Focus on local cricket

HALVERGATE stretched their lead at the top of Norfolk Alliance Division Five when they took maximum points from their game at Brooke.

Halvergate chose to field first and made early inroads into the Brooke batting as Tom Booth struck three times in his opening seven overs. Tim Crane bowled a tight spell at the other end, beating the bat with no reward and after 13 overs the home side were 48 for three.

M Douglas joined the experienced C Feltham at the crease and the pair looked comfortable as they started to compile a significant partnership.

Eventually, Feltham was caught in the deep from the slow bowling of Simon Brister for 44 and when Brister also bowled Douglas for 58 the game looked to have turned back in Halvergate's favour at 142 for five from 34 overs.

A late flurry took Brooke to 202 but Halvergate managed to pick up the remaining wickets with Booth and Crane both taking two on their return, Booth finishing with five for 46.

Halvergate knew that with a reduced strength batting line-up they would have to perform well.

D Cook was bowled in the first over. However, Steve Cooke and Simon Brister took the score to 54 before Cooke (18) played over a straight ball. Scott Foreman and Brister scored freely and after 20 overs had pushed on to 108.

Brooke put down a number of catches and were made to pay as the pair raced to 194 in the 29th over.

Brister fell just short of his century when he was bowled for 96 and Foreman was unlucky to drag a wide ball back onto his stumps for 56, but the Hares crossed the line in the 30th over for a six-wicket victory.

Eden Resourcing Man of the Match: Simon Brister for an all- round performance of 96 with the bat, three for 43 with the ball and two catches in the field.

ROLLESBY entertained title contenders Winterton in Norfolk League Division One and recorded their third win in a row.

Skipper Alger elected to bat in perfect conditions and openers Duxbury and Layton took advantage of some early wayward bowling. However, an injury to Lockhart meant an early introduction of skipper Percival and the visitors began to regain some control.

When Percival trapped Layton (13) lbw with the score on 42, this led to a mini collapse, with Duxbury (19) and J Browning (4) dismissed with only seven runs added. Chaney and S Alger patiently accumulated runs in a partnership of 52 before Alger was dismissed for 13, quickly followed by Chaney (31). This left Rollesby 107 for five, with overs beginning to run out.

E Roffey and M Browning put together a quickfire partnership of 38, with one over from Withelow going for 17. Both perished looking to push the score on (Roffey 19 and Browning 24), which left skipper C Alger (3) and D Cook (12 no) to take the score to 162 for seven, and the extra batting point.

The Winterton response began steadily and was further boosted by an early injury to D Cook, but good early spells by C Alger and R Sparkes ensured the visitors never got away. B Clarke (27) and J Austin (26) put together a partnership of 60, before they fell in quick succession to a one-two from Duxbury and Alger.

This brought the experienced pair of G Roper and M Witheridge to the crease, the latter bowled off a J Flett delivery for a brisk 34.

Roper tried to keep the innings moving but both T Roper (1) and Playford (10) struggled against some fine bowling and the rate slowly began to rise.

When G Roper (31) was dismissed, the writing was on the wall. Winterton couldn't quite get home.

Filby King's Head MoM: E Roffey and M Browning for a match-changing over.

Great Yarmouth earned a hard-fought win over Drayton in Norfolk League Division One, holding off their opponents to win a nail biter by four runs.

Asked to bat first on a green Beaconsfield strip Yarmouth lost two quick wickets for 17 for 2 after 10 overs. Sole and Kapila saw off the Drayton new-ball pairing of Mario-Ghae and Reeve.

Drayton then introduced spin from both ends and Kapila in particular was severe on any loose deliveries.

He took 14 from Foreman's second over as he rapidly advanced to 32 before the Drayton bowler had his revenge, bowling him with one that kept low.

Yarmouth then collapsed again as 66 for three became 82 for six. Sole was playing a dogged innings and was joined by Vickers who, after a cautious start, took the attack to the visitors as he smashed 28 within six overs. With that momentum Yarmouth were able to progress to close on 138 for eight with Sole 47 not out carrying his bat.

After taking 37 overs to take a wicket in the away tie earlier in the season, Yarmouth didn't have to wait long with Ruddick nipping one back to bowl Wright with just the ninth ball of the innings. Ruddick repeated the trick four overs later to bowl the other opener Deny (10) and Drayton were 18 for two.

Reeve and Kay kept the scoreboard moving but Ruddick and the luckless Vickers kept scoring chances to a minimum. Anguish replaced Vickers and was quickly in on the act as Kay (18) flashed a very sharp catch to Nicholls at slip. The big-hitting Mario-Ghae launched a Ruddick delivery out of the ground.

Ruddick (three for 25) had the last laugh as he bowled the Drayton man three balls later. When Anguish removed new man Raven the next over Drayton were struggling at 59 for five.

Reeve and Davies took the score to 94 but Oxborough (three for 29) struck twice in two overs, both caught and bowled. The Drayton captain Soanes nearly dragged his side to the finishing line with a powerful knock but when Oxborough bowled him in the penultimate over Yarmouth had just about done enough. Eleven were needed from the final over and with everyone on the boundary it was never likely to happen and Yarmouth emerged winners by four runs.

Burton Arms Man of the Match: Matthew Sole, whose 47 not out anchored the innings.

Caister entertained Shipdham at Allendale Road in a game which would only consolidate the winner's mid-table Norfolk League Division One position.

Caister batted first on a damp pitch with some uneven bounce and movement off the seam. Wickets fell at regular intervals, opener Stokes departing for five with the total on 32. Vajrala contributed 12 before heading back to the pavilion and was soon followed by Johnson for two.

Only three batsman contributed double figures Myhill 11 and Hewitt also 11 but the only innings of substance was a fine 54 from Phil Lamming along with a bit of luck. Caister's final total being 128 all out.

Bartram opened the Caister attack bowling three no balls in his first over. That aside, with the total on 11, Stagles was caught by Lamming off the bowling by Bartram. It was the start of an excellent match and a winning performance by Bartram taking six for 18 from nine overs.

The rest of the Caister attack did their part to secure an unexpected 68-run victory with over 21 overs to spare. Caister's survival in Division One is assured.

Belton travelled to meet old rivals and current leaders of the Norfolk League Division Two, St Andrews.

Short of more than a few regulars, Belton gave debuts to three newcomers and welcomed back old stalwarts. Belton skipper Tom Knight decided to bat. His hopes soon evaporated when Steve Day played on in the first over.

Farhad Khan and Sajid Ali attempted a rebuilding act, Khan's belligerent innings including three massive sixes. But at 51 for four off 18 overs the visitors were surely on the slide to defeat.

Dan Knight and newcomer A Vishal set about repairing the damage. Vishal had reached 44 when he skied one, but Knight (29) went on to build a nice partnership with Tom Knight (25) as they pushed the score past the 140 mark. A few valuable runs from Dale Jackson and George Savoury saw Belton close on 167 for nine from 45 overs.

Keith Hunt, who Belton normally only dismiss occasionally, batted all afternoon as, at the other end, wickets tumbled regularly. Saj Ali claimed all the wickets to make it 35 for four. The lower order could not resist the rampant Knight (five for 31). The innings ended strangely as Bellchamber nicked one to Cameron Nichols at short third man and failed to regain his ground when Nichols charged to the stumps and ran him out.

All that could be attained was 119 all out.

WINTERTON A had a much improved day in the field against Norwich Union.

Very few wides were bowled and keeper Drewitt had an excellent spell behind the stumps. Norwich chose to bat and were soon behind any sort of run rate with Mark Hambrook again outstanding with one for six off 12 overs. All the bowlers contributed, particularly A Thackary, who returned figures of five for eight without looking in any sort of form or fitness.

With only a small target to chase there should have been no problem winning the match but again the lack of ability to play a long innings and just see the game through caused mayhem through the team. A run-out put the pressure on Wintereton and praise goes to young Matt Stanhope and Mark Holsworth playing sensibly with A Thackary (30) to ensure a well-deserved victory.

Great Yarmouth A travelled to Hales A. The home skipper won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on what looked to be a good track.

The experienced Lyndsay and Bassinghthwaite waited for the odd bad ball to put away. They added 26 before Bassingthwaite was well stumped by J Doggett off Cockrill (1-34). Kay and Lyndsay and they added 35 before Kay was caught and bowled by Johnston

(1-26) with the score 61 for two.

Vale and Lindsay's partnership blossomed to 105 and Hodds (1-21) made the breakthrough, bowling Vale for 73 at 176 for three in the 40th over. In pursuit of quick runs the home side lost Cook bowled by Ali (1-26) for five.

Montague caught J Doggett off Harvey (1-41) for two and Parkin was run out for 10 as the innings finished on 211 for seven, with Lyndsay carrying his bat for 66.

Yarmouth's chase on a good wicket started well with Harvey and Hall looking confident with the pace of Knights (0-17) and Weston (2-31). Nineteen was added before Weston bowled Harvey for 11. G Doggett joined Hall and added 22 before Hall was bowled by Parkin (three for 43) for nine with the score 41 for two in the 15th over.

Hodds and Doggett were looking good until a direct hit from the fielder at deep point with one stump to aim at superbly ran Doggett out for 30 (95 for three).

This became 95 for four when Smith was stumped for nought off Weston. J Doggett was then bowled by Jones (three for 34) for two and Evans was caught for a duck to leave the visitors struggling on 124 for six.

This became 133 for seven when Hodds succumbed to the bowling of Parkin for 57. Despite a quickfire 19 from Ali, Yarmouth were never going to get close and finished on 155 for nine giving Hales victory by 56 runs.

Burton Arms Man of the Match: Nick Hodds for a good 50 and an important wicket.

HALVERGATE A recorded another victory to keep pace with the Norfolk League Division Five leaders, but were made to work hard by a spirited New Buckenham side on Saturday.

Halvergate skipper David Jones decided to bat and openers Ben Key and Stuart Willimot made a watchful start against some accurate bowling before both fell in quick succession.

Stuart Hannant gifted an easy catch to Hardwick off Duncan to leave the home side on 15 for three after eight overs. Chris Mills and Paul Ryan looked to rebuild the innings as the visitors' bowling attack tired in the heat.

After taking the score past 50, Mills edged behind, bringing Jones to the wicket in the 17th over. The pair batted patiently to take the score past 100, with Ryan notching his second half-century of the season. Jones eventually fell late on when trying to add extra runs. Luke Hannant and Ryan completed the innings without further loss, with the latter finishing unbeaten on 60.

Glyn Debbage and Jones opened the bowling for the Hares and got the vital early breakthrough when Jones removed the New Buckenham captain, Harwick, caught behind by Luke Hannant.

Debbage trapped Guinness leg before and Jones bowled Duncan, to leave the visitors on 29 for three after 14 overs. Ling and Storman looked to add some vital runs, but Jones then accounted for Storman, and Willimot bowled Frame to leave the visitors in deep trouble.

The home side kept the pressure up, with excellent fielding by Jon Rolls and Simon Dowsett denying the visitors any boundaries.

Graham Harrop joined the attack to account for Ling and Braithwaite and Debbage closed the innings by dismissing Marshall. With the two remaining New Buckenham batsmen unable to bat, the home side secured a decisive 89-run victory.

The Hares next visit Hingham.

Rollesby A produced a fine all-round performance to defeat Happisburgh A by 62 runs in the Norfolk League Division Six match on Saturday.

Happisburgh asked Rollesby to bat on a green pitch. Rollesby lost opener Johnny Payne in the first over for a duck and then lost Jimmy Catchpole in the sixth over with the score on 17 for two.

Roy Websdale joined Alan Fakes to begin a rebuilding process that saw Rollesby recover to 85 for two in the 32nd over. Websdale (18) was dismissed by Trivett.

At this point the game changed. Fakes and new batsman, Oscar Gerdes made a conscious decision to up the scoring rate.

The results were phenomenal. Rollesby scored 117 runs in the remaining 13.3 overs. Gerdes hit four sixes in a blistering 54 not out whilst Fakes also cashed in to finish on 87 not out.

When Happisburgh batted Roy Websdale destroyed the top order with a sustained spell of accurate fast bowling, taking five wickets, including two fine slip catches by Brady England, as Happisburgh found themselves at 37 for 7 in the 17th over. George Barnden bowled a steady spell from the other end to take two wickets.

Happisburgh managed to steady things when the experienced P Dennis (42 not out) and T Taylor (19) put on 59 for the eighth wicket, but by the game was lost.

Happisburgh's picked up a third batting point before the innings ended on 140 all out.

Alongside Websdale's five for 22 Barnden finished with two for 36 off his 10 overs and Gerdes took the final three wickets to finish with three for 52.

Man of the match was Alan Fakes. Special mentions for Oscar Gerdes 54 not out and three wickets for 52 and Roy Websdale with five wickets for 22 runs and an innings of 18 runs in difficult circumstances.

ROLLESBY, in the Mid-Norfolk Sunday League, R J Bidwell Division Three, played Chapelfield who scored 225 all out, with opener Khalid scoring a wonderful 96. For Rollesby, there were wickets for C Alger (2), M Browning (2), H Barnden (1), A Fakes (1) and M Barnden took three wickets on his competitive Rollesby debut.

The Rollesby response never really threatened to overhaul the visitors' total, but there were good contributions all the way down from M Browning (13no), J Flett (18) and A Fakes (37), but once again the star of the show was M Barnden, who followed up his three-wicket haul with the top score of 44 from 172 for eight.

Filby King's Head MoM: Mark Barnden (three wickets and

44 runs, showing his sons how

it's done).

Caister made the long trek to face Fakenham, first verses second in the Sunday Kevin Grimmer Division Four table. Caister won by 51 runs and gained promotion to Division Three.

Caister elected to bat first, again unpredictable bounce and seam movement made it tricky for the batsman.

With the total on 28 Vajrala was bowled for 10 by one that kept

low. Rob Brown made a brisk 20 before holing out to backward square leg.

A number of the batsman got starts but did not go on to make the big score. G Talbot 17, Johnson 13, M Talbot 12.

Opener Stokes was still going at the other end, quietly accumulating runs making a fine 68 to give Caister a total of 170 for eight in their 40 overs.

There was an eventful start to Fakenham's innings with A Spillet running out his opening partner White for a duck.

That brought M Spillet to the crease a father and son combination. Only 23 runs came from the first 12 overs. In the 24th over A Spillet was caught behind off Myhill for a very slow 16.

Fakenham tried to up the run rate but the wickets started to fall and the run rate climbed. The dismissal of M Spillet for 44 saw the end of Fakenham's run chase.

Some fine tight bowling from Caister's bowlers restricted the home side to 119 for seven.

BELTON'S short trip down the A11 to Gunton Park on Sunday to face Kirkley provided an opportunity to overcome recent setbacks and remove any lingering doubts of relegation from the Burgess Shield Division of the Mid-Norfolk Sunday League.

Kirkley unsurprisingly decided to bat. They were off like a Twenty20 match as Guy and Goodwin punished anything short - 62 coming from the first 10 overs. They raced on until a brilliant run-out, courtesy of Harry Chanchalani, accounted for Guy.

Gareth Ware repeated the feat, dismissing Goodwin by the same method for 24.

Still at 75 for two from just 11 overs, the visitors were staring a monster score in the face.

The introduction of Richard Goreham and Richard Ashling slowed the scoring rate but wickets were still hard to come by.

Ashling did have M Lowe caught by Chanchalani and trapped Block lbw but at the other end P Hunter steadily accumulated runs.

The last 12 overs produced no wickets and 78 runs as Kirkley reached 213 for four from 40 overs. Ashling was the only successful Belton bowler, his 10 overs costing just 32 runs and bringing two wickets.

Belton lost Gareth Ware for nought and relied on experienced campaigner Wally Ladmore to steady the ship. In partnership with Ian Spencer they reached 50 before Ladmore fell to an excellent catch by Meadows.

Richard Goreham, despite losing partners regularly, marshalled the lower order towards the target.

The turning point came when Ashling, in at seven, attempted a quick single, tore his hamstring.

His retirement meant Goreham was left to eke out what could be attained by the lower order. Still, a fine 31 from Adam Savoury and 13 from Sam Mordecai meant that the home side were getting distinctly edgy.

Goreham's 67 from only 50 balls ended when he attempted to smack yet another Guy delivery to mid-wicket and was bowled off his pads. Belton finished on 187, 27 runs short of the target.

HEMSBY A get pride of place for bowling out Hales for 27 and thus winning their second game of the season.

On Sunday George Hudson scored his second 100 for the club with a well played 103.

Fourteen-year-old Jacob Stronach made a career-best 29 and took four wickets.

Hemsby first team's away clash began with Hudson winning the toss. Cossey's average for the season was soon damaged by Smith who removed his off stump for nine.

The innings was a stop-start affair with Shepherd top scoring with a well-played 39. Pick of the Frettenham bowlers was Smith.

Frettenham began well and raced to 39 off the opening nine overs. Then Boylan induced an edge from Barnham which was well caught by Shepherd at slip.

Boylan then quickly removed Websdale, and both the Wades and Hemsby began to take control.

Solid batting from Davison and Day held Hemsby up but Day was held by Longhurst off Whatmough. Hemsby were eventually victorious by 45 runs in a hard, tight affair. But with Sprowston getting 26 points they slipped to second in the table. Man-of-the-match: Liam Boylan.

South Walsham had the upper hand in their drawn game against Happisburgh but could not prise out the last few batsmen to gain victory.

Batting first in excellent conditions, Walsham soon found themselves in trouble with Andy Scales and Neil Johnson back in the pavilion in the first six overs, both falling to the excellent Kelly.

Dave Watkins also had to retire hurt after edging a ball into his face. Skipper Woods called upon Richard Whiteside and Alex Evans to repair the innings and after a slow start they built a partnership which put Walsham back into control.

They added 80 for the third wicket in 18 overs before Whiteside was stumped for 30.

Watkins was able to return but Evans fell shortly afterwards for 39. Watkins continued passing 50 and he was ably supported by Paul Woods (15) and Garth Futter (27) and with 43 extras Walsham reached a par score of 221 for eight at tea.

After tea the Happisburgh openers batted carefully and after 13 overs they were only 24 for two with Raven and Voisey both falling to Paul Woods.

Peter Dennis then got frustrated and had a swing and was well caught by Johnson, again off Woods, and at 27 for three Happisburgh were in trouble.

Allen and Woolston then came together and attacked the bowling adding 91 in no time. Gilbert was introduced into the attack and he quickly dismissed Allen for 50 thanks to another fine Paul Woods catch in the deep.

Woolston quickly followed for 24 and at that point Happisburgh shut up shop. They finished on 163 for six as the game petered out to a draw.

Upton White Horse Man of the Match: Dave Watkins for his half-century despite his cut eye.