The visitors, who fielded four debutants for the curtain-raiser, found themselves 1-3 down after some tightly-fought foursomes matches in the morning.

Norfolk captain Simon Clark and teenager Harry Thomas – on his initial start for the first-team – dovetailed well to secure a 1-up success.

In the afternoon singles, Mason Bernstein enjoyed a 3&2 victory, while Josh Weeds triumphed 2&1. Casey Patterson also claimed a half-point from his clash.
Norfolk County Golf Union president Steve Locke said: “The overall match score doesn’t reflect the standard of play by the Norfolk team. You can’t win them all!”

Norfolk second team also lost out to their Northamptonshire counterparts in the match that took place at Wensum Valley.

The away team edged a hard-fought contest 7-5 against another Norfolk side that included four first-timers. Norfolk Under-18 boys’ golfer Jamison Gray partnered Brandon Hobley to land a half-point in the morning foursomes. Second-team captain Peter Murphy and Tom Rutherford bagged a full point as the hosts trailed at lunch 1.5-2.5.

Second-team debutant Dean Scott did superbly to record a 4&2 afternoon win, with Hobley and Michael Skipper also victorious in their respective singles matches. Murphy produced a grandstand finish to halve his head-to-head, birdieing the final three holes.