Rafiq taunts Ayr in title shoot out
Shahzad Rafiq piled up the pressure on derby rivals Ayr by insisting they can only lose the title – despite Prestwick surging five per cent clear at the top of the Premier Division.
Ayr have slipped to third place but the Henry Thow Oval skipper claims they still hold all the aces.
Rafiq turned up the heat when he said: “We play second fiddle to the biggest team in Ayrshire – we are a feeder club to Ayr.
“We haven’t won the league for almost 30 years whereas Ayr won it three seasons ago.
“When you play top dollar for the biggest player in the league you are the team to beat, especially after recruiting three of our players.
“July is the crucial month with the top teams playing each other. By the end of it, we will have a good idea of who is competing for the league.”
Rafiq hailed Faisal Jawad for two monster knocks in three days.
Jawad hit 87 off 39 balls as Prestwick beat West of Scotland to book a Rowan Cup final against Clydesdale at Poloc next Thursday.
That allowed Prestwick to chase down West’s 159- 6 in 20 overs and clinch victory at 160- 4 off 17.4 overs.
On Saturday, Jawad hit a century as Prestwick beat Dumfries with one ball to spare to set themselves up for a crunch at home to second- top Ferguslie on Saturday.
Mitchell Rao chipped in with 30 as Prestwick reached 235 for 9 in 50 overs.
The game went to the wire before Dumfries were dismissed for 230 with top bowling from Gavin Pitt ( 2- 32) and Willie Rowan ( 2- 39).
Rafiq added: “Faisal hit two different type of innings but he will look back on Saturday’s century as one of his best ever.
“At 110- 5, Faisal and Willie Rowan put on a platform for us to go and win. Willie’s opening bowling spell and two overs at the death were unbelievable.
“In the 45th over the writing was on the wall but I always had belief that one wicket would change things. I have never seen so much delight at the end.”
The St Ninians XI beat Nunholm by 78 runs at home but stay fifth in the Western Union Reserve League. Richard Bartsch ( 70) and Euan McBeth ( 39) helped the Prestwick lads to 181.
In reply, Nunholm were dismissed for 103 with Bartsch taking 3- 19 and Fletcher Rao 3- 21.
On Saturday, Prestwick host Ferguslie while St Ninians XI head to Meikleriggs. There is a Sunday fixture at Irvine.
Mitchell Rao is on Scotland ‘ A’ duty against Ireland ‘ A’ in Dublin this week.