A Riyaad Henry century and a four-wicket haul for Hasseeb Zaker enabled Ferguslie to inflict a first defeat of the season on leaders Clydesdale at Titwood in Saturday’s Scottish Western Premier Division matches.
Henry’s 108 was the foundation of Ferguslie’s total of 247, and despite 60 from Patrick Barbour and 61 from Craig Young, Clyesdale could only manage 217 for nine in reply, Zaker taking four for 38.
Stirling County, Prestwick and Uddingston all kept pace with the two leading sides, with wins over Greenock, Dumfries and West of Scotland respectively.
Two big partnerships took Stirling County to 240 for five at New Williamfield, first between openers Matthew Tweedie (94) and Harry Booker (42), and then between Tweedie and Brandon McMullen (67). Sean Ficher-Keogh took three for 47 for Greenock.
McMullen then took five for 16 in 7.1 overs when Greenock replied, and although opener Neil Flack made 67 and Fischer-Keogh 41, the Renfrewshire side were all out for 179.
A powerful 124 from Sachin Chaudhary enabled Prestwick to run up a massive 304 for four, the highest total of the day, against Dumfries at Nunholm, and Majid Haq’s four for 36 was then instrumental in the home side’s dismissal for 109, his victims including top-scorer Scott Beveridge (47).
Half-centuries from Andy Hislop and James Fennah could not get West of Scotland beyond 196 for seven against Uddingston at Bothwell Castle Policies, and Uddingston completed a hard-fought 2-wicket win with 16 balls to spare.
Muhammad Awais set his side on the road to victory with 79, and although Callum Dutia ran through the middle order, taking four for 25 in his ten overs, Uddingston held on the their narrow victory.
In the lower reaches of the table, Langside pulled off a much-needed win against Poloc at Albert Park, successfully defending their meagre total of 139, to which Mohammed Kamrad contributed 36; Murtaza Syed claimed four for 26 for Poloc.
But then Muhammed Ali took four for 10 in ten overs for Langside and Muhammed Khan four for 24, and Poloc limped to 123 all out in 46.5 overs, Kess Sajjad top-scoring with 24.
The programme in the Eastern Premier Division also featured a clash between the two leading sides, and here it was leaders Heriots who were victorious, cruising to a 7-wicket win over Grange at Goldenacre.
Heriots’ new-ball attack of Elliot Ruthven and Gavin Main ripped through Grange’s batting with four for 32 and three for 33 respectively, reducing them to 64 for six, and despite a defiant 40 from Gordon Goudie, batting at eight, they were all out for 127.
Goudie then removed openers Peter Ross and Mathew Cross without either scoring, but Hayes van der Berg made 36, and Mark Watt (39 not out) and Lloyd Brown (42 not out) saw their side home with 17.1 overs to spare.
Carlton moved level with Grange, greatly improving their net run rate in the process, with a thumping 228-run victory over Stoneywood-Dyce at People’s Park.
94 from Shujaa Khan, 81 from Fraser Burnett and 58 from Ali Shah helped Carlton to reach 297 for nine, and the Aberdeen side then crumpled to 69 all out, only Andrew Rayner reaching double figures; Shivamm Gupta claimed four for 15 for Carlton and Ruaridh McIntyre three for 11.
Forfarshire also put up a strong performance with the bat, their 307 for eight proving more than enough to overpower Watsonians at Myreside.
Rory Johnston top-scored for the county with 91, while Scotland international Craig Wallace contributed 47 and Callum Garden 74.
Watsonians could only muster 135 in reply, 74 of them from the bat of Gregory Brown, with Scott Cameron having the best figures for Forfarshire with three for 21.
In a low-scoring game at Barnton RH Corstorphine got the better of Arbroath United by three wickets, dismissing the visitors for 129 and reaching their target with 11 deliveries in hand, mainly due to an unbeaten 45 from James Dickinson.
At the foot of the table Stewarts Melville gained ten vital points at the expense of relegation rivals Meigle at Inverleith, chasing down Meigle’s 181 for the loss of four wickets in 43.2 overs.
Their heroes were Ben Wilkinson, who had earlier taken three for 7 in Meigle’s innings and who now made 62, and Steven Parker with 54.
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