BRADENHAM entertained Alliance Division One leaders Old Buckenham at the Green. The visitors snatched a winning draw but lost their 100 per cent record.

BRADENHAM entertained Alliance Division One leaders Old Buckenham at the Green. The visitors snatched a winning draw but lost their 100 per cent record.

Bradenham won the toss and elected to bowl but Fudge and Mann dispatched some wayward bowling, scoring 32 of the first six overs.

A double bowling change made an instant impact with Rob Thurley removing Fudge and Blake Whyte clean bowling Mann. This brought the seasoned campaigner and captain Terry Perry to the crease with J Jarvis.

Perry was soon in his stride, stroking the ball to all parts with some wonderful cut shots, steering his side back into the game. Jarvis was well caught, one handed, by Patrick Dewing off Greg Caffyn.

Bradenham bowlers put a stranglehold on the runs by taking regular wickets with Iain Brown having Lawrence stumped by Matthews and Robbie Austin caught by Caffyn. Robbie Austin sacrificed his wicket allowing himself to be run out, keeping his captain at the crease.

Bradenham pegged Bucks score back to 151-7 and hoped to keep them under 200, however Heaney and Perry put on 45 in seven overs. The visitors ended with a flourish, totalling 216-9 and Perry undefeated on 89.

Bradenham's innings got off to a brilliant start with a 52 first-wicket partnership. Marcus Evans was the first to go, clean bowled by ex-Dereham all-rounder, Andy Lawrence. Whyte hit three fours before being given lbw.

Patrick Dewing showed his intent from the first ball. Thurley and Dewing took the game to the visitors, smashing 40 in six overs. Thurley chanced his arm too often when Robbie Austin placed Goldsmith on the boundary with precision. Thurley fell into trap, caught for 38.

Lewis Denmark continued where Thurley had left off before chipping back a simple caught and bowled to Heaney. Skipper Kevin Blakey joined Dewing and both looked to be cruising when the introduction of Ben Mann had a dramatic change.

Dewing was caught by Perry one short of his half century and the score on 178-5.

Blakey continued to hit the ball hard and hit a huge six, taking his side within 20 runs from the last five overs. With veteran Steven Matthews for company the game was beautifully balanced. Ben Mann dismissed Matthews and Blakey in successive balls.

The Bucks could now smell victory and closed in on the batsmen with Robbie Austin trapping Caffyn lbw. With four overs to go it was left to the youth of Stolworthy and Bates to bat out for a losing draw, ending six runs short.

Bradenham A, playing Coltishall Wanderers A, took a maximum 25 points to Wanderers' five.

They elected to bat on a dry-looking pitch at Barton Turf.

Ian Gibb (48), a former Wanderers player, and Mike Taylor (64) set about the home team in very much the way they did the previous week against Rocklands. They smashed Maitland out of the attack and then focused on the Australian Jake Mitchell. The introduction of Saunders slowed the scoring rate and Gibb fell with the total at 94 off 17 overs.

Skipper Ian Moody (11) came and went, but Mark Hunter provided further evidence of his talent in scoring an effortless 44, which included 20 in one over off the luckless leg-spinner Pilgrim.

Taylor meanwhile had batted quite superbly, scoring his runs at a decent pace and including nine fours and two sixes. Kevin Denmark (15), Greame Campbell (24) Chad Baluza (23) and finally Tom Browes (13) all scored freely and with some poor fielding and wayward bowling, the total quickly climbed to 270 for eight before Bradenham brought an end to the slaughter, declaring five overs short of the 46.

That left the Wanderers needing 271 from a maximum of 51 overs. Pick of the home bowlers was Mitchell with three for 46 and another left-armer, Saunders, with three for 45.

Wanderers lost a wicket, caught behind to the very first ball of the innings by Gibb off Dave Hillier (three for 18).

Martin Fox accounted for Shawcross and the excellent Hillier picked up a further two. The arrival of Mitchell at No 6 threatened to spoil Bradenham's party. Bradenham, with Browes and Baluza bowling varieties of spin, and Mitchell, who is clearly an artisan of slow bowling, led to fireworks. He was particularly severe on Browse, who went for 20 in one over, including two big sixes, but the introduction of Moody paid immediate dividends when he bowled Mitchell for 29 with his first ball.

Browes then replaced Moody and picked up Southwell, caught and bowled, but after some lusty blows to the leg-side by home skipper, Humphries was once again replaced by Moody. He got his man fourth ball of his second over for 30.

The final wickets fell, the excellent Chad Baluza claiming two for 24 from 8.4 overs and Moody three for four from three overs.

Man of the match for Bradenham had to be the excellent Taylor for a fine 64.