¨ Harberton versus Slapton for the Mills Shield on 11 May 2008

¨ Slapton 140 all out (40 overs)

¨ Harberton 104 all out (36.3 overs)

¨ Harberton lost by 36 runs

¨ Man of the match: Matt Culf

¨ Champagne moment: Keith Shephard’s swoop and throw to run out Mitchelmore

Harberton had begun 2008 brightly, winning their first two matches with ease, but games which are contested with the Mills Shield up for grabs have added tension and their side have now relinquished a 10 month hold on the trophy. The introspection into their batting performance lasted well into the evening and it was generally agreed that is was just a bad day at the office for the top six.

The defeat was all the more galling as Slapton had only mustered a total of 140 which was well short of competitive having won the crucial toss and elected to bat on a true pitch with a very fast outfield. Indeed, if Slapton had been bereft of the services of Chris Bowles (80) then they would have struggled to make three figures.

Excellent bowling by Shephard (1 for 15) and especially the swinging Culf (3 for 25) had reduced Slapton to 54 for 5 in the 20^th over. Things could have been even worse had Michael Powell not dropped a sitter from Bowles at gully off of captain David Cook. The batsman had 27 to his name and made Harberton pay dearly for their profligacy.

Nobody really supported Bowles – the next highest score was 13 by number ten Sullock – but it did not matter in the final analysis. Bowles was keen to play nearly everything of the back foot and it was from here that he forced most of his 15 boundaries to go with a driven six. Pyke (4 for 33) eventually snared him amidst a virtuosic display of left arm spin, but a final wicket stand of 21 which followed between Sullock and Timmy Bissett (10 not out) was another nail in the Harbeton coffin.

A potentially strong top order had been weakened by an ankle injury to Powell which saw him forced down to number 9 in the order. Having said that, 140 could have been attained and at least one of the top 6 should have made a 50.

The lynchpin Scott (4) went first, snicking Matthias (4 for 22) to Mercer. Buckner (0) followed 2 balls later with a leading edge back to the diving Matthias. The score was 6 for 2 and the team did not rally from this early shock to the system.

Of the major batsmen only Pyke (23) weathered the storm for very long and even he would have been disappointed with the wild heave which saw him bowled all over the place by Bissett (3 for 21) when his team badly needed him to dig in. Cook (20) and Stibbs (27) tried to repair the damage but both fell with the run rate tipping 7 an over. Indeed, once Powell (0) had sliced to cover second ball that was end game as far as Harberton were concerned. Their final total of 104 all out was a pitiful tally and in stark contrast to their first two innings of the summer which had mustered a total of 415. Their hold on the much prized Mills Shield is at an end but they hope to regain the trophy in the return fixture in July.

Cook expressed his bitter disappointment at his side’s batting following the game and stated that such performances make his threatened departure from the club all the more likely. Whilst his initial assessment that his team had batted as dismally as drunken clowns was somewhat over the top, he had essentially summed up the gist. His predecessor Goldsmith was positively apoplectic from the scorehut, outraged that the only time in the last 8 games that he had been omitted saw the team lose after a run of 7 successive wins. One man who did enjoy himself on the day was Harberton’s resident umpire Bob Mucklow who celebrated his 70^th birthday – it is hoped that he can go on to make a century, unlike many of the batsman who have been sent on their way with a wag of his finger.