North Runcton continued their most successful season since 2019, winning their fifteenth game out of a possible 17 of this year’s campaign with an impressive batting chase of 274 runs and a six-wicket victory.
Sprowston won the toss and took the opportunity to bat first on what proved to be a good batting wicket and scored freely with opening bat Caleb Montague making 89 with 7 fours and 2 sixes in 97 balls.
Number four, Sridhar Tenjarla, posted 100 not out with 10 fours and 2 sixes in just 81 balls.
The Runcton bowlers all toiled as their hosts took runs freely.
Making his first eleven North Runcton debut was 14-year-old Malik Carroll, who took the wicket of Sam Hales, leg-before-wicket for 24 in an excellent spell of 1-28 off four overs.
Other bowlers were: Kirwin Christoffels 2-50 off 10 overs, Jasper Payne 2-28 off seven, Lucas Triffitt 0-54 off 10, Michael Annakin 0-44 off eight, Jacob Lockheart 0-27 off four and Ben Coote 0-35 off seven.
The Sprowston total of 274 was the largest total Runcton had faced this year, but the already-champions made the chase look easy, securing victory with more than seven overs to spare.
Openers Kirwin Christoffels and Ben Skipper put on 32 for the first wicket, with the latter bowled by Montague for six.
Jacob Lockheart, at number three, and Christoffels shared a partnership of 122, taking the score to 154 before the free-scoring opening bat was bowled by Ross Bullard for 82 with 9 fours and 2 sixes in 69 balls.
Lockheart followed shortly after for 40 with 3 fours in 55 balls, leg-before-wicket to evergreen bowler Paul Bradshaw.
Mark Skipper and Jasper Payne then added 96 for the fourth wicket before Payne was caught at long off for 58 with 7 fours and 2 sixes.
Skipper with 4 fours and a six made a stylish 45 not out and Lucas Triffitt 11 not out to see Runcton home in the 42nd over.
