Cricketers from Swaffham, Thetford and Mundford were among the award winners when the Dipple & Conway Opticians Norfolk Cricket Alliance honoured its heroes of the summer.

Swaffham’s Andy Dale grabbed the top wicketkeeper accolade with 30 dismissals.

Breckland neighbours Thetford and Mundford had mixed emotions at the end of the season, having been pipped to the titles of Divisions Two and Four respectively – Thetford losing out by a single point.

But there were nothing but smiles on show as they collected the spoils from their still memorable seasons at a glittering awards night at the Wensum Valley Hotel and Country Club – their end of season frustration having already been softened by the prospect of promotion.

Mundford’s Robin Yates, in his 28th year with the club, was also Dipple & Conway player of the month for June.

Fakenham were named club of the year following their first Premier Division title success since 2011 while the individuals honoured included Vauxhall Mallards veteran Carl Amos, who at 42 continued to show the quality that has made him a legend of Norfolk cricket by finishing as the league’s leading run scorer with a total of 1,074.

Garboldisham joined Fakenham in the top flight after winning a nail-biting Division One title race with North Runcton.

The bowling honours were shared by Norwich’s Simon Key, whose 38 wickets helped his team to the Division Two title, and Marcus Bishop of Lowestoft.

Neil McDonald, Dipple & Conway’s group practice manager, said the second year of sponsorship had been another fulfilling one, adding: “It has been exciting to be involved in a competition which reflects all the positive things about sport in Norfolk.

“The quality of the cricket has been exceptional and the spirit even more so, often with different generations of the same families playing side by side.”

Company director Matthew Conway added: “We are a family-run, community-orientated business, about to celebrate our centenary in 2016, so it was fitting to be supporting a league which represents not only tradition but friendly competition played out in the heart of the county’s communities.”

Alliance chairman Peter Thomas, who helped present the trophies with Matthew Conway, Emma Conway and Neil McDonald, said: “There’s no doubt that the input of Dipple & Conway has made a big difference to the competition over the past two years with the introduction of the player of the month awards further adding to the level of interest.”

He added: “We also pride ourselves on our youth section which is getting youngsters involved in cricket, gaining confidence and even playing in adult teams, which is good for the future of the sport.”

The awards evening was compered by TV presenter Jonathan Wills.