINFIELD are level on points with Finch after they also made it two wins from two.

An exceptional opening to the first innings saw Binfield out 90 on the board before the first wicket fell when Poppy Evans went for 30.

Opening batter Isobel Carson’s magnificent display saw her survive the entire inning as she amassed 88 runs which helped Binfield to finish on 217-5.

The superb bowling of

Layla Judge (3-5) and Amelia Humphrey (3-5) saw Binfield skittle Berkhamsted all out on 85 to secure a convincing 132-run win.