THE topsy-turvy title race unfolding in the Premier Division of the Middlesex County Cricket League took a fresh twist on Saturday.

With just four games to go, North Middlesex find themselves back on top of the table following a nail-biting 14-run victory over Richmond at Park Road in Muswell Hill.

Arguably their player of the season so far, Ben Lockrose, skittled six wickets at the expense of 68 runs to repel Richmond’s attack.

The south-west Londoners had been set a target of 234 for the win after North Midd declared on 233-7.

That total must have felt a lot bigger when Richmond found themselves on 45-3 after Lockrose, Will Vanderspar and Joel Hughes all helped themselves to early wickets.

Far from dwelling on their difficult start, however, Richmond ramped up the pressure. Eddie Bruce and Adam London scored 79 in a solid fourth-wicket partnership, with skipper London going on to hit 71 as the visitors edged closer to victory.

But Lockrose brought a halt to Richmond’s charge. The pacey bowler eventually added London to his list of scalps, along with the majority of their middle and lower order as the 2018 champions were bowled out for 219.

Having won the toss, North Midd had opted to bat first. It was a decision stand-in skipper Evan Flowers wouldn’t have been blamed for second-guessing when he saw opener Will Fort dismissed for a duck.

Fort’s replacement, Divyanshu Bhartiya, didn’t fare much better against the direct Sam Graham, who bowled Bhartiya for 13. Ross Forrester helped steady the ship as he scored a patient 51 off 118 balls. That stability helped others to settle around Forrester, with Vanderspar chipping in with 24, while Lockrose also batted well to add 37 runs to the scoreboard.

Forrester remained at the crease for the best part of two-and-a-half hours, and when he did surrender his wicket to William Robertson, Flowers arrived to put in a captain’s performance. His unbeaten 57 off 59 deliveries was instrumental in helping North Midd reach what was to prove a winning total of 233-7.

The 12-point win looked a lot sweeter when the news filtered through that title rivals Shepherd’s Bush had surrendered top spot after suffering a shock 129-run defeat at home to Harrow St Mary’s.

Elsewhere, Hampstead had to settle for a point away to Hornsey despite a mighty knock of 101 from Rafay Ahmed. Arran Duguid and skipper Mubasher Hassan also both batted well to score 53 and 42 runs respectively as Hampstead posted 253-9 off 65 overs.

But Hornsey found the big hits needed to earn the majority of the points courtesy of their faster run-rate.

Opener Thomas Wyatt top-scored for the home side with 74, while Ben Miller, 62 runs, and Shiv Patel, 58, both found the boundary with regularity as Hornsey ended the afternoon on 249-7 off 55 overs to take four points.