NORTH Middlesex have moved to within one win of marking their 150th anniversary in style.
The club, which was founded in 1875, will be crowned Premier Division champions of the Middlesex County Cricket League this Saturday if they can topple mid-table Hornsey at home.

Jacob Miltz’s side edged closer to capturing the title after beating closest-placed challengers Shepherd’s Bush by two wickets on Saturday.

In conditions ideal for bowling, Joel Hughes (3-33) and Alex MacQueen (3-21) picked off three wickets each, while Max Harris (2-36) and Ben Lockrose (2-27) also recorded pivotal figures as Shepherd’s Bush were skittled out for just 122 on home turf.

On paper, it might have looked like a routine chase, but at this level, against a strong Shepherd’s Bush side, every run proved crucial. Openers Will Fort and Will Frais started well, hitting 24 and 16 runs respectively.

Evan Flowers then hit 35 off 64 balls, with Divyanshu Bhartiya, 14 runs, and James Parslow, 18, proving key allies along the way.

In the end, North Midd battled to a winning total of 126-8 inside 35 overs to earn all 10 points, leaving them 15 clear at the top with just two fixtures to go.

Elsewhere, Hampstead slipped into the relegation places after suffering a five-wicket defeat at Crouch End.

Arran Duguid was the pick of the Hampstead batsmen with 57 as the visitors posted 186 at the Calthorpe Ground.

Crouch End chased down that total inside 37 overs as they ended play on 190-5.

The defeat ramps up the heat ahead of Hampstead’s home game against Ealing this weekend, with just one point separating the two sides in the table.