SIMON Beetham skippered Lymington to victory over table-topping Havant and then paid tribute to Matt Metcalfe after he had written a new chapter in Southern Premier League history.

Metcalfe claimed seven for 47 as Lymington turned the game on its head during the final hour – his exploits seeing him become only the third bowler in the competition to take 400 wickets.

Co-incidentally, Richard Hindley, one of the two other bowlers to have achieved the feat, was among Metcalfe’s victims as Havant collapsed, losing their last seven wickets for just 19 runs.

Metcalfe, who took eight wickets when Lymington bowled out Havant for 50 in the corresponding fixture last season, was the toast of the Sports Ground.

Beetham, who had Andrew Gorvin well caught at first slip by Dom Hand to lay the foundations for an improbable victory, told the Daily Echo: “Reaching 400 wickets is a great accomplishment and is testament to how good a bowler Matt is and has been over the years.

“The club and I are really pleased for him and he should be very proud of what he has done. We all hope that the success he has achieved continues for some time.”

Although Ed Ellis (43), Ben Rogers (22) and Hand (16) made contributions, Lymington were staring down the barrel at 119 for eight.

But tail-enders Glenn Willoughby (22), Chris Blake (18) and 15-year-old Cameron Robertson (3) put some of their peers to shame by digging in and batting responsibly as the total was boosted to 162. Havant appeared to be coasting at 108 for three before Metcalfe shattered Thomas Vanderslik’s stumps to spark their demise. Richie Lock (2-12) also bowled well at the death as Lymo won by 35 runs.