THE closest match of Barber Shield cricket on Saturday was played at Blue Lake Sports Park, where South Gambier hosted Mil Lel for Round 2, played in the one-day format.
Both teams were out for redemption after poor performances in the season opener and at the end of the day the maximum of 80 overs were used, with the Demons finishing on top by just 10 runs.
South won the toss and elected to bowl first, with Mil Lel off to a steady start at the crease.
Josh Jantosh and Justin Lamont opened with the bat, but the latter was replaced by Todd Carpenter just three runs in with one to his name.
However, the new combination of Jantosh and Carpenter settled well and brought the team total to 65 before Luke Zadow caught Jantosh off David Vine, for his first of a six-wicket haul.
Jantosh amassed a credible 24 runs and Daniel Justin took his place to keep the momentum going.
When an lbw saw Carpenter sent back to the bench, his score of 44 runs was Mil Lel’s highest and the second largest for the day.
With the total at 76, Justin Allcock was next to the crease, but his partnership with Justin was short-lived.
Just four runs were added before Allcock was sent packing with no score.
One run later Justin was judged lbw off Vine, with Craig Lock joining youngster Tom Nieuwerkerk at the crease.
Vine claimed yet another scalp when he caught and bowled Nieuwerkerk, with the total at 101.
Jarryd Burston had a quick visit to the crease and was caught by Zadow without scoring.
With the total now at 7/107, Mil Lel needed to pull something out of the bag if it was to stay in the fight.
And it did just that when Carey Megaw took to the crease for a 43-run partnership with Lock.
Lock was eventually caught off Zadow for 34 runs, while Megaw was joined by Jack Miller and went on to finish with 42-not-out at the end of the 40 overs.
Miller scored seven-not-out to bring Mil Lel’s final score to 188.
Bowling was Mil Lel’s only strength last week when it held North Sportsman’s to 131 before taking to the crease for a dismal result.
However, it was a different story this round and the Demons refused to go down easily, while 30 wide deliveries from Mil Lel gave the game away in the end.
Jacob Parham and Robbie Drenthen opened the batting and posted a credible 41-run partnership.
Drenthen was caught by Jantosh with 30 runs to his name, while Zadow joined Parham for another solid combination.
The total reached 61 before Parham was stumped by Megaw on 13 runs.
But the major damage was done when young gun Adam Kuhl took to the crease opposite Zadow.
The partnership came to an end when Zadow was caught by Carpenter off Allcock, but not before they had added an impressive 85 runs to the total.
Zadow top-scored for the match, just shy of a half-century on 48, while Kuhl continued on for an eventual 34.
Kuhl was joined by Daniel Loupos for a moment, but he was bowled by Mil Lel youngster Ben Thiel with no runs to his name.
Josh Thompson was next to the crease and he saw out the remaining overs, while Kuhl was caught by Nieuwerkerk off Lock with the total at 168.
With time of the essence, Vine took to the crease and the two added a further 21 runs for a total of 189 before Vine was dismissed.
Vine scored 14 runs, while Camron Jorgenson took his place to manage five-not-out before the end of the game.
Thompson finished with 16-not-out to be one of six double-figure scorers out of the seven batsman who took to the crease.
With the ball, Mil Lel’s Thiel and Lock managed two wickets each, while Allcock and Nieuwerkerk both claimed a single scalp.
The Demons will rejoice in their victory and will hope to carry some momentum into this week’s meeting with East Gambier.
For Mil Lel, a Round 3 clash with West Gambier looms large and it will have to capitalise with the ball if it is to be in with a chance.
