KEITH PEEL Swardeston have ensured Bury St Edmunds must wait a while longer to celebrate their second successive Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier Cricket championship.

KEITH PEEL

Swardeston have ensured Bury St Edmunds must wait a while longer to celebrate their second successive Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier Cricket championship. Mark Thomas and his men moved back into second place when they produced a magnificent performance to beat the hot pacemakers by six wickets.

Bury, though, remain effectively two wins clear with only six games to play and Swardeston may ultimately rue their collapse a week earlier, when they suffered a one-run defeat by Norwich after losing three wickets in the final over.

Horsford slip a place to third after losing to fifth-placed Norwich by 41 runs, while seventh-placed Fakenham beat Mildenhall by five wickets and are now level on points with Vauxhall Mallards, who won by six runs against Cambridge Granta.

Clacton beat Godmanchester by three wickets in Saturday's other fixture.

Richard Sims took four for 67 as Swardeston performed wonders in the field to restrict Bury's prolific batting line-up to 246 all out.

Paul Grayson made 89 and Tim Catley 77 not out for the Suffolk side, whose only other EAPL defeat this season was by Fakenham.

Jaden Hatwell spearheaded the reply with 103, including 14 fours and a six, after Swardeston had lost both their openers with only half a dozen runs on the board.

The New Zealander shared in stands of 101 for the third wicket with Sims (59) and 133 for the fourth with rising star Northants Academy player Robert Newton, who hit 71 not out.

Norfolk spin bowler Chris Brown enhanced his all-rounder reputation despite Horsford's defeat at Manor Park.

First he took four for 41 as Norwich posted a daunting 310, of which Ben Patston scored 62 and skipper Chris Borrett 141, including five sixes and 14 fours.

Then he hit 103, sharing with Matt Wilkinson (64) in a 172-run fifth-wicket stand, as Horsford replied with 269 all out, Marlon Franklyn taking four for 81.

Bottom team Mildenhall made 291 for four at Wamil Way, where Richard Cross scored 105, John Heath 55 not out, Richard Ford 47 and Peter Worthington. Skipper Michael Smith cracked 95, Paul Dunger 69 and Chris Crane 52 not out in Fakenham's 292 for five response.

Vauxhall Mallards were bowled out for 176 at Brundall, where opener Carl Amos top scored with 51 before becoming one of Tom Harvey's victims in an 18-over stint which brought him five wickets for just 32 runs. Harvey followed up with 78 as Cambridge Granta were dismissed for 170.

Godmanchester made 284 at Clacton, where Matthew Pateman hit 55 after Oliver Huggins (66) and Matt Durrant (46) had put on 114 for the first wicket.

Indika De Saram scored 78 and Ryan Ten Doeschate 43 in Clacton's 289 for seven reply.