Bessborough saw their 20-game unbeaten run come to an end on Saturday as they lost by five wickets at South Hampstead in the Middlesex County Cricket League.

The game started well for the Borough as opening batsmen, Shahs Jigar and Ishan, put on 55 for the first wicket.

However, when Jigar departed for 23 the usually dependable middle order quickly collapsed to 85 for five, the fifth wicket being Ishan who had dug in for 44.

Andy Carr did his best to resurrect the innings with a typically rapid half-century, scoring 50 in a partnership of 57 with Vinay Bhudia (11).

When those two departed the wheels well and truly came off as Bessborough lost their final three wickets without adding any runs to the 149 already scored.

Despite a couple of early wickets South Hampstead coasted home in 31 overs with opener Leroy Shepherd guiding his side to victory with a brutal 88.

The Seconds lost their second game in a row with a 60-run defeat to the same opposition at Headstone Manor.

A number of dropped chances allowed South Hampstead to post a competitive 233 all out in 47 overs, with Gihan Pallage the most effective bowler.

Bessborough got off to a slow reply and struggled to build any partnerships – the best being 42 between Kibreeth Rameez (31) and Junaid (20).

It was left to Stephen Kimsey Jr. (1) and Thanuka Jayawardena (9 not out) to hold on, but they fell two balls short of safety when umpire Stephen Kimsey Sr. gave his son out.