A strong Snettisham side upset the formbook to power their way to victory over 2022 winners Aylsham St Giles in the Hunts County Bats Norfolk Junior Cup.
An impressive all-round team effort ensured that Snettisham could get their hands on the cup with a victory margin of 58 runs.
Aylsham St Giles won the toss and elected to field.
It looked as though this could have been a good decision because after dismissing the formidable Lewis Jeavons cheaply with the score on just 18.
However, a partnership of 66 between opener Ryan Twiddy 25 and top-scorer Jack Johnson 42 was followed by a sparkling innings from James Hearmon 39, which included four maximums.
This left Snettisham on a competitive 152 for 6 from their allotted 16 eight-ball overs.
There were two smart stumpings by Andy Prescott and two fine catches from Zack Davies and Jakir Hussain.
The pick of the Aylsham St Giles bowling was Rejwan Rifath (2-17) and Shahidur (Simon) Rahman (2-20).
In reply, Aylsham St Giles lost an early wicket but started brightly.
Opener Andy Prescott (26) played intelligently as he fought to hold the Aylsham innings together.
Sadly for them, the curse that has dogged them for much of this season reoccurred.
They had a middle-order collapse of five wickets for just 14 runs.
After that, it was always going to be a tough ask to get anywhere near the Snettisham score.
Iqbal Hussain Sufian (20) did his best to keep his side’s hopes alive but in the end succumbed with the final score of 94 all out.
The outstanding Snettisham bowlers were, Dan Coggan (4-12) and Damien Twiddy (2-30).
In the field, there was an outstanding catch by Ryan Twiddy, who also took another catch and grabbed a smart run out.
The Man of the Match and winner of the £300 bespoke cricket bats, courtesy of Hunts County Bats, was James Hearmon for his memorable all-round performance: 39 with the bat, 1-7 in two overs when bowling, along with three excellent catches.
After the match, Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League chairman Colin King, said: “This was a hard-fought match played in exactly the right spirit.
“I shall long remember seeing the outfield performance of Lewis Jeavons because he moves like a panther in pursuit of the ball, followed by a powerful return.
“It was an outstanding performance by Snettisham and the fact that there was a middle-order collapse from Aylsham St Giles had more to do with the quality of the bowling than any deficiencies in the Aylsham batting.
King added: “This was a perfect day for cricket. The sun shone and Horsford never looked better; they looked after us well. It was a fitting end to an excellent season.”
