Two play-off matches stand between North Runcton and a place in the East Anglian Premier League.
The club’s remarkable season will now be decided in the pressure cauldron of the play-offs after they signed off their Norfolk Alliance Premier League campaign with a commanding Duckworth–Lewis victory over Norwich.
The final league fixture of the summer may have been cut short by rain, but by the time the weather intervened, the outcome was beyond doubt.
Norwich had slumped to 83-8 in pursuit of Runcton’s imposing 278-5, and with no prospect of a recovery, the calculations left the visitors a massive 167 runs adrift.
That result meant Runcton closed the season with 16 wins from 18 matches, amassing 413 points – 67 clear of nearest challengers Brooke.
To achieve their spot in the East Anglian Premier League, Runcton must first overcome the winners of the Two Counties League (Suffolk and Essex) in a play-off semi-final, before meeting either the EAPL’s relegated side or the Cambridgeshire League champions in the final.
Their exact opponents will not be confirmed until those leagues conclude their campaigns.
On the field, the final game once again offered a snapshot of Runcton’s consistency and strength in depth.
Choosing to bat first after winning the toss, the innings began quietly, with the early loss of Kirwin Christoffels for just six.
Yet even that brief stay carried significance, those runs nudged the prolific opener to 1,001 for the season, securing his place as the Norfolk Alliance’s leading run-scorer.
With Christoffels gone, it was left to others to carry the innings.
Ben Skipper responded with determination, grinding out 53 from 85 balls, including six boundaries.
He stitched together partnerships of 29 with Jacob Lockheart (11) and 83 with his brother Mark.
Lockheart was undone by Jesse Willmott, while Ben fell to a sharp caught-and-bowled from Josh Wright.
Mark Skipper then took charge with a fluent 85 from 86 deliveries, peppered with nine fours.
His stand of 90 with Jasper Payne kept the scoreboard racing past 200, Payne himself contributing 29 to lift his season tally to 871, second only to Christoffels in the league standings.
Both eventually departed in quick succession, but a late flourish from Harvey Cross (27 not out) and Ben Coote (27 not out) propelled the total to 278-5.
The pair unleashed three huge sixes between them, with Coote’s clean hitting even scattering chefs preparing food for the evening’s end-of-season celebrations.
Norwich’s reply never threatened to get close.
Wickets fell regularly, with Christoffels (2-12), Coote (1-18), Payne (2-13) and Lucas Triffitt (3-18) all in the wickets.
Wicketkeeper Jack Hazel gleefully claimed four catches behind the stumps as Norwich’s batting crumbled.
Only Joe Lovick, unbeaten on 15, offered resistance before the rain arrived.
