Holders Swardeston bowed out of the national Twenty20 Cup yesterday after being beaten by Horsford in the final Norfolk qualifier.

Horsford made a solid 154-6 at The Common with opener Stephan Marillier top scoring with 43.

The hosts looked dead and buried after slumping to 30-5 in reply, with Tom Nudd taking three wickets, but got back into the match as Jordan Taylor (39) and Matthew Taylor (36) put on 74 for the sixth wicket.

That led to an exciting finale but Swardeston were still behind the required rate and ended up losing by 10 runs after finishing on 144-9.

The south Norfolk villagers won the national trophy for the second time in their history last season, beating Sandiacre Town in the final at the 3aaa County Ground in Derbyshire in the floodlit final.