EK keep league title hopes alive Lyons helps them to 7th win on the bounce
A five-wicket win over Ferguslie helped East Kilbride record their 11th win of the season – and maintain their slim league title hopes.
With just two weeks of the campaign remaining, leaders Clydesdale can only throw it away but second-place East Kibride will make sure they work for their trophy after stretching a winning run to seven matches on Saturday.
Opening bowler Umair Khan got that vital early breakthrough for EK in Paisley as persistent pressure of dot balls got the better of Ferguslie’s opening batsmen, with Khan edging the ball to Umair Saeed, who took a smart catch at first slip.
Ferguslie were 7-1 after 4.3 overs and it took EK a while to get their next wicket but when they did, they got a double breakthrough.
Petrus Coetzee’s (2-15) swing proved too much for the Ferguslie batsman and he managed to trap their pro in front for a LBW.
The hosts entered the drinks break at 66-3 after 25 overs with EK a bit disappointed they couldn’t manage a few more breakthroughs.
Craig Smith produced a very smart catch to dismiss the Ferguslie captain and give EK the bright start they needed after drinks.
Ross Lyons (1-31) broke a nagging 30-run partnership for EK and then Moneeb Iqbal took three wickets for EK to prove that spin is useful on any surface if you bowl with the right pace.
Umair Khan(2-27) managed another wicket for EK and restricted Ferguslie to 135-9 in their allotted 50 overs.
The first part of the job was done but with 136 runs needed for victory, it was never going to be straight forward.
EK did not get the start they were looking for and found themselves in heaps of trouble at 26-3 after five overs.
A small rebuilding session occurred between Coetzee and Monneeb Iqbal but when Iqbal lost his wicket, it looked grim for EK at 43-4.
This brought Lyons and Coetzee to the crease and they needed to drag the team out of the hole.
Lyons made batting look easy on a very difficult track. He had his fair share of luck with a few inside edges that narrowly missed his stumps.
Eventually Coetzee lost his wicket for 28 runs from 83 deliveries. A small but very valuable contribution to his side as he and Lyons had a 92-run partnership to save – and win – the game for EK.
Lyons ended on 69 not out from 62 balls as EK got to 136 with only five wickets down to win the game by five wickets.
On Saturday, EK travel to Ayr.