Champions back in hunt after 190-run onslaught

AN AMAZING onslaught from DHS St Pierre left Optimists with a target that even they could not chase last night. Carl Le Tissier and Glenn Milnes were the run-machines as the defending champions rattled up an incredible 190 from their 21 overs, the first of which was a maiden.

Both individual innings were typical. Milnes was classy, right out of a textbook, while Le Tissier was brutal with a decent slice of luck thrown in.

There was certainly no indication of what was to come when Andre van Rooyen had Vince Kenny playing and missing throughout his first over.

But the runs soon started to flow for both openers and when Kenny smashed 14 off Steve Queripel's second over, including a sublime straight six, you got the impression that the Saints batting line-up, which is so suited to evening league, was going to come good.

However, Kenny was not going to play much more of a part as Ami Banerjee bowled him after replacing Queripel.

Milnes and Le Tissier then took to the bowling, putting on exactly 100 in a little over 10 overs.

After launching a striaght six off van Rooyen, the opener then took to his replacement Divan van den Heever. He edged fours high and wide past Ian Damarell off the paceman, but also played a couple of delightful cuts shots down through third man as his scoring rate rocketed.

His shot of the night brought up his half-century as a drive went through extra cover like a bullet.

Van Den Heever finally removed one of his stumps in the 17th over but not before Le Tissier had scored 71 from just 43 balls, including nine fours and that six.

Milnes, meanwhile, had been building up his score nicely with some classical shots off his legs and straight down the ground - both along the deck and over the top.

His judgement of length was immaculate and his placement superb. The Kiwi finished unbeaten on 70 from 47 balls with 11 fours.

Jarrod Avery's cameo of 20 off nine balls at the death, including a pulled six that ended up on Rue Cohu, simply piled on the misery for Optimists.

They were not totally out of it yet though.

Simon Gaudion fell in the second over of their reply but Biggins and Banerjee both scored half centuries in a stand of 105. However, there was a period when the skipper just could not get on strike and it proved vital. Optimists were scoring at a decent rate but still not quickly enough and boundaries were not being hit.

The Indian's 50 came from 48 balls with just one four and Biggins' 57 from 44 balls with three fours. Once they had departed, Optimists were always going to fall short.

In the end St Pierre claimed six wickets, each bowler getting one apiece with two run outs, in a 34-run victory that keeps them in the title chase. Optimists cannot afford to drop anymore than the five points they already have.

The two other contenders NRG Pessimists and Total Cobo meet tonight.