ACLE'S winning start to the season came to a halt on Saturday against Norfolk Alliance Premier Division leaders Downham. Opting to bowl first at Downham's recreation ground, Acle were hampered by a shoulder injury to Paul Newman, restricting them to just one front-line seamer complemented with a four-strong spin attack.

ACLE'S winning start to the season came to a halt on Saturday against Norfolk Alliance Premier Division leaders Downham.

Opting to bowl first at Downham's recreation ground, Acle were hampered by a shoulder injury to Paul Newman, restricting them to just one front-line seamer complemented with a four-strong spin attack.

Downham's attacking opening batsmen soon set about the Acle bowling with Dominic Tullet particularly severe on anything loose. The home side reached 128 without loss at the halfway stage. Spinners Porter and Murray were able to exert some control, with Murray finally removing Tullet for an excellent 108. Porter struck again to reduce the home side to 187-2 and give Acle a chance to restrict the final total to a manageable one. Downham's New Zealand batsmen Steve Murdoch smashed a quickfire 46 however, as Acle's hopes receded with some late hitting from the lower order taking the score to 296-6.

Acle got off to a bright start in reply reaching 57-1 in the 10th over, but accurate bowling from the hosts combined with some uneven bounce in the pitch to trigger a middle order collapse as the visitors fell to 111-7 with 16 overs remaining. With the target out of sight Acle's goal was to deny Downham victory whilst amassing as many batting bonus points as possible. Paul Newman and Dave Huggins repelled the Downham attack successfully, collecting a final bonus point in the last over of the game.

Despite being thoroughly outplayed by a strong side who already look well set to claim a third consecutive Premier Division title, Acle will take some positives from securing a draw and restricting Downham's lead at the top of the table.

Acle MoM: Dave Huggins.