Skipper Darren Batch inspired Sudbury to a crushing victory over Godmanchester Town, in the East Anglian Premier League play-off final at Friars Street on Saturday.

Batch struck 109 as Sudbury, who had won the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship Division One title to qualify for the play-offs, thumped the visitors by 144 runs.

The triumphant West Suffolk club therefore return to the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League after a two-year absence.

Sudbury were relegated in 2013, and finished a distant fifth to Two Counties champions Frinton last season, before winning the title with 18 victories from 22 league matches this summer.

Batch won the toss and elected to bat, in this one-off decider, a decision which was soon vindicated as the hosts rattled up a formidable total of 296 for nine from their 50 overs.

Openers Nathan Poole and Tom Huggins put on 64 for the first wicket, to give Sudbury a solid start. Poole hit 37 off 39 balls, while Suffolk captain Huggins struck five boundaries in his innings of 26.

However, the alarm bells were sounding when Sudbury slipped to 77 for three, only for Akeal Hosein and incoming batsman Batch to then put on a match-winning partnership of 158 for the fourth wicket.

Sudbury did not pass the 100-mark until the 28th over, and at one time accumulated just 13 runs in a 10-over spell, but it was not long before Godmanchester’s bowlers were put to the sword.

West Indian all-rounder Hosein blasted six sixes in his entertaining knock of 66, of 65 balls, while the imperious Batch hit nine fours and six sixes in his classy innings of 109, made off 96 deliveries.

Godmanchester openers, Tariq Aziz (20) and Nick Wilmer (44) were the only visiting batsmen to pass 20 as they slumped to 152 all out in their reply. There were four wickets apiece for the spin pairing of Hosein (10-2-33-4) and Huggins (9.1-1-32-4).