Published: 5 July, 2012
by STEVE BARNETT

HAMPSTEAD endured one of their most frustrating afternoons of the season on Saturday as they missed out on victory away at Brondesbury by just three runs.

Having put the home side into bat, opening bowlers Mark Divin and Gary Montgomery got Hampstead off to a bright start as they bowled with pace and accuracy to restrict the batsmen and force wickets at regular intervals.

Skipper Divin took 2-34 as he removed James Overy and Scott McKechnie to leave Brondesbury struggling on 35-2.

A double bowling change saw Zac Khan and Steve Clark keep the pressure on.

Clark topped the bowling for the visitors, picking up 3-49 off 12 overs, while Khan took 2-33 off five overs.

The turning point came at the end of the innings when Brondesbury skipper Byron Vermaak was hit on the side of the helmet after ducking into a bouncer.

Play was halted for an ambulance as Vermaak was taken to hospital for a check-up,   restricting the game by 10 overs.

Despite the delay Hampstead had 56 overs remaining to reach a winning target of 187 after dismissing Brondesbury for 186 in the 54th over.

It looked like victory was well within their grasp as Divin and Clark hit 60 and 44 respectively to guide Hampstead to 130-2 with plenty of time left to rattle off the runs.

But a collapse saw Raoul Colvile, Charlie Cooke, Ed Jones, Jon Lombard and Montgomery all surrender their wickets, leaving Hampstead   needing nine runs from the last over with a wicket in hand.

Despite Khan hitting the fourth ball to the boundary, Hampstead fell just short of the total as they ended play on 184-9 to earn just a point.