Ferguslie beat Greenock to stay top but Carruthers says it’s still too early for title talk
A Michael English century helped Ferguslie overcome Greenock to remain league leaders but club captain Jamey Carruthers has little interest in the table.
The Meikleriggs men have achieved what no others have managed this season by staying top on their own for three consecutive weeks and will become title favourites if they beat second-placed Uddingston on Saturday.
However, Carruthers said: “I haven’t had the chance to look at the table yet and am not too worried about that at this stage. It was another good performance from us but there is still a long way to go I’d suggest.”
Ferguslie overcame the early loss of John Allan – one of Julian Hulbert’s four victims – to post an imposing 275 for seven.
Opener English and Riyaad Henry did the bulk of the work with a superb 150-run stand for the second wicket.
Henry hit some blistering shots in his 72 while English went on to a brilliant 119.
Greenock battled hard in their reply with Aussie Kyle Scrimegour top-scoring on 66 and Hulbert 41.
However, Carruthers picked-up two important wickets while Ferguslie also achieved four sharp runouts to seal a 50-run success. Carruthers added: “Michael and Riyaad were excellent from the moment they came together. They scored at will and seemed to put every bad ball away.”
Meanwhile Uddingston are in hot pursuit of the leaders after a clinical all-round display got the better of Dumfries at Nunholm. The visitors were in trouble following the loss of four quick wickets but Ross Lyons (76) and Bryan Clarke (62no) propelled them to 201 for seven.
Uddingston still had to produce the goods in the field to restrict a normally free-scoring home batting line-up and they did so to dismiss Dumfries for just 147, Amir Gul starring with three for 22.
Captain Clarke, pictured, said: “We made a poor start but Ross was fantastic. People probably speak more about him hitting sixes but he has far more to offer than that and batted beautifully.” While the top two have opened a slight gap on the chasing pack, Ayr and Prestwick are still firmly in contention after wins at East Kilbride and Clydesdale. Skipper Andi Mcelnea was the hero of Ayr’s 71-run success at Torrance House, claiming five for 21 in a lowscoring encounter.
Sachin Chaudhary’s halfcentury helped Prestwick post 245 for nine at Titwood, more than enough for victory against the champions who again suffered in the absence of Con de Lange and Richie Berrington, Fazal Jawad’s four for 28 helping dismiss Dale for 159.
Owais Shah hit 57no as Poloc bounced back to form with an eight-wicket win at bottom-of-the-table Kelburne.