Jack Randall was the star for Northchurch 2s on Saturday, but his performance was unable to prevent the second XI from drawing away to Little Berkhamsted, as they slipped up in the battle for promotion.

Randall bowled excellently in the heat, picking up 4 for 25, before helping Northchurch out of trouble with an unbeaten 62 in reply.

As usual this season, the Northchurch skipper Charles Fidler won the toss and sent the opposition into bat. The bowlers did well in scorching temperatures to keep Little Berkhamsted's total down to 215 on a pitch with incredibly short boundaries, but the batsman didn't have what it takes to chase it down, in what usually would have been a comfortable chase.

Batting second has worked favourably for the 2s for the majority of the season, but a host of batsman errors and misjudgments on a slow wicket meant they were unable to get anywhere near the total required. However with the system of 53/47 overs now in play after last weekend, it allowed Northchurch to bat out for the draw after being in significant bother in the early overs of their innings.

In recent weeks, it is Northchurch who have usually had the opposition down early on but this weekend it appeared the opposite. Despite that, the Little Berko top three still fell for relatively cheap scores in the opening 20 overs.

Randall set the tone for the rest of his performance by picking up the opening wicket of Aaron Bowers in his first spell, removing him for a score of just 15, before Harry Chapman was also among the wickets. He came on first change and bowled a tight spell of 15 overs straight, picking up the wickets of opener Tony Smith, and then Shahzad. He then bowled Little Berkhamsted's skipper, Adam Blaby, for a quick fire 29 after he'd scored quickly off Joel James in his first over.

Matt Dawson had proved expensive from the same end as James, but the latter did well to regain his composure after going for runs off his first over, going on to bowl 5 overs for 38 runs with one maiden.

The Northchurch bowlers found things tough through the middle part of the innings, with the heat playing a huge factor. However Fidler and Randall returned for second spells and bowled well to lower the run rate. Number four, Trevor Allum, played a good knock of 86 before eventually being bowled by Randall who also bowled Brumley, and then had Empson caught well by Chapman.

The skipper meanwhile bowled Joe Smith for just ten as Northchurch looked to reduce their target in the final ten overs. The remaining two wickets of the Little Berko innings were then claimed by Dawson, who bowled Neil Newman for a duck, and then with the final ball of the innings had Hammadan caught by Fidler at cover.

In response, Craig Suckling and Jimmy Smart looked to get Northchurch off to a good start. Suckling played some lovely shots for four, but was then unfortunately run-out. What followed was hugely uncharacteristic of the 2s this season as the middle order collapsed. Smart was stumped looking to come down the wicket, before the usually reliable Mike James picked out the fielder for just six runs.

With Fidler departing for a duck, and then Ryan Smart being caught for one, Northchurch were in huge trouble. There were further wickets as Dawson was bowled and then Chapman caught and bowled by Bowers. Randall however was showing the rest of the batsman how it should be done, as he and Joel James put on a strong partnership that was able to see their side to a draw.

Randall was brilliant with the bat, facing 102 balls for his 62* as he dug deep to ensure Northchurch weren't put in any further trouble. He picked off the bad balls with ease, hitting 11 fours, whilst James at the other end was a rock in defence. He also picked off any bad balls the Little Berko bowlers fed him, as he hit three lovely shots for four during his knock of 16*

In the end it was a well earned draw from the position the 2nd XI found themselves in, but it could, and probably should have been so much more.