Mullion claim county title

After weeks dominating Division 5 West - winning the league comfortably - Mullion 1s had to face the dominators of Division 5 East, St Minver, to decide the County Champions 2006. And dominating is a habit Mullion find hard to kick.

The weather was good, the coach arrived on time and Mullion along with 21 loyal supporters set off on the 45-mile drive to Wadebridge. St Minver meanwhile had to endure only a three-mile trip.

From the outset, Mullion looked the more professional side, arriving at the ground all wearing the club's 125th anniversary tie, looking and feeling the part. After a team photo and National-Academy inspired warm-up (part of the adoption involved a training day at Loughborough), they were ready for action.

Skipper Jim Pearson lost the toss and Mullion were in the field. Mark Johnson Jnr opened the bowling with a wide, copied by Jeff Charlston from the other end. Were nerves going to affect the outcome? No. The combination of pace from one end, medium and accurate from the other kept the openers quiet.

In the fifth over, Johnson made the breakthrough as he clean bowled the No. 2 for five. After 10 overs the total was only 21, Jim rang the changes, bringing on Tony "Chubby" Matthews and the left-hand pace of Paul Warbis. Chubby's second ball found a fine edge. The next ball proved identical and the score was 26 for 3. With Chubby on a hat-trick he bowled a near perfect yorker, only to see it dug out at the last moment. The next ball uprooted the stumps and St Minver were struggling at 26 for 4.

Warbis struck in his first over and Mullion continued to apply the pressure with Matthew Cuff claiming a fine 3 for 15 and Kevin Bosustow trapping opener Shrewsbury lbw on 20. Patterson at No. 7 attempted to put up resistance but he was running out of partners as Matthews took the final wicket in the 35th over. St Minver 76 all out. Chubby 7.5 overs, 3 maidens, 4 for 6.

Mullion's star recruit for the season and opening bat, Trevor Lee, whose league average is pushing 70, suffered his first duck of the season off only the third ball. Nerves were frayed at 22 for 3 as key players Jim Pearson (11) and Kevin Bosustow (5) went cheaply.

But Mullion's batting depth has been a strength this year. Phil Wheatley along with Paul Warbis set out to ensure that the county trophy went back to the south coast. It only took 22 overs as they cantered passed the total to claim a seven-wicket win. Wheatley finished unbeaten on 30 not out.

St Minver 1s† 76 ao in 35 ov (R Shrewsbury 20, S Patterson 20*; T Matthews 4-6, M Cuff, 3-16); Mullion 1s 79-3 in 22 ov (P Wheatley 30*). Mullion win by 7 wickets and win the Division 5 county title.

For nearly 30 years, Mullion has hosted Sir Tim Rice's Heartaches on their Cornwall tour. This year the game was played after the triumphant county final, so with a few sore heads, the pitch was marked and the annual match started.

Mullion won toss and batted, setting a brisk pace reaching 107 after 22 overs. The usual banter went around the ground with John Frieda accused of not concentrating and practising Tai Chi on the field while Hugh Wilson was constantly chastised for not keeping the ball polished, despite never getting hold of it.

Kevin Bosustow was as lbw, so plumb he deserved to be out twice, but still protested. By tea, Mullion reached 225 for 6 with Trevor Lee making up for his duck the day before on 52 not out. Jim declared.

The Heartaches set off at the same pace as Mullion and it was not until the ninth over that Mullion chairman David Fowles bowled a dreadful full toss that had Nigel Cobb's eyes light up with delight, only for him to miss and his off stump was re-arranged. Then Chris Lonsdale took the first of three magnificent catches to dismiss "Talkers" Riley-Smith for 0 and Tim Graveney for 6.

Then ex-Surrey player Hugh Wilson demonstrated brutal batting as he rapidly put most of Mullion's spare balls into various parts of the county. Poor Kevin Bosustow taking severe flack as his figures went from 28 for 1 to 60 for 1 in only two overs.

The score reached 216 when Chris Lonsdale took the catch of the season with a running dive on the boundary as Hugh departed on 137. With Simon Buxton batting it looked that Mullion might be able to secure a draw. Simon pulled a muscle and the entertainment went up a notch as he decided to continue with a runner.

As the last over came it was 222 for 7, four runs required for victory but Mr "economy" Jeff Charlston was bowling. By the last ball two runs were still required but with Simon at the crease and him never having looked capable of scoring more than singles, Mullion crowded in. That was the moment when Jeff put in an uncharacteristic short ball only for Simon to swat it towards the boundary for four. It's been a very interesting weekend.

Cricinfo.com for showing our progress. Marcus Berkmann for his entertaining monthly articles in TWC. Peter Moores and the staff at the National Cricket Centre for the training day. Michael Atherton and Sky Sports for the training day and coverage. Slazenger for the new kit. FLICX for the nets, pitches and training equipment. Cockspur Rum for the man-of-the-match awards. ECB for arranging David Roberts to be our coach. And finally, many thanks to The Wisden Cricketer itself for making this all possible.