St Pierre victors as batsmen romp home

IT'S DHS St Pierre's title. So often this season their batting has helped them home.

And too often it has been said that they are are one-man team - Glenn Milnes bats while the rest thrash.

Rubbish.

Milnes could do little with the bat last night: his thigh-muscle pull prevented him from batting at ease or running the sharp singles to which he has been accustomed.

And so the others showed what they can do. This is far from a one-trick pony team.

Paul Wakeford is still no mean batter. His knock in the over-40s proved that. Class does not disappear once middle-age arrives.

The middle- and lower-order are no mugs, either.

When Milnes was out there was no panic, no fear that the game was in the balance.

The silver-and-blacks are far better than they are given credit for.

Rovers had plenty to offer with the ball.

Matt Jeffery swigged as much champagne as the rest of the island side on Saturday night and deservedly so. He bowls at a decent pace and swings the ball both ways.

Aaron Scoones can, on his day, turn the ball square; Mark Renouf was in the island squad this season for a reason; Mark Smith has two island caps.

Yet when it mattered, Wakeford and Justin Walker showed just how much the title meant. They worked the ball around with desire.

This was St Pierre's championship: they were not about to give it up easily.

They eased the ball into gaps, ran well and slowly, surely, worked their way towards victory.

It did not have to be spectacular, nor was it. It was a matter of nudging the ones, working the twos and crashing the fours when the loose ball was there to be hit.

Rovers had struggled after early impetus died. None of the batsmen went on to a decent score. Only Mark Smith worked his way towards a reasonable total.

Once Wakeford and Walker had shared a 46-run third-wicket partnership the match was over and it was purely a matter of waiting for the champagne to be cracked open.