The Western Premier Division in Scotland finally got under way on Saturday, with first-up wins for Clydesdale (over defending champions Uddingston), Dumfries, Ferguslie, Langside and Prestwick.
Clydesdale shocked Uddingston by shooting them out for 137 in 34.3 overs at Bothwell Castle Policies, the new-ball attack of Calum Drummond (four for 38) and Awan Krishna (three for 33) taking seven wickets between them. Only Fergus Clarke stood firm with an unbeaten 52.
But the home side’s bowlers made Clydesdale fight all the way for their victory, a crucial 42 from Imran Mughal setting them well on their way to an eventual four-wicket win.
Easiest win of the day was at Hamilton Crescent where Ferguslie posted 279 for five against West of Scotland , with opener Adil Ghaffar making exactly 100, Taimoor Ahmad 83 and David Stafford 63.
Taimoor then claimed five for 20 and Scotland international Hamza Tahir three for 14 as West were bundled out for 112.
There was a comfortable victory, too, for Dumfries at Nunholm, where with Chris Brockwell making 54 and Scott Beveridge 43 the home side ran up 220 against Poloc; Kess Sajjad took four for 31 for the visitors.
Alan Davidson and Tommy McGrath ran through Poloc’s batting, taking three for 31 and four for 19 respectively, and the Glasgow side were all out for 150.
It was a similar story at Glenpark, where a knock of 103 by Z Khan enabled Langside (making their championship debut under their new name, having previously been known as former Glasgow and District League side Weirs) to reach 233 against Greenock.
This was too much for the home side, who despite an unbeaten 87 from Neil Flack were dismissed for 152 and lost by 81 runs.
52 from Majid Haq and 46 from keeper Tom Fleet saw Prestwick to 214 at New Williamfield, to which Stirling County could only manage 191 in reply.
In the Eastern Premier Grange and Forfarshire maintained their unbeaten records with wins over Stewarts Melville and Meigle respectively, while Heriots and RH Corstorphine stayed just a game behind by beating Carlton and Watsonians.
Grange overpowered Stewarts Melville at Portgower Place after the visitors had won the toss and elected to bat: with only Patrick Ritchie (43) offering much resistance and Gordon Goudie, Tom Foulds and teenagers Jack Jarvis and Charlie Peet collecting a brace of wickets apiece, they were bundled out for just 94.
Grange needed only 12.5 overs to knock off the runs for the loss of two wickets, Harris Carnegie smacking a rapid 57 not out.
At Forthill Forfarshire were almost equally dominant, making 208 for nine thanks to 83 from Callum Garden and then bowling Meigle out for 124, with Jack Hogarth taking four for 24.
The individual performance of the day came at Barnton, where Scotland international George Munsey hammered 104 out of 133 at the top of the RH Corstorphine innings, setting the basis for his side’s total of 255 for eight; James Dickinson made a valuable 46 not out and Robert Taylor a quick 35.
Munsey then excelled with the ball as well, taking four for 25 as Watsonians were dismissed for 187.
Hayes van der Berg was in good form for Carlton at Goldenacre, his 98, supported by 35 from Matthew Cross and 39 Mark Watt, enabling his side to total 254 against Carlton.
Joe Kinghorn-Gray (four for 37) and Ryan Brown (five for 12) then shot the visitors out for 90 to give Heriots a 164-run victory.
Arbroath United secured their first win of the season, beating Stoneywood-Dyce by 155 runs at Lochlands.
Their total of 281 for nine was built on Matthew Parker’s 88, with smaller but significant contributions from Darryl Sinclair (45) and Ross McLean (36).
Only Nikhil Ninan with 39 was able to hold his own when Stoneywood-Dyce replied, and with Chris Robb taking three for 13 in eight overs the visitors limped to 126 all out in 42.3 overs.
You’re reading Emerging Cricket — brought to you by a passionate group of volunteers with a vision for cricket to be a truly global sport, and a mission to inspire passion to grow the game.
Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, please subscribe for regular updates, and follow EC on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Don’t know where to start? Check out our features list, country profiles, and subscribe to our podcast.
Support us from US$2 a month — and get exclusive benefits, by becoming an EC Patron.
