Swardeston cruise into semi-finals of Royal London Club Championship

Published: 8:25 AM August 1, 2016 Updated: 2:50 PM October 10, 2020

Lewis Denmark, pictured in action for Norfolk, led the way as Swardeston reached the Royal London Club Championship semi-finals. Picture: Ian Burt

Swardeston are just one win away from a national final after turning in a superb performance in the last eight of the Royal London Club Championship yesterday.

Mark Thomas' side made the long journey down to Buckinghamshire to take on High Wycombe and came away with an emphatic 129-run victory to keep their bid for quadruple firmly on track.

On the domestic front they have already booked their place in the finals of the Bob Carter Cup and the NW Brown Norfolk Twenty20 competition and currently stand 47 points clear at the top of the Gibbs Denley East Anglian League, with six matches left to play.

Swardeston got off to a disappointing start after winning the toss and opting to bat first, with key men Peter Lambert and Stephen Gray both back in the pavilion with only seven runs on the board.

But a series of solid partnerships then repaired the damage, with Lewis Denmark at the heart of the visitors' revival. He made 72 in 79 balls while Jordan Taylor (29), Joe Gatting (31) and Freddie Ruffell (37) also did a solid job as Swardeston got past the 200-mark.

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The stage was then set for Matt Taylor and Thomas to add a touch of gloss to proceedings, and they didn't disappoint, adding an unbroken 35 for the eighth wicket to get their side up to 246-8 off 45 overs. Taylor finished on 44 and Thomas 16.

After losing their first wicket to Michael Eccles with only one on the board, High Wycombe staged something of a recovery before the rot set in. George Walker (3-9) and Thomas (3-20) were the most successful bowlers as the home side slid from 49-1 to 117 all out, to leave Swardeston victorious in the 26th over. They now have a semi-final to look forward to on Sunday, August 28.