Captain Venske hails Aberdeenshire’s resilience after topsy turvy Grange clash
Aberdeenshire skipper Chris Venske admitted to experiencing a cocktail of emotions in the wake of his side’s dramapacked tie with Grange.
It was a case of “what might have been” for Venske – both in a positive and negative sense.
Century-maker Venske said: “We could easily have lost it – but maybe we should have won it!”
Theoutcomehaltedgrange’s run of victories, while also boosting Shire’s revival. “For much of the contest it could have gone either way,” he said.
“We batted first and were struggling a bit on 45 for four so at that point if you had offered me a tie then I would’ve bitten your arm off.
“I was frustrated to get out with nine overs of our innings left because there were still plenty of runs available to me.
“We could have posted a total exceeding 250 rather than the 223 that we did reach.”
In the tense finale, Grange needed five from the last over to snatch the glory – with young Connor Shorten being entrusted to bowl. He held his nerve in a manner that impressed Venske, who added: “The grit and determination shown by the lads in the closing stages made me a happy captain.”
On his own knock of 110, he said: “I was pleased with my knock but I got out at the worst time.”
Shire coach David Cox added: “Connor was a hero – it was a great way to mark his selection or his call-up to the Scotland U19’s.
“The lower order worked well with Chris to build a platform after a horrendous start. It was a really galvanised team performance with contributions throughout.
“But the tally of 24 extras cost us the game, not for the first time this season. We should have won, but I’ll take five points and look forward to Heriot’s next weekend.”
Six Grange batsmen got over the 20 mark, however Harris Aslam and Ryan Flannigan top scored with 31 each.
This fact was testament to Shire’s persistence in the field.
Venske himself was no mean performer with the ball, taking two for 31 in ten overs.
An understrengtharbroath surrendered their unbeaten record to Glenrothes in a lowscoring battle at Gilvenbank. Home star Vasu Reddy said: “Arbroath were without several key men, but it was a great result for us. Ben Wilkinson batted beautifully on a tough track and Yaser Arfat was the pick of the bowlers.”
Elsewhere, pro Mike Herdman’s ton propelled Carlton to their win against Watsonians at Grange Loan, Heriot’s beat SMRH by 52 runs and Forfarshire swept aside the challenge of basement boys Falkland.