Perth Doo’cot seen off to clinch runners-up spot
Meigle finished in the Strathmore and Perthshire Union North-East Championship runners-up spot after a demolition job on Big County rivals Perth Doo’cot.
The toss in the Fair City on Saturday saw two captains overseeing their XIs for the final time as Meigle were invited to bowl on a predictably green wicket after recent downpours.
Home skipper Graham Ferguson was playing his final first XI game of his stellar career and Black and Golds captain Matthew Farmer was leading the Victory Park outfit for the final time before returning to the Sunshine Coast after four memorable seasons.
Meigle started off brightly with Farmer smashing a huge six on his way to a quickfire 23.
Peter Drummond, on 490 league runs for the season, was looking to score a few more to see off any pretenders for the league’s George Ovenstone Cup for aggregate runs.
He was bowled leaving a delivery from ex-Kinross youngster Jack McCreanor, a nephew of Ireland captain William Porterfield, for three – but this was enough to claim the trophy.
Neil Wimberley has scored five half-centuries in 2017 but he, too, was cleaned up leaving a delivery – this time from ex-Northumberland minor county bowler Stephen Boyd.
Charles Clark and the returning talent of Marcus Harvey could not get their feet going and both succumbed cheaply. Alan Neave, the top allrounder in the SPCU, needed someone to stick with him and the young star found that in Iain Stewart, who hung around before being well caught at cover.
Neave ended on 44 as Meigle managed to scramble from 87 for seven to 120 all out.
Meigle set about getting early wickets as 120 was worth 220 on a better, drier surface.
Early wickets from Farmer, who was bowling a hostile pace and Neave, who was nagging in his line and length, saw the merged club reeling on 11 for five.
A couple of dropped chances and half-chances went begging off Caley region U19 McCreanor as Boyd and the teenager built a partnership.
A breakthrough from Jamie Morrison was quickly followed up by Iain Stewart, who got Boyd caught by Murray Scott.
The screw was being turned and the Perth men slumped to 72 all out, missing out on a batting bonus point and ending up behind the villagers in the league for the fourth time in four successive seasons.
Alan Neave and Matthew Farmer shared four wickets apiece, with Neave taking 24 wickets to end the season as the league’s leading wicket-taker.
He claims the Laing-Ovenstone trophy, previously won by club legends such as Peter M Drummond, Denis Christie and Gordon Drummond.
Farmer finished as the top overseas bowler with over 30 scalps. Stewart, meanwhile, finished fifth overall in the aggregate wicket standings with 19.
The match ball sponsor was PM Drummond Plumbing Ltd.
The first-team squad has one final engagement, Sunday’s Falkland sixes in Fife.
Captain Farmer – after 2117 runs, including 61 sixes – and 144 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls, hands the reins to Charles Clark, as thoughts turn to Farmer’s replacement for the 2018 season.