NORTH Middlesex received a timely reminder that a title challenge is anything but straightforward on Saturday when they suffered a shock 88-run defeat at bottom-placed Brondesbury.

The Premier Division pace-setters were hoping to extend their lead at the top of the Middlesex County Cricket League, and it looked like it was business as usual with Joel Hughes picking up wickets at regular intervals. The seamer ended the afternoon with 5-49 following a 22-over bowling spell that included five maidens.

Pansilu Wijesinghe offered up a little resistance for Brondesbury with 35 runs, while captain Shailen Assani also batted patiently for 23. But when the home side were skittled out for 176 in the 61st over it appeared that North Midd were marching towards victory.

It was a view that seemed to be coming more and more into focus when North Midd opener Divyanshu Bhartiya made a bright start on a ground that offered the bowlers a lot more than it did the batters.

Life at the crease is never that simple, however, especially when your opponents have Aum Patel in their starting line-up. The left-arm spinner proved unstoppable as he tore up the form guide – and North Midd’s batting order – on his way to earning figures of 5-24, including the wicket of Bhartiya who departed for 33. Patel’s dominance was undeniable as he bowled 11.2 overs that included four maidens.

By the close of play the 10-wicket win that North Midd recorded over Brondesbury earlier this season was but a distant memory as this time around Jacob Miltz’s side were bowled out for just 88 runs.

For now the result represents more a missed opportunity than a costly defeat as chasing title rivals Crouch End and Shepherd’s Bush also both dropped points. North Midd will be fully focused on returning to their free-flowing best this weekend when they play Finchley, another side fighting relegation.

Meanwhile, in Division One, Hampstead added five more points to their overall tally in the way of a winning draw after narrowly failing to see off Acton at the weekend.

A second-wicket partnership of 101 between Amogh Karpe and Joe Kendall put the home side in control at Lymington Road, West Hampstead. Karpe top-scored with 70 runs, while Kendall hit a-run-a-ball for his 58 as Hampstead scored 273-7 from their allotted 50 overs.

Sam Fraser did his best to make that a match-winning total as he collected 3-15, while Ajit Sambhi (2-24) and Muhammad Ahmed (2-38) also both bowled well to pick up a couple of wickets each. But Acton managed to survive until the close of play to earn a point, ending the afternoon on 145-7 largely thanks to Cameron O’Donnell and Lucas Carlisle, who hit 44 and 40 runs respectively.

The result leaves Hampstead 28 points clear at the top of the table ahead of a trip to Twickenham this weekend.