NORTH Middlesex were knocked off the top of the table on Saturday despite Ben Lockrose’s scintillating six-wicket haul leading them to an impressive win at Teddington.

Sent out to start in the field, Jacob Miltz’s side made early inroads at Bushy Park as they quickly left the home team reeling on 14-3.

Saul Anstey removed opener Matt Rodgers for a duck and then bowled Joshua Bennett for four on his way to claiming two wickets at the expense of 10 runs.

Joel Hughes (1-70) also started brightly as he bowled Teddington’s other opener, Niel Botha, who departed for just seven runs.

Then came the Lockrose masterclass as the bowler tore through the hosts’ middle and lower order on his way to collecting 6-62 in a commanding 27.5-over spell that included three maidens.

Aaran Amin offered some resistance to score 69 before being bowled by Lockrose, helping Teddington reach a defendable 215 all out.

With Ross Forrester and Miltz managing just two and 12 runs respectively, Teddington were given plenty of hope early on.

But opener Will Fort’s well-crafted knock of 28, supported by Will Vanderspar, who top-scored for the visitors with 45 off 59 balls, soon got North Midd back on track.

And the title-chasers responded well again after Will Frais went for a golden duck, with Divyanshu Bhartiya and Lockrose putting in almost mirrored performances as they added 33 runs each to the tally.

Max Harris also provided a pivotal innings as he smashed 40 off 30 balls to edge North Midd towards their total of 216-8, sealing a two-wicket win and 10 well-earned points.

But it wasn’t enough to keep them top in the Premier Division of the Middlesex County League, with Shepherd’s Bush earning 12 points after batting first in their 116-run home victory over Richmond.

The results set this weekend’s action up perfectly, with North Midd welcoming Shepherd’s Bush to their Park Road ground.

Elsewhere, Hampstead ended the afternoon with five points after recording a winning draw at Stanmore courtesy of their faster run-rate. Mubasher Hassan’s side will perhaps be disappointed not to have won the match, though, following a series of solid batting displays.

Openers Harrison Lloyd and Rafay Ahmed hit 53 and 50 runs respectively, while Damien Burrage top-scored at Stanmore Common with 77. Oyishik Chakraborty also showed positive shot selection for 58 as Hampstead scored 317-6 off 60 overs.

However, Stanmore managed to frustrate their guests as they clung on to their final wicket to end the afternoon on 199-9 to earn a share of the spoils.

The draw leaves Hampstead fourth in the table ahead of their home match this weekend against Crouch End, who are third.