IT won’t be easy, but North Middlesex could ignite their campaign in style this Saturday if they can win at Ealing.

The defending champions have yet to rediscover the ruthless form that saw them mark the club’s 150th anniversary by winning the Premier Division of the Middlesex County Cricket League last season.

But the disappointment surrounding their back-to-back defeats so far would certainly start to be lifted if Jacob Miltz’s side can record a statement win at Corfton Road against early leaders Ealing.

To do that, however, North Midd will have to quickly put their four-wicket defeat against Finchley at the weekend behind them. That might not be as easy as it sounds after they were terrorised by Sebastian Feszczur-Hatchett at their Park Road ground in Crouch End.

The pace bowler took five wickets at the expense of just 34 runs, along with taking two catches, as North Midd were bowled out for just 136.

Angus Beattie’s late stand of 40 was as good as it got for the hosts in a limited display that ended inside 39 overs.

But you don’t get to become champions easily, and North Midd were never going to just give up.

Tom Lawson (3-38) gave the home side early hope when he removed openers Chetan Sharma and William Leggett for 13 and seven runs respectively. He also dismissed Ruban Butt for 12.

With Luke Hollman (2-39) and Andrew Jones (1-31) also applying pressure, it looked like North Midd might still be able to grind out a result as Finchley slipped to 65-6. But a seventh-wicket partnership of 75 between Matthew McGowan and Hassan Nawaz changed the momentum of the match. McGowan ended play on 25 not out, while Nawaz hit an unbeaten 54 as Finchley reached their winning total of 140-6 inside 30 overs.

Meanwhile, in Division One, Hampstead’s promotion chase suffered a setback when they were beaten by 82 runs at Harrow.

Having stormed to a 10-wicket win against North London in their opening match, Hampstead are among the favourites to win promotion back to the top flight after being relegated last season.

Harrow tested their resolve, however, as they posted a score of 315, with Shreyas Malur hitting 67 and Pansilu Wijesinghe scoring 66.

Despite a spirited response that saw opener Jordan Edy bat well for 53 and Aniket Parikh hit 63, Hampstead fell short of their target as they were bowled out for 233.