North Middlesex captain Joel Hughes says he knows there are no easy games, despite expecting his side to seal victory over Finchley this weekend.

They sit second in the Middlesex County Cricket Premier Division heading into the clash at East End on Saturday.

The skipper knows they are expected to win and wants to ensure they do to keep the pressure on leaders Crouch End.

“We are expected to win and hoping to win, but there is no easy games in this league, especially in this format where you’ve got to work pretty hard to bowl a side out,” Hughes said.

“Finchley is a good wicket, but we’ve got to maintain the intensity and concentrate on we’re doing, and we should be getting a good result.”

They sealed a comfortable eight wicket victory over local rivals Brondesbury last time as they bowled their opponents out for 82 after winning the toss and electing to field where Joel Hughes (6-30), Hugh Teesdale (2-20), and Will Vanderspar (2-12) all shone with the ball.

In reply, they cruised to a total of 83-2 thanks to Matthew Cracknell (37), Tom Heathfield (5), Tej Sheopuri (38 not out), and Fergal Walter (3 not out).

“It was a game that we were probably expected to win, but I think after two weeks against stronger sides you can always come unstuck against Brondesbury, who are a good bowling outfit.

“We were pleased that we did a pretty ruthless job.”

Hughes was full of praise for his side as they made it look comfortable with both the bat and ball.

“Hugh bowled beautifully. He was very unlucky to not get a wicket in his first spell. I was pretty happy with the way I bowled," he said.

“I’ve been bowling pretty straight this year and I've got the rewards for that. Vanders and Hugh it was nice for them to get a couple each at the end.

“We bowled well and the pitch suited us. We were quite fortunate to win the toss and then the batters just did the job.

“Tej and Matt Cracknell looked fantastic, batted really nicely, and got the job done.”