Tim Keogh's Weekend Sports Update (31st August & 1st September)

End of season cricket report plus football news.

It was a pulsating final round of league games for all local teams as the cricket season reached a grand finale at the weekend.

In Division Two of the Norfolk Cricket Alliance, Bircham were crowned Champions with a 7 wicket win over Mattishall 1st XI. Some tight bowling and four wickets for Thomas Hill allowed the local side to chase down their target of 98 with ease.

Kevin Crompton (team umpire)​, John King, Thomas King, Adam Ward, Finn Karsten, Liam Crompton, Will Faulkner, Thomas Hill, James Wroth (team scorer) Left to right, front;George Van-Aalst, Nathan King, Peter Mathews (C), Daniel King, Jason Clarke

An impressive 8 wicket win for Sandringham over champions Norwich 2nds meant they secured second spot and with it promotion to Division Two. A superb century from Darren Bunn seeing them home.

The other big winners were Thornham CC 1st XI, who beat Beeston CC away. Thornham posted a relatively modest 185 in a tense affair. However, excellent bowling restricted the home side as they fell 38 runs short. Tom Wallace and Thomas Chudley bagged hat-tricks. In one the most topsy turvy divisions, Thornham, who secured second spot in Division One of the Norfolk Cricket League, can now apply for promotion to the Norfolk Cricket Alliance League.

Despite a fantastic season, Snettisham just missed out on promotion in Division Four of the Norfolk Cricket Alliance. Any slim chance was ended with an agonising four run defeat at home to Rocklands CC. The result was irrelevant in the end as second placed Swaffham won.

(There will be a comprehensive round up of all the local cricket winners and losers in the October edition of Town & Around).

Football

Heacham FC were unfortunate to come away with nothing as they lost 2-1 at home to high flyers Thetford Town, ruing missed chances and denied a late penalty. Toby Hilliard scored a penalty for the Magpies to cancel out the away side’s early opener, before Thetford bagged all three points in the second half. Heacham welcome local foes Fakenham Town tomorrow night (7.45pm kick off).

Dersingham Rovers have moved up to second in Division One of the Anglian Combination League with a convincing 4-1 win at home to Brandon Town. A Scott Sutherland-Gray hat-trick doing the damage.

Game of the weekend, however, was in Division Three at Briston where ingoldisthorpe were involved in a quite extraordinary 7-7 draw. Dylan Ess bagged four goals for the local side.

In Division Five, both Heacham Reserves and Dersingham Reserves remain winless, the former losing 3-2 at third placed Madra, whilst the latter suffered a 4-2 reverse at leaders North Walsham Town Reserves.