SECOND-PLACEd Acle kept the pressure on Norfolk Alliance Division One leaders Old Buckenham with a 23-point haul against bottom-of-the-table local rivals Norwich A.

In a game reduced to 40 overs due to the prospect of further rain, skipper Roberts lost the toss again and the visitors had no hesitation in asking Acle to bat first.

The bowler-friendly conditions assisted the Norwich openers, with both achieving extra bounce and seam movement off the pitch.

Munford, Huggins and Wilson were dismissed early on, leaving the home side 31 for 3.

A quick cameo from Geoffrey Handley (19) helped the cause, but when he was caught by Stacey off the bowling of Rashid, it was left to Peter Nobbs and Craig Press to rebuild the innings.

The young pair batted patiently and gradually accumulated runs, putting on a stand of 78, which was a great effort.

Young Darren Ward joined Nobbs and the pair got the total up to 168 for 5 from their 40 overs, which was a respectable total, with Nobbs playing the starring role with 81 not out.

Acle were faced with a stiff task as Norwich looked to have a strong batting line-up with the experienced Higginbottom and Tipping opening.

But Jon Lee soon had Tipping caught behind and Higginbottom followed shortly after, trapped lbw by Newman. Horsley and Binnie put up some resistance and looked to be steering Norwich to victory with only 30 runs needed from eight overs with five wickets in hand.

But veteran ex-professional Paul Newman had other ideas, and by removing Binnie for 31 the key partnership had been broken.

This set the stage for skipper Shaun Roberts, who finished off the tail in style, with the visitors losing five wickets for only three runs, and Roberts finished with figures of 5 for 29.

Acle Social Club Man of the Match – Peter Nobbs for his great knock of 81 in bowler-friendly conditions.