The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Forfarshire keep strong grip on third
Forthill skipper stars in solid win over Glenrothes
With top two Grange and Heriot’s taking the honours at the expense of Stew-mel and Arbroath respectively, Forfarshire bolstered their third-place status by demolishing the strugglers of Glenrothes at Forthill.
Rory Johnston hit 84 and Michael Leask 68 to propel the hosts to 313 for eight.
Then skipper Umair Mohammed added four wickets to his half-century to send the Fifers sliding to 142 all out.
A delighted Mohammed stated: “It was a fine performance and a very solid win.
“We can’t be far off being the youngest team in the league and it’s nice to see that the exposure that these boys are getting to high quality cricket is paying off.
“We are at the halfway point in the season and a couple of months ago if anyone told me we would be sitting third at this stage then I would have taken that.
“We are simply aiming to take one game at a time just now and continue enjoying being in each other’s company and having fun on a Saturday.”
Hayes van der Berg (84) was the mainstay of the Heriot’s success against an understrength Arbroath at Goldenacre.
In the Strathmore and Perthshire NEC, it looks like the second half of the campaign could mirror the first both at the top and bottom of the table where Strathmore, Dundee HSFP and
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… if anyone told me we would be sitting third at this stage then I would have taken that. UMAIR MOHAMMED
Arbroath have become ominously detached.
There was very nearly a dramatic change at the top, however, when Stoneywood Dyce posted a modest 163 for seven against Strathmore with Stuart Lister hitting 33, but Chris Milne’s three for 41 and Michael Shum, with two for 19, kept the score down.
Strathie then gave the league leaders a real fright, with Milne reaching 48 to lead a charge which ended only three runs short of what would have been the shock result of the season so far.
S/D can thank Liam Lindsay for digging them out of that particular hole with five for 37.
After being denied a potential win last week in their match against Falkland which could have seen them clear in top spot, this one brought the Peoples Park outfit back to earth with a bump.
Although Graeme Garden with 62 and a feisty 46 from Jack Hogarth took Forfarshire 2nd to 189 for five, Falkland’s lead in the table was never really threatened at Scroggie Park.
Stuart Campbell smacked an unbeaten century and Falkland had the runs in the bag for the loss of only three wickets with more than four overs to spare.
At Lochlands ASI Gordonians rattled up 278 for five against a depleted Arbroath United team with Aman Arora and Sandy Richards contributing a big chunk of that with 65 and 38 respectively.
Although Gordonians sportingly spread their bowling around when it was Arbroath’s turn, the home side could only put 75 on the board.
That took less than 27 overs with the visitors’ teenage overseas amateur Arya Pol taking three for eight to leave Arbroath firmly anchored at the bottom of the table.
Five wins from eight league starts is not a bad record for the first half of the season and Meigle got there with a fine run chase at Victory Park when Mannofield had set a target of 199-7.
Justin Haddon’s 44, backed up by Hirupan Doley with 42, kept the score- board ticking over for Mannofield but Meigle passed the target with just more than four overs left.
David Gamblen had three for 34 and Grant Johnston three for 43 for the visitors but a splendid 72 by Marcus Harvey, backed up by 32 from Peter Drummond, saw the points go Mannofield’s way
It has been a big failing of Dundee HSFP’S all season that they have been unable to give their opponents a decent total to chase when they have batted first.
It happened again against Perth Doo’cot when visitors Dundee struggled to reach 112 with everyone back in the pavilion before 40 overs had been bowled.
Hayden Evans top-scored for Dundee with 37, Ivor Patterson took five for 21 and with Asif Naeem’s 47 leading the way, Perth were home and dry in less than 28 overs ensuring that Dundee made very little dent in the points total which sees them second bottom of the table.