Leaders post seventh straight victory

A brilliant all-round team effort gave visitors North Runcton a seventh consecutive victory on Saturday.They defeated second-placed Fakenham to open up a 37-point advantage at the top of the Norfolk Alliance Premier Division.Skipper Luke Caswell won the toss and inserted North Runcton to bat first, a decision he must have regretted as they posted a 300-plus score for the third time this season.Kirwin Christoffels and Ben Skipper opened with an 81-run partnership with both players looking comfortable before Skipper was bowled for 37 (five fours) by Lloyd Marshall (2-46).Jacob Lockheart, coming in at three, continued his good form with another half-century and carried his bat to the end of the innings with 60 not out off 80 balls.Christoffels was second out on 112 in the 27th over for a patient but accomplished 54 off 91 balls. Alec Payne joined Lockheart and took the score to 195 with the hard-hitting Payne making 52 off just, including 26 from William Dewing’s eighth over. He was out caught going for another six on the boundary by Oscar Campbell off Liam Riseborough.Not to be outdone, brother Jasper Payne made a scintillating and equally hard-hitting 61 off 35 balls as he and Lockheart took the score to 283-4 in the 47th over when Payne was caught by wicketkeeper Steve Gray off the bowling of Campbell off a vertical skier.Ben Coote came and went for one, caught and bowled by Dewing, before Mark Skipper scored a cameo 13 off just six balls but both he and Lucas Triffitt were clean bowled with consecutive balls by Campbell (3-54) as they tried to score as quickly as possible with the overs running out. Odi Modmokoane was unbeaten on one and Lockheart 60 not out when they closed on 307-8 off 50 overs. In reply, Modimokoane was in great form and soon had Fakenham in trouble with Billy Yarham caught by Christoffels for three with the home team at 5-1 in the fifth over.They recovered to 24 before losing the second wicket of Gray for two, bowled by Jasper Payne who struck again at 59-3 in the 16th over by removing Dewing who made 37 off 51 balls caught by Alec Payne in the deep.Jasper Payne (3-26) then took a third wicket as Will Dungar was caught by Christoffels for 16. Coote joined in by taking the fifth wicket, removing Harry Bammant leg before for 15 to leave the hosts 101-5 after 26.1 overs.Caswell played a captain’s innings and made 35 off 53 balls and was their last hope but he was comprehensively bowled by a Michael Annakin yorker who struck the killer blow in the 31st over with the score 131-6. Owen Cole was run out for five by a brilliant direct throw from Mark Skipper and Marshall, Campbell and Andy Lawrence (30) all departed – all victims of the impressive Modimokoane (4-19 off 7.4 overs) – as Fakenham were 169 all out.With a half-century and three wickets, Jasper Payne was named player-of-the-match with North Runcton taking 25 points and Fakenham picking up five.