Defeats for Gala, Hawick, Selkirk and Kelso’s cricketers
Both of the Borders’ East of Scotland Cricket Association division 3 teams ended up on the wrong end of their results on Saturday.
Hawick and Wilton had been neck and neck with Edinburgh’s Kirk Brae at the top of the table ahead of their meeting at the former’s Buccleuch Park home ground at the weekend, but that was no longer the case by close of play as, six rounds in, they were hit by their first defeat of the season, dragging their points-won rate down from 100% to 86%.
They’re still second in the table but the capital city club, with six wins out of six and 120 points from those half-dozen fixtures, have now managed to put a bit of space between themselves and the Borderers.
Kirk Brae won the toss and opted to bat first, setting a target of 166 for ten in 36 overs.
Only three of their batsmen failed to make it into double figures, with Gopi Nayak and Salim Khan recording their biggest totals, 27 and 32 respectively, before being caught by Ryan Johnston from a Sadiq Shah delivery and bowled by Neil Storey.
Johnston, Shah and Storey all took two wickets apiece, as did Stuart Hair, at a cost in runs of 34, 45, 27 and 30 respectively.
It was the hosts’ batting that proved to be their undoing as only two of their number made it into double figures, opener Johnston with 12 and Scott Marshall adding 29 later on, including two sixes.
Their nine single-figure scores, including Charlie Welsh going for a duck and vice-captain Hair outdoing that with a golden version, saw Hawick end up on 87 for ten in 26 overs, gifting their visitors a 79-run victory.
Lower down the table, Selkirk, beaten by four wickets hosting Hawick seven days prior, also lost out to Edinburgh opposition on Saturday, by 115 runs away to Holy Cross.
That third defeat of the season leaves the Souters eighth in the table, with 53 points and a points-won rate of 53%.
On winning the toss, visiting skipper Daniel Heard put their hosts in to bat and, for the first 20 overs at least, that decision looked to be paying off.
On his return to the side, Michael Fenton took three wickets for 16 runs and was backed up by Heard, with 2-57, and David Gardiner, registering five maidens in eight overs, putting Holy Cross on the back foot at 47-3.
A fourth-wicket partnership of 87 runs from Nipun Mehta, with 77 not out, and Tom Clemens, on 27, turned things around for the hosts, however, and an unbeaten 35-run knock by Alexander Tweedy from just 15 balls took their total to 201-5.
Selkirk’s batters failed to match those figures, with only Ewan Torrance, Kenny Paterson and David Gardiner – scoring 22, 19 and ten respectively – reaching double figures and no fewer than four of them – Bob and Shaun Wilkinson, Finlay Skeldon and Heard – going for ducks, two of them golden, en route to a tally of 86 all out in the 32nd over.
Hawick and Selkirk are both at home this coming Saturday to their table’s bottom two teams, the former to ninth-placed Tranent and Preston Village’s seconds and the latter to Livingston’s basement side seconds.
Three divisions up in ESCA’s championship, Gala lost by 143 runs hosting Edinburgh’s Carlton seconds on Saturday and that second defeat of this term leaves them sixth in the table, with 66 points and points-won rate of 66% ahead of a trip to the capital to take on league leaders Drummond Trinity this weekend.
The visitors won the toss and batted first, running up a total of 259 for nine in 50 overs, with their Meigle Park hosts only able to muster 116 runs for ten in 26 overs by way of reply.
Four of Gala’s batsmen made it past ten runs but only one got beyond 20, Sean Taylor, caught by Rory Ledingham from an Aadi Khadse ball for 34.
Kelso are eighth in division 2, on 51 points and a matching points-won percentage, after losing by 13 runs away to North Berwick’s Bass Rock at the weekend.
Kelso won the toss and elected to bowl but ended up allowing their East Lothian hosts to run up a score of 191 for eight in 40 overs, replying with 178 for ten.
Euan Robertson’s 70 not out was Bass Rock’s biggest score, followed by Gus Fraser-Harris’s 64, and Ryan Hogarth’s 79 was Kelso’s, with captain Callum Davidson’s 36 second.
Greg Davidson, Josh Gibson and Alasdair Keddie all took two wickets for the visitors – for 17 runs, 28 and 22 respectively.
Kelso are at home to Edinburgh opposition this Saturday, with Royal High Corstorphine’s bottom-of-the-table thirds coming calling at Shedden Park.