SUDBURY will have a shot at promotion to the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League after they wrapped up the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship Division One title in style last weekend with an eight-wicket win over Copdock & OIs.

SUDBURY will have a shot at promotion to the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League after they wrapped up the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship Division One title in style last weekend with an eight-wicket win over Copdock & OIs.

The Suffolk club, who have now won the Division One title on three occasions (1990, 2004, 2007), will play the EAPL's bottom-place finishers Fakenham on their home pitch this Saturday in a 50-over match.

Sudbury skipper Steve Witham said: “We produced some really good performances over a tough run-in. We played Maldon, Mildenhall, Halstead and Copdock and we lost only six wickets in all four of those games.

“There was a lot riding on the Copdock game, so I guess it did end up being an anti-climax from the neutral's point of view.”

Witham won the toss and put Copdock into bat on a difficult wicket. The visiting attack then went about skittling out the hosts for just 90 runs, 16 year-old Billy Moulton-Day taking five wickets.

In reply, Sudbury lost just two wickets as John Kent made a fine half-century.

Speaking on the promotion/relegation play-off match, Witham said: “I don't know anything about Fakenham at all apart from the fact they have won three games in the Premier League this year so they will be a good side no doubt.

“We will have the same sort of side out as last weekend so we will just have to see how we go, they will be keen to stay in the Premier League though that is for sure.

“It is pretty good that we are at home because we know how to play our own conditions, we just want to contest the game and hopefully earn the right to go up.”

Meanwhile, the comprehensive defeat for Copdock means that the Ipswich-based club - who finished Suffolk runners-up for four years in succession between 2001 and 2004 - ended up in third place and continue to hold the tag of nearly men after a poor end-of-season run saw them throw away the title.

Copdock had topped the table going into the final stages, but defeats at Halstead, Ipswich & ES and finally Sudbury saw them falter at the final hurdle yet again.

Coggeshall were the side to pip Copdock for second place following their five-wicket win at Halstead.

The reigning champions also endured a miserable end of season run, picking up just one win from their last seven matches to finish the season in fifth place.

Mistley were confirmed as the other team to be relegated from Division One alongside Brightlingsea following their eight-wicket defeat at Mildenhall.

That result meant that Ipswich & ES were safe despite a 129-run defeat at Frinton.

In Division Two, Witham's 29-run win over Abberton was not enough to leapfrog their opponents into second place and promotion, the latter side going up with champions Wivenhoe.

However, if Sudbury were to win on Saturday and go up to the EAPL, promotion places may be extended to third-place teams in all divisions of the Two Counties Championship.