Swaffham got off to a terrible start at Ashmanhaugh, but it turned out well in the end.A mixture of a quick small outfield, dropped catches and poor bowling allowed the home team to race out of the blocks.

Swaffham got off to a terrible start at Ashmanhaugh, but it turned out well in the end.

A mixture of a quick small outfield, dropped catches and poor bowling allowed the home team to race out of the blocks. Openers Everett and Metcalfe raced along at more than six an over, and at 190-0 in the 29th over both looked set for centuries.

The game changed when the experienced Maurice Dye, after an expensive first few overs, had Metcalfe caught for 94. Maurice, in tandem with Eagle, kept the Ashmanhaugh total down to 264 through regularly taking wickets and bowling tidily, assisted by their fielders who suddenly remembered how to catch. To keep the total down to 264 after a target well in excess of 300 looked certain was a good achievement by Swaffham and gave some impetus going into the second innings.

The father-son partnership of Maurice and Michael Dye gave Swaffham the foundation they needed in order to reach the still imposing 264, putting on 48 in the first 10 overs. The dismissal of both batsmen within in a short space of time brought together Swaffham's star batsmen Eagle and Reeve and after both sensibly played themselves in they soon began to take apart Ashamnhaugh's attack. Both batsmen were raining sixes all around the wicket and Reeve was first to his half century off only 35 balls, with Eagle just behind him taking 44 balls to reach his 50. The pair had put on 140 before Reeve holed out for 73, but by then the asking rate was under six an over and the arrival of Yates brought a steady influence.

Eagle stayed with his skipper for a few more overs before being caught on the boundary for 77, yet another fine innings from Swaffham's allround hero. In the end it was left to Yates and Titmarsh to chase down the remaining runs, with fittingly Yates hitting the winning boundary with 10 balls to spare.

Ashmanhaugh: 264-9 in 46 overs (M Dye Snr 12-1-73-5, M Eagle 9-0-36-4) Swaffham: 266-5 in 44.2 overs (M Dye Snr 19, M. Dye Jnr 24, M. Eagle 77, A. Reeve 73, C. Yates 32 Not Out, C. Titmarsh 26)

Swaffham U14s beat Downham Market U14s by 70 runs. A great performance by Swaffham in all three aspects of the game helped towards a comprehensive victory.

Oxborough and Payne put on 68 for the first wicket as Swaffham reached a good total.

In reply the bowling highlight came with Phillip Balls grabbing four wickets in only two overs, almost completing a hat trick.

Swaffham were near perfect in the field, led by Keiron Kingston Miles taking three difficult catches.

Swaffham: 127-7 in 20 overs (C. Oxborough 39, J. Payne 16, B. Mills 12, J. Rawson 4-0-28-4) Downham: 57 all out in 13.2 overs (P. Howling 16, S. Sharp 14, T Puckey 3-0-8-1, J Payne 2-0-10-1, C Oxborough 3.2-1-14-3, P. Balls 2-1-7-4)