Good all-round show by Gala with bowler in devastating form

Having won the toss, captain Ross Patterson elected to field. The hosts made a steady start with the bat before Craig Thomson claimed the first wicket of the day, trapping South opener Llangovan lbw for seven.

A good link then developed between Edinburgh South’s Griffiths (18) and Smith (36), with the pair also increasing the hosts scoring rate.

However, Thomson again broke the partnership after bowling the other opener. This was the second wicket in a fine spell from Gala’s opening bowler, who ended up conceding only 12 runs from his eight overs.

Throughout the remainder of the hosts innings, Gala continued to bowl well and the other batsmen struggled to reach double figures. Some good bowling from Jamie Bell, Robbie Paterson and Maisie Maceira ensured each picked up a wicket for their efforts.

Liam Skeldon could count himself unlucky not to have picked up a wicket – however, he bowled very economically, only conceding 10 runs from his eight-over spell.

The pick of the Gala bowlers, however, was Caitlin Ormiston who claimed the crucial wicket of Smith (36) before ripping through the lower order of the hosts. A good catch from Ajith Sujan ensured Ormiston’s fifth wicket and the end of Edinburgh South’s innings as they posted 122 all out from 39.1 overs.

The Gala response got off to a faltering start, losing Patterson and John Imray early on. With the hosts bowling well, a good partnership began to develop between Stuart Skeldon and Craig Thomson, with the former playing an anchor role and the latter looking to increase the scoring rate.

The pair took the score up to 60 for 2 before Thomson was bowled for 12. The experienced Skeldon, however,, remained at the crease and, despite losing partners at regular intervals, kept a cool head to guide Gala towards their target. He was eventually caught just two short of his half-century, leaving Gala requiring four runs to win from the final three overs. A situation which could have been nervy.

However, Gala junior players Jamie Bell and Maisie Maceira kept cool heads, with Maceira eventually hitting the winning runs off the bowling of the hosts’ opening bowler, with two overs to spare, and giving the 2nds a

win in their first competitive game of the season.