St Albans successfully chased down 228 to extend their recent unbeaten run to five matches with a three-wicket victory at Abbots Langley, thanks in part to an excellent 72 from Jonny Hall at the top of the order.

After winning the toss, St Albans put Langley in to bat first and it was the hosts who started promisingly.

Opener Nick Gurney crashed six fours on his way to a quick-fire 29, eventually falling to James Dempsey’s maiden first XI wicket.

The star of the Langley innings though was undoubtedly Tiaan Joubert who smashed a superb 94 ball 71, including eight boundaries.

That partnership between Joubert and opener Tom Carson (31) took Langley past 100 in the 30th over but regular wickets stunted the hosts’ momentum.

Economical bowling combined with three wickets apiece for Max Capaldi (3-54) and Tom O’Toole (3-73) kept the score down, preventing Langley from accelerating as they finished on 227-7 from their 53 overs.

In reply, St Albans began in confident mood as opener Simon White crashed just under a run a ball 26 before being trapped in front by Daniel Roche.

Undeterred by that early setback, the catalyst for victory was the excellent partnership between Hall and Sandipan Chanda who scored freely to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Both players had little trouble finding regular boundaries with Chanda hitting his 49 off just 35 deliveries with nine fours and one maximum.

But when Hall departed for an 86 ball 72, Langley produced a stunning spell of 4-31 to temporarily halt St Albans’ march to victory with Gurney (3-37) the pick of the bowlers.

However Matt Howeson’s unbeaten 27 steered his side to victory in no time at all, chasing down the target with just under 15 overs remaining to make it five wins in succession.