Dereham suffered their second defeat of the Norfolk Alliance Division One season on Saturday when they were well beaten at Stow.

Duncan Hewitt's side were bowled out for just 145 in the 43rd over and could do little as the hosts got home for the loss of only three wickets.

As a result Dereham are bottom of the early table with just three points to their name and they will be aiming to do something about that on Saturday when they play host a Norwich A side who have lost two out of three (1pm).

Dereham made a reasonable start at the weekend, with openers Hewitt and Ryan Fitt making 24 and 20 respectively, but then wickets started to tumble, with only Jonny Bidewell making any impression.

He made 49 before being stumped when attempting to bring up his half century.

Daniel Lake (15) was the only other player to reach double figures.

It was a modest target for Stow to chase down and the hosts got home with plenty to spare, with the end coming in the 26th over.

Bradley Raper (2-33) took a couple of early wickets for Dereham, but then William Denny (68 not out) and Otto Esse (52) got together to effective settle the issue.

James Harbour eventually trapped Esse leg before and finished with respetcable figures of 1-26 from six overs, but by then the outcome was a formality.

Meanwhile Dereham A secured their first league win of the season with a comfortable nine-wicket success against Ashmanhaugh & Barton Wanderers A.

Dereham won the toss and bowled first, with Tom Clarke picking up two early wickets which set the tone for the innings. It was then left to captain Tom Head (5-32) to wipe out the Wanderers batting line-up as they were dismissed for 89. George Pledger and Neal Widdows were the other wicket- takers.

In reply, Dereham needed just 17 overs to reach their target, with Neil Irons smashing a quickfire 59 not out to see Dereham to victory. The match was sponsored by Lenwade Electrical.

Dereham A face a testing trip to early pace-setters and league newcomers Denver on Saturday.