Last pair Jack Sever and David Keightley almost pulled off the great escape, but could not save Teddington from only their second Middlesex County League Premier Division defeat of the season on Saturday.

The duo came together with their team reeling at 74-9 chasing Bushy Park visitors North Middlesex’s 103 all out, but they fell three runs short of victory with Keightley the last man out.

The result opened the door for Richmond to claim top spot with a 51-run home triumph over Ealing.

Greg King (49) and Joe Smith (56*) were the star men as Richmond posted 234-8 before Tom Hemmingway’s 5-53 took his season’s tally to 27 league scalps in bowling Ealing out for 183.

Twickenham lost by 17 runs at Southgate.

Fixtures: Twickenham v Stanmore, Hampstead v Teddington, North Middlesex v Richmond, Finchley v Barnes