NORTH Middlesex’s return to the top of the Premier Division table proved short-lived after they suffered a three-wicket defeat at Harrow St Mary’s on Saturday.

It was never going to be an easy away day for Jacob Miltz’s side with Harrow desperate for points in their bid to escape relegation to the second tier of the Middlesex County Cricket League.

And so it proved as Harshkumar Raykar (2-31) quickly removed North Midd openers Will Fort and Divyanshu Bhartiya. Fort was the first to go after being trapped lbw with just nine runs to his name, while Bhartiya soon followed for 28 after being caught by Ved Patel.

Miltz arrived at the crease and put in a captain’s innings, hitting a patient 58 off 117 balls in a knock that included seven fours. But he eventually succumbed to the mounting pressure applied by Tushar Patel, who turned the game back in Harrow’s favour as he picked off five wickets at the expense of just 44 runs.

Ben Lockrose and Max Harris both batted well in challenging conditions to post 22 and 24 runs respectively.

Their efforts helped North Midd put 168 on the board before being bowled out in the 54th over.

That was always going to be a tough total to defend, but the visitors were given fresh hope when Harris (1-41) struck early to remove Gishan Herath for six. Keown Taylor Duran (2-39) then removed Angus Prevost, who managed just five runs to leave Harrow struggling on 11-2.

The home side rallied, however, and soon edged the game out of North Midd’s reach. Bavan Gunaseelan scored 20 runs before the partnership of the day saw Shivam Chauhan and Ved Patel both display equally good shot selection to hit 52 and 49 respectively.

Tushar Patel’s late stand of 22 then all but completed the job as Harrow St Mary’s scored 172-7 to take all 10 points.

The defeat meant that North Midd had to rely on Hampstead to beat Shepherd’s Bush if they were going to remain at the summit.

The afternoon started well enough with opener Rafay Ahmed scoring better than a run every two balls in his knock of 65. But against a team like Shepherd’s Bush you need more than one big hitter, and a second never arrived: scores of 28 from Sam Fraser and 27 from Mubasher Hassan were the best the home side could muster.

That was largely thanks to the bowling efforts of Henry Blofield, who finished with figures of 5-47 as Hampstead were skittled out for 186 in the 61st over.

Shepherd’s Bush opener Ikjot Thind then led his side to victory with 83 not out, the visitors reaching their winning total of 189-6 to seal a four-wicket win – and with it the 10 points needed to take them back to the top.