Sudbury made the perfect start to their Read Brothers Ltd East Anglian Premier League campaign with a convincing 75-run victory over Cambridge at Friars Street on Saturday.

Skipper Adam Mansfield won the toss and chose to bat first; a decision he may have questioned when his side found themselves 10-2 in the third over of the game.

Darren Batch (35) and Ben Parker (89) rebuilt for the Talbots, putting on 95 for the third wicket, and Parker, whose superb knock was to prove match winning, combined with Ryan Vickery (23) for a stand of 54 for the fourth wicket to leave Sudbury well placed at 169-4 with their powerful middle order to come.

While a flurry of wickets threatened Sudbury’s momentum, James Poulson played a typical cameo (28 off 18 balls with five boundaries) before he was last man out to set the visitors a target of 236 to win.

Poulson struck twice early with the new ball, removing both Cambridge openers for 0, and Paddy Sadler removed Michael Pepper LBW in his first over, leaving Sudbury well on top at the lunch break, delayed until 3pm to allow both sides to pay their respects to the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Sean Cooper bowled an excellent spell, his 10 overs costing a mere 23 runs, to keep the pressure on Cambridge as the run rate mounted, and a run out ensued, along with Billy Moulton-Day striking with his first delivery to leave Cambridge in trouble at 59-5.

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Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, six wickets fell in the first over of a bowler’s spell, and the bowling effort was backed up by an energetic display in the field. Cambridge captain Lewys Hill provided some resistance with a hard-hitting 55 but when he was bowled by Sadler (4-23), a well-deserved victory and 25 points were confirmed for Sudbury.

It also proved to be a positive afternoon for Sawston & Babraham (331-7), who ran out winners by a hefty 130-run margin at Burwell & Exning (201).

Former Burwell batsman Matthew Hague was the star of the show, scoring 129 runs, while 16-year-old Noah Thain also impressed on his way to contributing 44 to the Rams' cause.

Nicholas Huckle (73) offered up some resistance for the hosts at Exning Park, but ultimately his side were bowled out well short of their target.

Forty-seven runs each from captain Ben Seabrook and Hugh Stanton helped Bury St Edmunds (155-3) to record a seven-wicket win from their trip to Horsford (154).

The openers did much of the damage with the bat after Ben Whittaker (4-26) had impressed with the ball for the away side.

And it was also a good start to 2021 for Mildenhall (263-7) after they returned from Saffron Walden (217) with a 46-run win in tow.

Openers Tom Rash (48) and Tristan Blackledge (25) got Mildenhall off to a solid start, but it was Matt Allen's 71 (five 4s and two 6s) that helped to push the away team beyond the 250-run mark.

The defence of that total, meanwhile, was spearheaded by this year's overseas addition Nicholas Smit, who recorded figures of 4-35 from his 10 overs.

Swardeston (157-2) recorded a comfortable eight-wicket win over Copdock & Old Ipswichian (154) with Callum Taylor (91 not out) leading the charge, while Great Witchingham (320-8) won a high-scoring encounter against Frinton-on-Sea (317-5).

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