Under-performing Suffolk suffered their third defeat from four Unicorns Minor Counties Championship matches, following a heavy loss at the hands of defending champions Staffordshire yesterday.

The visitors were trounced by 259 runs, following on from defeats to Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire earlier in the summer. They had won their second match, against Norfolk.

Enjoying a lead of 83 runs on first innings, Staffordshire extended that advantage to 382 after posting a second innings total of 299 for four declared during yesterday’s third day.

The hosts took just over 51 overs to rattle up these runs, with Tim Maxfield the chief contributor with an excellent 104 not out, batting in the middle order.

Maxfield and Matthew Goodwin, who had taken six for 69 in Suffolk’s first innings, shared an unbeaten stand of 87 for the fifth wicket, to leave Suffolk facing a token 383 for victory.

Tom Huggins’ men were always struggling, and they were duly skittled out for just 123 in 60.3 overs in what was a disappointing batting performance, especially in the late afternoon session.

Opener Nathan Poole was dismissed for a duck, and when his skipper and fellow Sudbury opener Huggins followed him for 17, with the score on 50, the writing was on the wall.

In fact, Huggins’ dismissal, the first of Paul Byrne’s six victims, prompted a big batting collapse in which five wickets fell for just 16 runs. In all, the visitors lost their last nine wickets for just 73 runs.

Only Martyn Cull offered any resistance, with a top score of 36, while home wicketkeeper Alex Mellor took a total of 11 catches in the match, a county record.