Sudbury thrash Saffron Walden by eight wickets to remain in the hunt for a third straight East Anglian Premier League title

Sudbury (110-2) reaffirmed their hopes of winning the Read Brothers East Anglian Premier League (EAPL) for a third year in a row, after thumping Saffron Walden (107) by eight wickets on Saturday.

The reigning EAPL champions had seen their title defence take a hit the previous weekend, following a narrow defeat to Copdock & Old Ipswichian, a result which saw them slip from second, and two points behind leaders Frinton-on-Sea, to third, and 21 points off the summit.

And, while both the top two, Frinton and Swardeston, matched Sudbury with 25-point hauls this past weekend, the Talbots’ skipper Adam Mansfield could not hide his delight at seeing his side bounce back at the first time of asking.

“It was good for us to bounce back after the Copdock result,” he said.

“When you’re not playing at your best and you lose it’s hard to take.

“What we’ve done quite well at is, when we’ve lost a game, we’ve bounced back really well.”

Mansfield won the toss at Friars Street on Saturday and decided to put their visitors Saffron Walden into bat first.

The Talbots made an almost immediate breakthrough, as Jonny Gallagher (1-24) bowled opener Jake Foley for a duck, and that was followed by what would be Saffron Walden’s biggest partnership.

Opener Regis Chakabva and Nikhil Gorantla put on 43 for the second wicket, a stand which was broken when Mansfield caught Gorantla, off the bowling of Henry Shipley.

The remaining eight wickets fell for just 62 runs, as Shipley (2-18), Ben Reece (3-29) and James Poulson (4-11) dismissed the visitors for 107.

Despite Sudbury’s openers Keelan Waldock (two) and Mansfield (30) losing their wickets, the Talbots eased to the low target, with Martyn Cull (40no) and Ryan Vickery (22no) steering the defending champions to 110-2 inside 26 overs.

l Sudbury’s Adam Mansfield, James Poulson and Patrick Sadler all featured for Suffolk in their thrilling draw against Cumberland in the Unicorns Championship on Tuesday.

The three-day fixture turned into a one-day match due to the weather, with Cumberland declaring on 232-9, while Suffolk in reply finished on 213-8.