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Page last updated at 14:27 GMT, Thursday, 23 July 2009 15:27 UK

Norfolk beat Staffs in cup final

Chris Brown and Paul Bradshaw
Norfolk's Chris Brown and Paul Bradshaw with the trophy

Norfolk have won the rain-delayed Minor Counties Knockout Trophy beating Staffordshire in the final by 104-runs at Chester-le-Street.

After a four-hour delay to Wednesday's start, Norfolk amassed 257-6 and Staffordshire were 26-4 by the close.

Play resumed on Thursday morning and Staffordshire were all-out for 153, with only Richard Harvey (36) and Paul Goodwin (32) providing resistance.

Michael Eccles (5-34) was the pick of the Norfolk bowlers.

It was Norfolk's fourth Minor Counties one-day trophy victory in 12 years, as they took the six wickets they required in just over two hours.

Norfolk skipper Carl Rogers praised Michael Eccles, who was named man-of-the-match, for his five-wicket haul.

He told BBC Radio Norfolk: "Mike getting five-for was a great effort, he thoroughly deserved it, he's bowled great for us in the one-dayers."

"He likes it when there's a little more pace in the wicket and on these first-class pitches he gets that, so I think that helped him a little more than the others."

Eccles added: "I'm just glad we won, it might be the only time you play in a final so you want to win it once you get here, it's a nice place to play.

"I thought I'm never going to get a better chance to get five, with two tail-enders in and already on four, I was running out of time at one stage."

Staffordshire captain Paul Goodwin told BBC Radio Stoke: "We're extremely disappointed and we just didn't play well enough in any of the departments.

"They outplayed us and I think it's as simple as that. We've said all along we've played some fantastic cricket but it wasn't our day.

"I don't want to overanalyse it at the moment but they're the bare facts.

"We didn't bowl consistently well enough, and after a bad start with the bat we were always up against it, and it was just too much in the end."

On Wednesday play was delayed for four hours because of rain at Durham's Riverside ground.

Eccles' three wickets helped reduce Staffordshire to 26-4 after 9.3 overs, in reply to Norfolk's total of 257-6, when bad light stopped play.

Captain Carl Rodgers (91) had put Norfolk in control, while fellow opener Ben Patston made 65.



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