Jaik Mickleburgh scored yet another century as Copdock & Old Ipswichian celebrated a third win on the trot, in the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League, although they only beat Vauxhall Mallards with three balls to spare in a thriller on Saturday.

It was all smiles at Old London Road, as in-form Copdock’s season continues to gather momentum.

Copdock amassed a formidable total of 305 for five, after being put into bat by Mallards, and then dismissed their visitors for 197 in the last over of the day to win by 108 runs.

The Suffolk side lost two early wickets, before Jack Beaumont (56 off 64 balls) put on 87 for the third wicket with the imperious Mickleburgh.

But it was a terrific stand of 179 for the fifth wicket, between Mickleburgh and captain Tom Rash (86), which effectively put the game out of Mallards’ reach. Suffolk all-rounder Rash struck 12 boundaries in his knock, while Mickleburgh finished on 123 not out, striking 14 fours in his 176-ball stay at the crease.

In reply, spinner Beaumont recorded figures of 18-4-45-5 to pave the way for victory, helped by fellow spinner Stephen Croft’s two for 56.

But it looked as though Copdock would have to settle for a draw, until Rash struck with the third ball of the last over, clean bowling stubborn No. 10 Paul Bradshaw.

Rash takes up the story: “It was another outstanding win, on what was another good batting wicket,” explained the Copdock skipper.

“Everyone knows that we have a very flat wicket at Copdock , so the onus was on us to get a massive total, after being put in, to put pressure on the chasing side.

“Paul Bradshaw is still one of the best bowlers in the league, and he made it difficult for us at the start. But Jaik and I seem to bat well together, and it ended up being a match-winning partnership, off 190 balls.

“We were both very circumspect to start with. Jaik is the sort of player who likes to bat throughout the innings, and that gave me the freedom to play my shots late on.

“We managed to get 90 runs off the last 10 overs, which was fantastic. Jaik didn’t give a chance. We can base our entire innings around him at the moment – he is phenomenal.

“I’d say that Jaik is a complete rock. I don’t think the league has seen anything like it before.

“Personally, I’ve also been amongst the runs, which is good for me, although obviously I’m not as classical as Jaik. I heave it about a bit,” added Rash.

Fresh from a double century for Suffolk the previous weekend, in the 10-wicket win at Northumberland, former Essex stalwart Mickleburgh has now bagged three centuries in the EAPL this summer.

In addition to his 108 (versus Mildenhall in May), 133no (v Swardeston) and last Saturday’s ton, the 27-year-old has also struck 99 against Horsford and 94 against Burwell (two weeks ago).

Referring to Copdock’s bowling, Rash continued: “We had to be inventive with our bowling. Although his figures don’t show it, Hugh Douglas bowled well for us at the start of the innings, before we brought the spinners on early.

“Jack (Beaumont) bowled well on a pitch that suited him. He managed to rip through their batting, although we still needed three more wickets going into the last hour. We managed to get two of these early on, but as is often the case against us, Paul Bradshaw was a thorn in our side.

“League rules demand a minimum of 17 overs in the final hour, but we bowled quickly, and it was in the 19th and last over when I managed to bowl a yorker to win the match,” added Rash.