Leaders shocked at Perth

There were surprises all round on Saturday as the league edges towards the halfway point.

League leaders Stoneywood Dyce were at the wrong end of perhaps the biggest shock of the day when they lost their unbeaten record, going down at Perth Doo’cot by 37 runs.

The Perth side batted first and although the first wicket fell cheaply, Emeul Knoesen (59) and Curtis Taylor (41) steered the home side into a useful position but on 181 for nine after 45 overs, Perth’s total looked catchable.

The first three visiting batsmen put on 60 runs, including Liam Lindsay’s 32, but after that Knoesen’s four for 25 and Ivor Patterson’s three for 44 ensured the points were stayed at Doo’cot.

Second spot in the table was also up for grabs but it was Gordonians who widened the gap over Meigle with a 24-run win.

Visitors Gordonians batted first and looked to be in trouble at 119 for seven until Aman Bhandari added 35 to Debo Barman’s 34 to post a total of 144.

Meigle would have expected to pass that without too much of a problem but they were in real trouble at 46 for six and could only scratch up 123 all out thanks to some very tight bowling from Craig Forbes with three for 14 and Himanshu Saraswat’s two for 18.

It was always going to be a tight one at Lochlands, but Arbroath United’s three-wicket win over Strathmore sees them leapfrog their opponents in the league.

Strathmore seemed to be on the way to a good total as Chris Stevenson (46) and Matt Simpson (45) put on 98 for the second wicket but the Arbroath bowling restricted them to 189.

Jack Plomer (61) and Gavin Swan (25) gave Arbroath a good start, Grant Peat carried it on, and Arbroath clinched the points with more than five overs to spare.

The top five batsmen, including Majid Rasheed (50) and Blake Newport (27), looked to be giving Dundee HSFP a chance for a decent total against Forfarshire II but the rest of the batting order produced just 10 runs to end up with a measly 119.

Graeme Garden had a devastating spell of four for seven in 3.4 overs, Jack Hogarth backed that up with three for 27 and the same two players saw Forfarshire home to a long awaited first league win.

Hogarth and Garden opened the batting, with the former smacking 51. Garden was run out on 44 but the game was won as the visitors got 120 for one.

It was another gloomy afternoon for Kinloch. Mannofield batted first for 223 all out in 40 overs but the home side found themselves all back in the pavilion for 151.