Thetford showed they mean business at the start of the new cricket season as the Norfolk Alliance Division Two side easily beat Saham Toney by eight wickets.

The opposition made a useful 229-8 but it was not enough as Neil Lockwood (83) and Mick Piggott (57) got to work. Losing the toss Saham were asked to bat, which Saham were hoping to do on a dry looking deck and got there sights on setting a health target.

An opening stand of 61 set the tone with Nathan King firing the ball to all parts allowing opening partner Ady Wood to find his feet. Unfortunately Wood (13) middled one to mid-wicket to break the partnership and King followed with a excellent 56, but may feel he should have gone on to score more having spread the field.

With skipper Simon Mower failing to score this gave Thetford hope of applying pressure for the first time. Ben Smart and Mark Hunter then led a perfectly timed reply by putting on a stand 113 in 21 overs to put Saham back on top.

Saham were looking to finish strongly but a late rally again by Thetford saw Hunter fall for an excellent 52 and Smart follow for an innings building 68. A late flurry of wickets saw the innings peter out 229 for 8 when 250 was possible but with the pitch misbehaving Saham were sure they had enough.

That was the last positive thought for the day though as Thetford made light work of knocking off the runs with a pitch that offered plenty. The experienced Thetford opening pair rode their luck but anything loose was punished as Thetford reached a 141 without loss at drinks.

A rally call was in order and an excellent catch by David Ellis off the bowling of Perry Sims gave Saham a sniff. Both openers had gone when Ben Smart caught another good catch this time off Ady Wood’s spin bowling. Saham pushed only for Thetford to stand strong and win comfortably by eight wickets with 43 balls to spare. Skipper Simon Mower was more than disappointed after a good pre-season as bowlers struggled to find any sort of discipline and will look to bounce back this Saturday as Saham host Gt Melton at Pages Lane.

Swaffham enjoyed a convincing win against newly-promoted Brooke A in Division Three. Swaffham bowled out Brooke for 159 thanks in large part to David Annakin’s 6-30. Swaffham knocked off the runs convincingly as Jasper Payne hit an impressive 92 not out and helped his side ease to a seven-wicket win.

In Division Four Mundford enjoyed a winning draw at home to Dersingham. The hosts scored 152-7 (13) before Dersingham replied with 145-8 (9).