Norfolk's destination in the quarter-finals of the MCCA Trophy will be decided on Sunday when Northumberland face Cheshire at Hyde, needing to beat hosts Cheshire to pip Cambridgeshire to top spot in Group Three.

If Northumberland win then Norfolk will be facing the prospect of a long trek north to Jesmond on Sunday, June 16, rather than the comparatively short hop over the county border to Wisbech.

Defeat for Northumberland against Norfolk captain Chris Brown's former county would also give the winners of the Cumberland v Herefordshire match a chance to sneak into the last eight by snatching second place im the group.

'I've no preference over which team we face,' said Brown, whose own men sealed their quarter-final place with a 12-runs win over Suffolk at Bury St Edmunds at the weekend.

'Obviously Cambridgeshire is closer but I don't mind who we play. The one thing we know is that they will both be very competitive because you don't get to the quarter-finals of a national competition without playing good cricket.

'Cambridgeshire have a couple of really good spinners in Paul McMahon and Lewis Bruce while Northumberland have an outstanding player in Jacques Du Toit, who we know well from his first class cricket for Leicestershire as well as in the East Anglian Premier League for Cambridge Granta.'

Brown could not be happier with the way things are going for his own team.

Having won away to both Wiltshire and Suffolk, as well in a thrilling home game against Lincolnshire, the only blot on Norfolk's results list was when they narrowly fell short of a huge target in a dramatic run-fest against Shropshire at Horsford.

Looking back to the most recent game, Brown said: 'Collectively it was an excellent performance against a decent Suffolk side. It all got a bit nervous towards the end when the lad Poulsen came in and played extremely well at number ten. But the lads held it together and did what they needed to do.

'The bowling group all did extremely well. Ben France had one slightly expensive over but these things happen. Last week Harry Bush had a couple of expensive overs but he came back and bowled beautifully against Suffolk, where both he and Steven Gray also batted well in the middle of the innings.'

Brown had special praise, however, for fellow veteran Paul Bradshaw, who took five for 66, saying: 'He was exceptional, particularly at the death. He kept his nerve and kept digging away at the right areas.'