SPARKLES BREAKS THE SHACKLES

Chippenham 184-3 dec. 39 overs
WCC 188-8 33 overs
WCC won by 8 wickets

One of the greatest ever Weekenders innings miraculously snatched victory from the jaws of a choke last Sunday. Mark 'Sparkles' Cooper smashed 125 not out at well over a run a ball while his nine partners flailed and swiped just 53 runs between them. Chippenham's Captain Birdseye lookalike has so often been the 'Enders downfall with his lightly tossed offies, and once again he managed to lure four of us into his freezer chest - Marshall, Hargroves, Bacon and Hartley fell trying to stuff their trolleys like single mums on half-price Twizzlers day at Iceland. But the old sea dog was no match for the Sparkler and with twenty runs needed, he was finally taken off and towed to the breakers yard.

The match began with a painfully steady start from the Chippenham openers followed by a scarcely less cautious partnership from Pallant and Wright. There was a promising debut from Hartley bowling leggies with a Jeff Thompson action, (promise which continued to bloom until past midnight in the curry house in Belsize Park) and a few telling darts from 'Not Hajela'. Douglas and Cooper kept things fairly tight from the tennis courts end but at times the buffet trolley ran on wheels of fire at the other end, and Pallant and Wright tucked into a hundred-run partnership. The non-metaphorical tea was the usual five-star, four-cake affair, enhanced by a selection of pizza slices, cocktail sausages and miniature pork pies. After a two-year absence, hope is now fading for a return of the cream-filled meringues and with it the likelihood of a serious challenge to Marvel's 2004 record. But this year's spread contained a stunning innovation which disappeared too quickly for the stats buffs to count - warmed sausage rolls.

The captain set the tone for the visitors' reply with a swashbuckling four-ball cameo. More entertainment followed with runs and wickets coming at a lively lick. Hargroves played some thunderous shots in the v but Chippenham's excellent ground fielding restricted the coltish consultant to just 23. Vickery, Marshall, Hartley, Howells and Bacon showed beef aplenty but the fielding side took full advantage of the catching practice on offer. When the eighth wicket fell at 134 Douglas joined Cooper, and the pair shared a blistering 50-run partnership (see stats for details) to bring home a thrilling first victory against their hosts with eight overs to spare.

What better way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery than to throw off the Chippenham yoke on the former estate of the plantation owner John Tharp? What more auspicious day for Dan Marshall to debut with a gutsy fine-leg-at-both-ends fielding display? And what better reward for d'Inverno and Douglas's overnight flight from New York than one wicket, a catch and no runs between them?

STATS

Chippenham 188-3 dec (39 overs) Pallant 68*, Wright 54*
Douglas 12-4-21-1, Howells 5-0-24-0, Hartley 2-0-16-1, Jeyaratnam 7-0-35-1, Cooper 8-2-29-0, Hargroves 1-0-15-0, Vickery 4-0-37-0. Catch: d'Inverno 1

WCC 188-8 (33 overs) d'Inverno 0; Hargroves 23, Cooper 125*, Marshall 12, Hartley 8, Vickery 12, Jeyaratnam 0, Bacon 0, Howells 1, Douglas 0*. D. Marshall dnb.
Air miles: 7,000
Cost of phone calls to New York asking if the game's still on: £275
Debuts: Hartley, Bacon, D Marshall