North Enfield Cricket Club I vs Leverstock Green II (H) - Saturday 16th August 2025

North Enfield Cricket Club’s 1^st XI suffered another agonising final ball defeat against Leverstock Green at Strayfield Road on Saturday in Division 4B of the Hertfordshire Premier Cricket League.

Richard Lee was cruelly run out attempting the second run that would have tied the game for North Enfield, as they succumbed to a devastating one run defeat.

Chasing 171 for victory, they were in all sorts of trouble at 25 - 3, amidst an outstanding opening spell of bowling from the visitors.

After being on just 44 - 3 at the halfway stage, a flurry of boundaries from Garry Orton (27) and an aggressive James Scott (20) cameo manoeuvred North Enfield back into a position from where they could win the game, as stand-in skipper Kieran Jones calmly ticked along at the other end.

As Jones reached yet another half century and Andrew Pearson (15) found the rope on a couple of occasions, the hosts were just able to keep in touch with the required run rate.

An emphatic Jones six from the first ball of the penultimate over swung the momentum back towards North Enfield, but when he was run out for 73 in the final over, the task ultimately proved too much for North Enfield as they fell just short of the win.

A disciplined display with the ball and in the field had earlier allowed them to dismiss their visitors for 170 in the final over of their innings.

With Oliver Munt (2 - 43) removing the dangerman early and Freddie Pearson bowling beautifully without reward, they were able to keep Leverstock’s run rate in check.

Lee (3 - 25), Jones (3 - 31) and David Malleson (2 - 22) all chipped away throughout the innings, alongside another wicket for Munt, to prevent Leverstock from powering up to a total closer to 200.

However, when faced with some impressive bowling and a tricky wicket, North Enfield just came up short, although picked up 14 points from their endeavours to remain in fifth.

Elsewhere, the club’s Friendly XI claimed a dramatic 11 run victory over the Fearless Lions of West Ham on Sunday, with Johnwesley Prashanth picking up the final wicket to spark jubilant celebrations at Strayfield Road.