Bury St Edmunds slipped to the bottom of the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League table, after losing to fellow strugglers Norwich at the Victory Ground on Saturday.

Bury were well beaten by seven wickets, having been dismissed for just 128 in 49.3 overs, Norwich coasting to a rare win inside 39 overs of their reply. It was the Norfolk’s club’s first victory of the campaign.

Sean Park’s men are certainly not unfamiliar with slow starts to a season – they have tended to enjoy better second half of the summers in recent years, playing catch-up with the fear of relegation hovering over them.

Once again, Bury will have to step up their game during the weeks ahead, having so far won just one of their first seven fixtures, against Vauxhall Mallards (currently second-from-bottom) in early May.

Park top-scored with 46 in Bury’s middle order, but could do little to halt the slide – the skipper was eventually eighth out with the total on 123, having struck seven boundaries in a patient knock spanning 83 deliveries.

Only two other Bury batsmen reached double figures, opener Luke Du Plooy (14) and all-rounder Alastair Allchin (12). The biggest partnership of the innings was the 38 compiled between Park and Allchin for the eighth wicket.

There were three wickets apiece for opening bowler Dominic Mirner (11-2-37-3) and his brother Jamie Mirner (10-2-18-3), while captain Ashley Watson took two for 13 off 13.2 overs to really turn the screw on their West Suffolk hosts.

George Loyd claimed the early wicket of Martin Greiller (4), trapped leg before with the score on 23, but otherwise Norwich were always in the ascendancy during their reply.

Opener Jack Newby finished on 63 not out, accrued off 120 balls, while Nipua Senaratne (24) and Watson (16) saw the Norfolk side home off just 38.3 overs. There was a wicket apiece for spinners James McKinney and Sean Cooper.

This Saturday, Bury are on the road away at mid-table Horsford, whose match at Great Witchingham was abandoned as a draw because of rain last weekend.