Denver go third in Norfolk Alliance Division Four

Norfolk Alliance

Division Four

Horsford 3rds lost

to Denver by 2 runs

Denver moved up to third in the standings after a thrilling victory over Horsford 3rds.

The weather had eased but the wicket and outfield were still damp and, knowing this, Horsford won the toss and put Denver into bat.

It was a slow start to the innings, a combination of some good bowling and help form the pitch.

After losing an early wicket, Paul Morton made 30, Neil Gromett 32 and Dan Harper 33 as Denver progressed to 117-2 and looked set to push past 200.

However Gromett and Harper fell within two runs of each other and the Denver innings slowed.

Some good hitting and sharp running at the end saw Denver make it to 177-7 off their 40 overs.

Horsford got off to a strong start reply, Paul Durrant making 29 before top-edging one through to the wicketkeeper.

A combination of smart batting and some poor catching allowed Horsford to move onto 130-1 when Alex Durrant was dismissed for 34 with a sharp catch from Joe Manning.

Sam Dickerson bowled a great spell after a tough start, ending with figures of 3-31 and Connor Bateson taking 3-41.

There were also two more outstanding catches from Lawtronic Man-of-the-match Joe Manning, but Horsford still seemed on top, needing nine from the last two overs with five wickets still in hand.

A great penultimate over that went for just one run saw another wicket fall, leaving eight required from the last over. With four needed off the last ball, Morton held his nerve and just a single was scored.

Rocklands lost

to North Runcton by 41 runs

North Runcton bolstered their push for a higher league finish by bringing home a good bag of points from Rocklands.

Lead by a superb 110 from opener Michael Crisp, the visitors built a strong position with contributions from Tim Coote, Darryn Faivelowitz and Jacob Lockheart helping him to gather runs at a good rate with Joe Gent coming in late to assist with the accelerator.

Crisp was dominant and his impressive knock included seven sixes to ensure a very competitive above par target of 233 was set.

In reply, Darren Cubitt and Will Lankfer were miserly with good straight bowling and the bowlers controlled the hosts other than Will Defoe who was eventually undone by Lankfers slower, straighter ball.

Joe Gent and Lucas Triffitt both bowled tightly at four runs per over and picked up a wicket each as did Amy Cubitt thanks to a brilliant grab by Jack Hazel behind the stumps.

It was left to Crisp to finish the innings and an outstanding personal performance with two late wickets, having already superbly caught a Rocklands opener to curtail his promising knock as the hosts finished on 191-7.

MoM sponsored by Allen Tomas & Co Financial Management Ltd: Michael Crisp.