Scorecard

DHSFP XI v Forfarshire Cricket Club 3rd XI on Sat 31 May 2014 at 1pm
Forfarshire Cricket Club Won 6 wickets

Match report Forthill 2nd XI travelled along the Arbroath Road to meet local rivals Dundee High School FP 2nd XI in their latest SPCU Division One fixture. The visitors were given a welcome boost when they found out that home pace man Hopkins jnr was not in the line up as he was away defending his “What’s the Time Mr Wolf” World Championship.

The sun made its first real appearance of the season - and against the sunny skies the Forthill skipper won the toss and decided to field first, much to the consternation of many team members. It was left to one of the sides more senior players to point out that it is extreme folly to question the tactical nous of a league winning captain.....at least until the end of the game.

Craig and Glenn bowled nicely from the off and the home openers found scoring difficult. It seemed as if Craig had made the breakthrough when a thick edge was taken by Sim Junior standing up to the stumps and celebrations commenced. Much to the surprise of everyone the umpire chose not to raise his finger and the batsman chose not to walk in the direction of the pavilion. Perhaps one of Dundee’s few remaining multi storeys was being knocked down on Saturday afternoon as this (and only this) would explain the noise heard on the field at the exact moment that the ball passed the bat. However, not out was the decision and play resumed.....

The umpire has however now been booked in for a hearing test on Monday and the good news is that he potentially qualifies for a free device. The batsman has been fast tracked into the UK School of Poker as anyone who can keep a straight face in such situations clearly has a future as a card shark. The opener took advantage of his let off and swished to all parts before falling for an uninspiring 31. Fellow opener Boom Boom (31) was playing the sheet anchor role; but the upper middle order didn’t trouble the scorers much and Forthill clawed their way back into the game.

During this spell of the match, the decision of veteran number three Lindsay to walk after edging a delivery from Iain restored one’s faith in sportsmanship at this level of sport; and full credit goes to him for this show of honour. He was caught in the gully mind you. The introduction of the slow bowlers proved to be a tactical masterstroke by the Mike Brearley of the SPCU as first Fraser - and then Blair and Morgan – not only slowed the scoring but also started to take wickets. Morgan in particular proved a handful and he finished with figures of 4 for 8 and even narrowly missed out on a hat trick. One can only imagine what more he can achieve if he ever cuts his fringe and is actually able to see the stumps at the other end. Kailas also bowled nicely and it was good to see him picking up a wicket too. Good catching and fielding saw the home innings fold on a final total of 151 all out.

Tea was taken and an interesting and very tasty combination was served up. This ranged from cheese filled wraps, Mr Kipling cakes and a fine (and large) selection of pakoras and bhajis. This was all accompanied by a nice cup of tea and the option of cold juice. After a fight over the last chicken pakora – another plateful appeared which was tremendous. Overall a fine tea and the tea adjudicator awarded the fare a mark of eight out of ten which is highest in DHSFPCC history and will take some beating this season.

Well fed – Sim Jr and Craig opened up and seemed in little trouble when Chubbsy got one that popped a touch and he was dismissed caught and bowled for 7. Clark joined Craig and the key moment of the match came when Clark hit a delivery from the hard of hearing umpire (by now acting as a bowler) in the air to mid off where the poker playing batsman was positioned. A comfortable catch seemed assured; however it became clear that the fielder’s card tricks are better than his juggling.............and the ball ended up on the turf.

Clark (85 not out) made the most of this reprieve and with great support from Craig (24) they saw the Forthill side within sight of the finishing post. Craig was indeed very unlucky not to see it through to the end when he was unfortunately bowled off the pads from an old fashioned “moosey crawler”. However, Fraser with a quick 11 and then Cammy (5 not out) saw us over the line. So a fine 25 points were secured in this local derby and a fine day’s cricket with a lovely tea under sunny skies was enjoyed.

In spite of the one slight (arguable?) umpiring hiccup in the first innings; there were handshakes all round at the end and the decision was openly discussed between the teams and there were no hard feelings whatsoever. The umpire said he hadn’t heard anything - and the batsman said the umpire hadn’t heard anything - so it was all adequately explained and we move on.....

As is now tradition in these fixtures, the High School lads invite the Forthill lads to a hostelry of their choice and with such a young team on the field and with the skipper going home to read his Mike Brearley Autobiography for the 623rd time – it was left to Clark to represent the club in the after match socialising department. This season he was invited to Jolly’s beer garden (a welcome departure from the Tayview Hotel he thought) and as usual he made the journey down there only to find no High School boys to be found; and as a result found himself having a lager shandy all alone with only the DHSFPCC twitter feed for company. The twitter feed added insult to injury by showing a group photo of the High School lads enjoying themselves in what looked awfully like the Tayview Hotel Lounge Bar. Next year it is hoped that the High School boys might offer Clark a lift to the pub of their choice before speeding off and leaving him on his own - so at least he can have a couple of pints on his own; and not just a shandy....

The Man of the Match award went to Morgan for his spell of 4 for 8 and a pair of scissors courtesy of Bell’s Barbers of Monifieth is on its way to him in the post.

Next week sees Forthill 2nd XI at home to Perth Do’ocot and it is hoped that the game survives the heavy rain forecast for next Saturday night. All players are reminded that even if there is heavy rain on Saturday night, they are still expected to have an alcohol free evening and be in bed by 10pm as per team rules – and as per M Brearley Code of Conduct - Ashes Tour 1982. Anyone found to be breaking this code of conduct will be severely reprimanded.

The final reminder from the skipper is that he will not be at training on Tuesday as he is off to see Billy Joel in concert.


DHSFP XI Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
151 (44.3 overs)		     
J Amin ct  D Sim b B Walker 31
M Sabir ct  Lockhart b Ross 31
D Lindsay ct  D Sim b Lockhart 4
N Kryznowski b  Ross 12
R Hopkins ct  McConnachie snr b Sargeant 18
S Ejaj ct  C Walker b Sargeant 17
F Saeed Run out  1
A Saeed ct  Ross b Sargeant 6
M Abassi b  Narayanan 4
B Smith ct  Lockhart b Sargeant 5
H Amin Not Out  1

Forfarshire Cricket Club 3rd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Craig McConnachie5.021500.003.00
Glenn Carnegie9.023200.003.56
Iain Lockhart7.0017117.002.43
Fraser Ross9.0138219.004.22
Blair Walker5.0014114.002.80
Morgan Sargeant5.31842.001.45
Kailas Narayanan4.0110110.002.50

Forfarshire Cricket Club 3rd XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 4 wickets
0
153		        
Steven Sim ct  & b A Saeed 7
Craig McConnachie b  Sagir 24
Clark McConnachie Not Out  85 1
Glenn Carnegie ct  Smith b Hopkins 2
Fraser Ross b  Amin 11 1
Cameron Walker Not Out  5 1
David Sim   2
Iain Lockhart   2
Kailas Narayanan  
Morgan Sargeant  
Blair Walker  

DHSFP XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
S Ejaj 9.003600.004.00
A Saeed 9.0130130.003.33
R Hopkins 9.0319119.002.11
M Abassi 5.001700.003.40
M Sagir 7.0225125.003.57
H Amin 2.10414.001.85