Richard Charlwood's starring role with bat and ball on a defining day in Cromer CC's season helped the Overstrand carpenter nail the Dipple & Conway Opticians Norfolk Cricket Alliance Player of the Month award for August.

Charlwood scored 106 runs and then took 4-41 as Cromer beat Sprowston by three wickets to dispel any risk of relegation.

It was Charlwood's second century score during a month in which he scored a total of 256 runs. His reward was a coveted PoM pennant and a pair of designer sunglasses presented by the sponsors.

Charlwood has been part of Cromer CC since he joined the youth set-up 15 years ago. Now 26, he has played in the first team for nine years. Describing himself as 'a batsman who bowls a bit of off-spin when needed', Charlwood has consistently batted at number four this season.

'That means I often don't get to bat until the 40th over or later, so my opportunities to build a big score are limited.

'When I do get in I think my batting has been as good as ever it has been – although in total I haven't scored as many runs as I would have liked this summer.' he said.

'The August 20 match was a pretty big game for both us and Sprowston. They were still in the mix to win the league, so they were pushing hard,' said Charlwood, who works as a carpenter at the John Innes Centre.

'We could still have been relegated at that stage. So I was really pleased to take four wickets and then score some runs.

'Then one of our team hit a six of the last ball to win the game and kill off any worries about relegation.'

Players of the Month nominees:

• Richard Charlwood – Cromer, Premier Division: 103, 106; 4-41.

• David Lake – Dereham, Division 1: 86, 65; 4-43, 4-63

• Marcus Evans – Bradenham, Division 2: 76, 71*, 56

• Jez Wright – Bradfield, Division 2: 54*, 70*; 4-13

• Shaun Fisher – Bircham, Division 5: 84, 83*, 55