Harrow Town 116 (0 pts) South Hampstead 120-3 (10) SOUTH Hampstead s survival is back under their own control after they thumped Harrow Town at Milverton Road to set up a nerve-wracking final day showdown at Enfield on Saturday, with the winner assured of

Harrow Town 116 (0 pts) South Hampstead 120-3 (10) SOUTH Hampstead's survival is back under their own control after they thumped Harrow Town at Milverton Road to set up a nerve-wracking final day showdown at Enfield on Saturday, with the winner assured of avoiding the drop.

Zia Sialvi's ninth-placed team went into last weekend's crunch clash 19 points adrift of relegation rivals Harrow Town. Sialvi had said ahead of the must-win game that SH had to win to have any chance of staying up and his men heeded his call, restricting the visitors to 120, before reaching their target for the loss of a solitary wicket.

"This win has given us every chance to stay in this division," said Sialvi, whose team remain in ninth place but with 52 points, just nine points behind both Enfield and Harrow Town who are immediately above them.

"Next week we have a nail-biting final round game against Enfield in which the winner is guaranteed survival from relegation," he continued.

"It's a do or die situation and we need to play this game as a final.

"I have every belief in my side that we can pull out a final winning performance and keep us in this division."

SH won the toss on a soft wicket and were quickly in control, James McMahon (2-53) swiftly removing openers Victor Jadunath (8) and Kamran Akram (4) to leave the visitors 17-2.

Harrow Town attempted to rally, with Uzairuddin Mohammad reaching 37 and Mohammad Arshad 26 before they were both removed by Kirk Drummond (5-43) who proceeded to tear through the mid-order. Nish Patel (1-9) and Jamal Ahmed (2-4) tightened the screw, taking the last three wickets to have the visitors all out for 120 in 38th over.

In reply SH refused to let them off the hook, Matt Cullen leading the way with an unbeaten 53 not out while batting in partnership with Sialvi (38). The pair put on 61 for the first wicket before the captain was caught by Ashish Shroff off Ginan Herath.

Alex Ranger continued the momentum, hitting an unbeaten 25 off 30 balls to ensure a vital win.