Norfolk brought themselves back into the reckoning towards the end of the first day of their Unicorns Minor Counties Championship clash with Bedfordshire at Manor Park today.

The visitors were looking strong at 285-6 but Norfolk's bowlers come out firing on all cylinders after tea to give themselves a good platform on which to build a response.

Five wickets were taken in less than six overs to bowl Beds out for 298, with Michael Eccles and Ryan Findlay both striking twice and a run-out from Sam Arthurton finishing the innings.

Norfolk then had 21 overs to begin their response before the close of play but lost an early wicket, with opener Peter Lambert falling for five to leave them at 27-1.

But Arthurton then joined James Spelman at the crease, and that is where he remained until the bails were removed by the umpires at the end of the day.

The pair finished with their partnership standing unbroken at 54, with Spelman closing in on a half century at 42 and Arthurton on 27.

The game is vital for both teams as they were the two teams propping up the Eastern Division table ahead of the three-day match, with Norfolk just two points better off.

Captain Chris Brown had hoped to return from a calf injury that he picked up at the start of the month but didn't feature for Horsford in the East Anglian Premier League on Saturday and wasn't able to play today either.

That saw Garry Park continue as skipper and the South African led the way with two wickets and a run-out to put Beds on 171-3 early on.

Horsford 21-year-old Findlay, playing in place of Brown, was the busiest bowler for Norfolk, taking three wickets for 88 runs in 27.2 overs.