Scorecard

Huntly v Forfarshire Cricket Club Forthill on Sat 30 May 2009 at 1pm
Forfarshire Cricket Club Won 11 runs

Match report
With the early meet time we were well prepared for the trip north to Huntly for only our 3rd league fixture of the season. The sun was out and although there were a few personnel changes we were confident of coming home with the points. Only two cars departed the club, as the boys from town went direct and Andy was on route from Hull via Aberdeen to clock up some mileage points.

We made the now annual pit stop at Morgan McVeighs tearoom to congregate as a team, and took our time over breakfast, as we were confident that the changing rooms wouldn't be open until at least 12.45. The Forthill boys could even have been mistaken for a sophisticated bunch by an untrained eye, as the tables were strewn with broadsheet newspapers, cups of coffee and paninis.

After changing in installments in the miniature changing room, before we even had time to get fully into the warm up, Ted had tossed, and we found out we were batting, so the boys quickly made their way back to get the pads on before anyone else occupied their changing space.

Ted gave a rousing team talk, drawing back on Thursday’s Twenty20 demolition of Strathmore. He asked the batsmen to again put pressure on the fielders by keeping up a good run rate from the start, and making sure any loose deliveries went to the boundary.

Dennis did his best to take some early quick singles, as Ted had instructed, but only succeeded in running out Finbar for a duck. Dennis then decided to try and hit out instead, and his method to produce runs proved effective if not particularly pretty. Gav aided him with some good timing of the ball, however the slow outfield meant the ball seemed to be drawing up short from the rope. When Gav also perished, Shaun came in and looked comfortable from his first ball. He did well by playing the ball late, and under his eye, and was unlucky not to get a 50 on debut. As Dennis also went in the 40s, and a couple of wickets went down, Gautham and Wally put on a few before Deano came in to smack a few blows, hitting a very useful 26 not out. A knock to be talked about long into the night by the creator himself.

We finished just 3 shy of 200, and although at one stage we were hoping for around 220, we felt it was competitive and defendable, especially with the slow outfield.

After a quick tea, all the bowlers felt refreshed and headed out in hope of some early wickets to put Huntly under pressure.

Things were going to plan early on. Gautham and Sam managed to keep the run rate down and one of the openers departed cheaply. Later on, after a couple of debatable appeals were turned down, Gautham picked up number 2, with a catch behind the stumps for Finbar, and they were struggling at 20 odd for 2. After a few more plays and misses to no avail Dean and Shaun came on to try and break the partnership. Although wicketless early on, they bowled well in partnership and never let the batsmen push the run rate up. This was despite the occasional buzzer, as Billy attempted to get his name in the wickets column with a run out, even if this meant shelling it at the bowlers end when the batsman backing up was well past the crease, and having a chat with the umpire. A wicket for Deano was well deserved, and again Shaun was unlucky to go without. Andy came on with Ted, and Andy picked up the important wicket of Huntly’s captain with a great slower ball, at a stage where it was still looking in the balance. Ted, following the Umair School of wicket taking, rolled through the lower order with a few good deliveries and a few pies, and soon they needed 50 from the last 5 overs.

The Huntly tail got them a couple more points with a couple of blows to the boundary, however they probably fell short due to our tight middle order bowling leaving them too much to do at the end. Even after some confusion in the last over, with the wide that never was, we left the field in high spirits after a solid team performance producing a good win.

Sadly the time in the bar after the game was minimal, as one of the more brazen younger members of the team had an altercation with the home support. So we headed back down the A96, and although Dennis' wise words "It's just a game of cricket" were lingering in the mind, the sweet taste of an away win in Huntly made the long journey home all the better.


Forfarshire Cricket Club Forthill Batting
197 for 7
Player Name RunsCatchesStumpingsRun outs
Dennis Petrie Caught  & Bowled Mearns 42 1
John Findlay Run out  0 1 1
Gavin Martin Bowled  Nicol 19
Shaun Bostock Stumped  b Mitchell 46
Billy Turner Lbw  b Mearns 7
Gautham Hariharan Bowled  McCoy 20
Jalees Ahmed Caught  b Nicol 9
Dean Fearn Not Out  26
Andrew Wallace Not Out  11
Sam Tilston  
Gordon Walker  

Huntly Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
M McCoy9.0131131.003.44
D Mitchell9.0148148.005.33
N Nicol9.0123211.502.56
D Morrison2.001300.006.50
P Mearns9.0030215.003.33
K Rough7.004400.006.29

Huntly Batting
186 for 8
Player name Runs
B Mearns Bowled  Tilston 7
R Thompson Stumped  Findlay b Walker 44
J Mitchell Caught  Findlay b Hariharan 4
N Nicol Caught  Petrie b Fearn 24
M Massie Bowled  Wallace 33
K Rough Bowled  Walker 8
S Angus Bowled  Walker 2
B Mearns (sen) Not Out  13
M McKay Bowled  Walker 8
D Morrison Not Out  19
D Mitchell  

Forfarshire Cricket Club Forthill Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Sam Tilston8.0223123.002.88
Gautham Hariharan7.0118118.002.57
Dean Fearn9.0242142.004.67
Shaun Bostock9.023200.003.56
Andrew Wallace6.0028128.004.67
Gordon Walker7.003147.754.43