North Elmham (2pts) lost to Rollesby (22) by seven wickets in the Norfolk League Division Six.

On a cool and blustery day with some threatening low cloud, Rollesby put North Elmham into bat on a wicket that looked hard with possibly a couple of damp patches to maybe trouble the batsmen.

Malherbe and Olivier found although the ball was generally coming on to the bat as expected, occasionally it would hold up or skid, which produced a certain amount of playing and missing.

Twenty-seven runs had been scored when Olivier was out to a very good one-handed catch by M Browning, the Rollesby skipper, for 11.

Grant King dragged the ball onto his stumps for nought and the collapse had started. Roy Websdale came in, only for a brief shower to send players off the field. When play re-started, Malherbe edged the ball to the wicket-keeper for 19 (32-3).

Both Keeble and Websdale found the accurate slow bowling extremely frustrating and difficult to get away. Keeble eventually tried to hit Browning out of the ground and was bowled for one (35-5).

Websdale followed a couple of runs later when he tried to cut the ball wide but found the hands of G Barnden at point (37-5).

Tony Garrod joined Ian Sinclair and hit a couple of good fours before he skied the ball for a c-b to Catchpole (49-6).

Elder Grobbelaar played sensibly, though rode his luck at times, to get the second-highest score of the Elmham innings before being bowled by Barnden for 14 (69-9).

The innings stuttered to all out for 72 in 29.1 overs.

Rollesby started steadily with Roffey and Payne hitting the occasional bad ball and taking the score to 31 before Payne gave a really sharp return catch for a c-b to Keeble.

Roffey was out four runs later, caught behind by Malherbe off the bowling of Grobbelaar, who was starting to work up some real pace.

A change of bowling at the other end brought Elmham skipper Iain Sinclair on for Websdale to get the wicket of Barnden for nought (36-3) – it was starting to look like a repeat of the Elmham innings.

However, Catchpole and Hewitt saw Rollesby through to a well-deserved seven-wicket victory in 33 overs with Catchpole on 19no and Hewitt 17no.

The only plus for North Elmham was that their bowling had not made it easy for Rollesby, with 13 of the 33 overs bowled being maidens.

Next games for North Elmham are Saturday, away at Horsford in the Norfolk League Six and Sunday, Barney at home in the Mid Norfolk Sunday League, both matches start at 2pm.

North Elmham: S Malherbe c wkeeper b G Barnden 19, J Olivier c M Browning b G Barnden 11, G King b M Browning 0, R Websdale c G Barnden b J Flett 2, A Keeble b M Browning 1, I Sinclair b J Catchpole 4, A Garrod c-b J Catchpole 9, E Grobbelaar b G Barnden 14, C Tindall b J Flett 1, J Livings not out 7, D Websdale b J Catchpole 0; extras 4. Total 72 all out (29.1 overs).

Bowling: G Barnden 9-3-28-3, M Browning 6-0-16-2, J Flett 6-1-21-2, J Catchpole 8.1-3-7-3.

Rollesby: Roffey c Malherbe b Grobbelaar 16, Payne c-b Keeble 15, Catchpole not out 22, Barnden b Sinclair 0, Hewitt not out 17' extras 3. Total 73-3 (33 overs).

Bowling: R Websdale 6-3-18-0, A Keeble 5-1-12-1, E Grobbelaar 9-4-22-1, I Sinclair 8-2-10-1, G King 3-2-1-0, C Tindall 3-1-7-0.