Dereham back on winning trail

Dereham returned to winning form on Saturday as Tom Head rattled North Runcton A with a five-wicket haul in Norfolk Alliance Division Two.

Having not tasted victory since May 31, Dereham were keen to get back on track and they proved too strong for a weakened Runcton side, writes Phil Banyard.

The match was reduced to 30 overs per side on a damp pitch and Dereham skipper Duncan Hewitt won a crucial toss, unsurprisingly opting to field first.

Head was soon in the action, scurrying to his left to cling on to a brilliant one-handed catch at gully to remove opener Coote in the second over of the innings, bowled by Andy Lawrence.

Lawrence followed up by having Bunting caught behind in his third over, before Skipper and Wilson began to rebuild the innings.

Kristien Fletcher was brought into the attack and broke the partnership with his first ball, bowling Wilson for 19 with a perfect Yorker.

Head then took charge as his slow bowling proved ideal for the conditions. He was backed up by excellent catches from Tom Wallace and Phil Banyard as he collected figures of 5-17 from his seven overs.

Gary Starling returned to the attack with the aim of wrapping up the innings and that took him just one ball as Runcton were all out for 78 in the 27th over.

Dereham openers Hewitt and Banyard made their intentions clear early on, taking eight from the first over.

Hewitt hit a six and two fours before he was trapped lbw for 27 and with clouds building, Head was promoted up the order in an attempt to finish the match quickly.

He blasted a quickfire 15 to take Dereham to within six runs of victory and Banyard (27 not out) completed the job in just the 12th over.

Dereham lost their Mid Norfolk League Challenge Cup quarter-final against Anglians on Sunday.

Lee Hoggett hit 40 as Dereham were all out for 122, but Anglians surpassed that target with four wickets down.