Guildford Mavericks 0
Milton Keynes Rebels 25

Milton Keynes, August 3rd 2003. The Rebels comfortably won the opening game of the play-offs, shutting out the Mavericks in style, and looking like the side that will quite possibly go unbeaten through the season.

As the holiday season kicks in, both sides were short of key players, giving a chance to some of others in the squad to shine, and despite of the scoreline, several Mavericks took the chance, especially in the field.

The game was never really a contests, as the Rebels opened up an early lead, but at least Guildford kept going and both Dan Wilson and Ollie Mullard were kept busy in the outfield, and were rewarded with a couple of good catches close to the the fence.

Ben Mullard, was the only Maverick to get more than a single hit, and also took the opportunity to get some more game experience on the mound. In fact if it wasn't for some poor defence by more experienced players, he may even have kept the Rebels to a lower score than they managed against a much more experienced team, earlier in the season.

With James Geraghty overcoming an early season ankle injury, and improving at 3rd Base and Rob Wheeler picking up the Mavericks other hit, and coping admirably behind the plate with some less than accurate pitching early in the game, the Mavericks pulled together as a team, and showed good team spirit, which is always a sign things are heading in the right direction.

Alastair Carr, Heather Armstead and David Jones, all made the debuts for the Mavericks, and showed they are not out of place on the Mavericks roster, and further underlined the gradual improvement seen in the club since the depths of 3 years ago. With a roster now totalling 27 players, and all but 2 having donned a Mavericks uniform this year, the club is getting closer to the point where it will be able to field two sides.

With the Rebels out of the way, the Mavericks now have a chance to turn the tables on some sides that narrowly beat them earlier in the season, and also attempt to do the double over the Sharks, with a trip to the South Coast in a couple of weeks time

Guildford MVP: Ben Mullard

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