Published: 12 June, 2015

EX-ENGLAND batsman Mark Ramprakash ravaged Hamp­stead on Saturday as he scored an unbeaten century for Stanmore in the Premier Division of the Middlesex County Cricket League. 

Stanmore were struggling on 87-6 as they chased their visitors’ total of 246 but Ramprakash turned the game on its head with an unbeaten 113. 

His efforts, including 11 fours and three sixes, enabled Stanmore to squeeze home by two wickets as they finished on 250-8 after 48.2 overs. Hampstead captain Steve Clark won the toss and decided to bat – a decision he may have been regretting as he left the field without scoring after being caught off Chamika Karunaratne. 

George Adair and Jamie Gibson ignited the Hampstead innings with a partnership of 105, which ended when Adair was dismissed by Mukesh Bhatt four short of his half-century. 

Tushaar Karia (3-44) upset Hampstead’s momentum as he picked up the wickets of Mubasher Hassan, Gibson and Liam Hughes in quick succession to leave the visitors struggling on 123-5. Gibson could be proud of his afternoon’s work, scoring 65 off 79 balls. A sixth-wicket stand of 62 between Ragheb Aga and Jonathan Dunne, who went on to hit 45 and 42 respectively, got Hampstead back on track. Jack Biddulph also chipped in with 29 as Clark’s side scored 246 off of their 50 overs.

Meanwhile North Middlesex suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Twickenham on Saturday following a catastrophic batting collapse at their Park Road ground. 

Tom Nicoll’s side looked to set a testing target as they raced to 110-2, thanks to an excellent partnership between Evan Flowers and Joe Cracknell. 

Cracknell needed just 62 balls to hit his half-century, while Flowers was just as clinical as he scored 44 off 59 balls. 

But a mighty collapse saw the wheels came off in dramatic fashion, with North Midd adding only 12 more runs for their remaining eight wickets as they were bowled out for 122. Twickenham needed just 25 overs to reach a modest winning score of 124, with Shawn Hicks hitting 48 not out.