LEY Hill all-rounder Ross Kemp’s blushes were spared on Saturday as his late-innings heroics guided Ley Hill to a winning total against Ballinger on Saturday in the Mid Bucks League Premier Division.

It could all have been very different though. As Richard Falconer became Hill’s ninth victim, Ballinger thought they had dismissed the last of the visitors’ batsmen.

But Kemp, who had been caught up in heavy traffic, had somehow managed to time his arrival to perfection to join skipper Craig Ottaway out in the middle.

He said, “If I had turned up any later he [Craig] would have killed me. I managed to get my whites on at a set of traffic lights though and the umpires said I had three minutes to make it to the middle. I had 20 seconds to spare when I got out there.”

A couple of mighty blows later and their partnership of 44 was the highest of Ley Hill’s innings. All out for 142, in which Ollie Runswick top-scored with 34, Ballinger still fancied their chances.

At 82-2, any hopes of a Ley Hill victory appeared faint until Suranga Daluwatte turned the screw. His 6-21, along with Ben Ford’s 2-9, soon changed the outlook of the game as Ballinger collapsed to 108 all out. The result means Ley Hill remain hot on the heels of Downley and Holmer Green as the title-race enters the business end of the season.