Swardeston kept their composure in a tense finale to preserve their 100 per cent record in the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League.

The defending champions were involved in a cracking derby game with Norwich at Ingham, with the outcome in doubt right until the final over.

All three results were possible as the match reached its conclusion, with the hosts needing 11 runs to win with three wickets in hand, but it was Swardeston who got the job done to make it four wins out of four this season.

Earlier in the day, Mark Thomas' side were made to battle hard for their runs after the skipper had opted to bat first. They got off to a decent start, with Peter Lambert (35) and Jason Reynolds (64) putting on 66 for the first wicket, but were looking at a distinclty below-par total after sliding to 149-7.

It was just as well that the tail wagged to support Reynolds' good work, with Matthew Taylor making 23 and the three men below him in the order all reaching double figures to get the total up to 219.

In reply, Norwich got past 150 for the loss of only three wickets, but the tide turned when Will O'Donnell, who had earlier taken 4-40, was bowled by Tom Oxley for 79. The home side kept battling away but late run-outs for Patrick Sheridan and Yathseraj Kailanathan, the latter in the final over, ended their brave challenge. Norwich finished on 212-8 to lose by seven runs.

There was another thrilling finish at Halvergate as Vauxhall Mallards edged home against Burwell with just one wicket and two balls to spare.

The visitors were indebted to excellent knocks from opener Thomas Jagot (75) and Simon Donald (72) as they posted a more than respectable total of 259-9 in their 50 overs, with Adam Todd taking 4-61.

Mitchell Todd led the reply by smashing 104 in 100 balls. He added 96 for the third wicket with Ben France (50) but Mallards slipped from 159-2 to 217-8 and it needed the cool heads of Ali Shearer (27) and skipper Paul Bradshaw (26 not out) to see them to the brink of victory. When Shearer went with 10 runs still needed there was fresh hope for Burwell, but last man Todd provided the necessary support for his captain to seal a fine win.