TREVOR Smith was the principal destroyer as Suffolk crushed Hertfordshire with a day to spare in their Minor Counties Championship match at Ransomes Sports Ground, Ipswich, yesterday.

TREVOR Smith was the principal destroyer as Suffolk crushed Hertfordshire with a day to spare in their Minor Counties Championship match at Ransomes Sports Ground, Ipswich, yesterday.

Smith bowled throughout the Hertfordshire second innings, claiming figures of six for 86 off 22.5 overs to engineer a superb victory by an innings and three runs.

Suffolk, thanks to a marvellous century from Andy Mawson, had rattled up a total of 409 for four declared on day one.

The visitors seemed in little danger of defeat when racing to 78 for no wicket on Sunday evening, but they lost 20 wickets in dramatic fashion yesterday.

David Ward failed to add to his overnight score of 57, falling victim to Chris Warn's smart catch while standing up to Gary Kirk, and that set the tone for the day.

Hertfordshire eventually collapsed from 131 for one to 221 all out, losing their last nine wickets for just 90 runs.

Spinner Chris Swallow snapped up three wickets, as did youngster Paul King, who finished with figures of three for 23. Hertfordshire were therefore invited to follow on, 188 runs behind on first innings, and things went from bad to worse for them as the afternoon wore on.

Opener Steve Cordingley was dismissed for a duck, one of Smith's six second-innings dismissals, and the former Derbyshire bowler than trapped Tom Pearman leg before to leave Hertfordshire on 21 for two.

Smith bowled unchanged from the pavilion end, with just one break for tea, and he received excellent support from Kirk, who helped to mop up the tail. The experienced Kirk finished with figures of three for 26 to boost his total of wickets for Suffolk in the Minor Counties Championship to 97, just three short of the magic 100-mark.

Suffolk's director of cricket Kevin Brooks enthused: "It has been a very rewarding two days for Suffolk.

"Two young lads, Paul King and Chris Swallow, started it all off in the morning, and then the experienced bowlers, Trevor Smith and Gary Kirk, finished it all off.

"One of reasons for bringing Trevor (Smith) to Suffolk is that he is a whole-hearted cricketer who is very keen to get back in the first-class game.

"And he proved that by bowling unchanged in the heat. It certainly wasn't the ideal day for bowling or fielding, but he stuck to his task and knew what he had to do. It was an excellent spell of bowling.

"We have been working towards this sort of performance for a while. It was a very professional display and a deserved win," added Brooks.