Hales and Loddon were hit for six by swing bowler Neal Widdows as they suffered a crushing 148-run defeat at Dereham A in Division Six of the Norfolk Alliance.

The diminutive medium-pacer produced a 29-ball demolition job as H&L surrendered all hope of chasing a 219 victory target with a display of headless batting.

Widdows returned outstanding figures of six for eight as Dereham took under 23 overs to seal success.

Only two H&L batsmen managed double figures with Milton Lindsay top-scoring with a brisk 16 before being trapped lbw by George Pitcher and Tim Outlaw hitting 14 before lobbing up a catch to Liam Jarvis off the bowling of Widdows.

Poor shot selection and a lack of concentration was the feature as Widdows wiped out another five batsmen to bring the match to its swift conclusion.

The other four wickets were shared by Pledger (seven overs two for 23) and professional golfer Andrew Marshall (nine overs two for 27).

Earlier Dereham had posted a 218 total after being invited to bat. On a good-looking track and fast outfield they made a flying start, racking up 76 off the opening 10 overs.

But H&L clawed their way back into the game with some economical bowling and good fielding, managing to bring the scoring rate down from around eight an over to four an over.

Mark Stewart (nine overs two for 36) , Dave Redford (seven overs two for 25), Jack Cook (6.4 overs two for 20), Richard Cook (six overs one for 21) and Milton Lindsay (seven overs 0 for 26) all kept the pressure on.

The fielders also rose to the challenge, weighing in with six catches and three run-outs, as Dereham were dismissed for a 218 total that H&L felt should have been achievable given the conditions.

Opener Sam West topped the Dereham batting with a brisk if chancy 63, before being run out by Auldwyn Lindsay after being called for a non-existent two by his partner. There was good support from Liam Jarvis (21), Jack Perrin West (39), Neil Burrage (33) and Andrew Marshall (18) while the total was bolstered by 32 extras.

Hales and Loddon do not have a game this weekend.

The club’s annual fete is being held at Hales Green on Sunday, noon to 5pm.