THILAN THE HERO AS BAR WIN ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Potters Bar kept on the chase of the top 4 with a convincing win over home specialists Luton Town and Indians as they won for the third time out of four on the road.

Skipper Steve Gale, without the services of Rishi Patel who was away with Essex won the toss on a blisteringly hot morning and opted to bat first and it was a solid if unspectacular batting display that got them to a competitive score.

Charlie Scott opened with Steve Gale and he hit a fine 65 from 131 balls and was ably supported by Patrick Scott 36, Rehan Hassan 34 and Thilan Walallawita 33 as Bar got past the 200-mark and hoped men round the bat and the spinners would come into their own in the second half of the game as the sun started to bake the Wardown Park surface.

That was to be the key, although in truth the hosts got off to a good start in their pursuit of 227. The opening pair of Homyoon and Shah put on 53 without too many worries but the introduction of Thilan Walallawita saw him remove Shah and then the destructive overseas star Trunkwalla as the hosts started to crumble.

Only ex-Bar player from last year Zawar Hussain (30) had any resistance to the accuracy of the Bar attack and as wickets tumbled and the runs dried, veteran Paul McGee helped himself to two to complete 250 ECB League wickets in PBCC colours over a long and distinguished career.

As time started to drift away, Teddy Duke came back into the attack and dislodged the stubborn defence of keeper Gould and it was Thilan Walallawita who took the final wicket (5/27) with just 15 minutes left for play to complete his 5 wicket haul, his fourth for the club and keep Bar in the playoff shake-up.

Next week sees league leaders Radlett come to Potters Bar with them on the back of two consecutive 10-wicket wins and it should make for a wonderful encounter.