Carson upstages centurion Chalmers
In normal circumstances, an unbeaten century by skipper Ewan Chalmers would be the highlight of any Watsonians victory.
However, that was far from being the case on Saturday at Mannofield, where they ended the first half of a jittery campaign on a positive note.
Chalmers is no stranger to three figures, but this time he was comprehensively upstaged by Mike Carson, pictured, who emerged as the real star of the show as he notched a marvellous 175 to sink Aberdeenshire.
Chalmers couldn’t disguise his admiration for Carson. He said: “I thought I was catching him up at one point – then all of a sudden he had twice as many runs as I had. It really was a special innings. He simply took the game away with him once he had got past 80.”
Sonians surged to 336 for three before reducing the Dons to 16 for five.
They refused to buckle completely and Callum Mackaness became the third centurion of the contest as they reached a respectable 221.
Lewis Dingle was the pick of the Watsons attack with five for 37.
With top two Grange and Heriot’s taking the honours at the expense of Stew-mel and Arbroath respectively, Forfarshire bolstered their thirdplace status by demolishing Glenrothes at Forthill.
Rory Johnston hit 84 and Michael Leask 68 to propel the Taysiders to 313 for eight, then skipper Umair Mohammed added four wickets to his half century to send the Fifers sliding to 142 all out.
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.” “Hayes van der Berg (84) was the mainstay of Heriot’s defeat of Arbroath at Goldenacre, while Gordon Goudie’s four-wicket burst paved the way for Grange to easily beat Stew-mel at Inverleith.
Mike Castle’s half century was the foundation for Carlton to force a tense ten-run victory over RHC Lions at Barnton. Jamey Carruthers, the Ferguslie captain, was singing the praises of his team on Saturday evening following their 258-run demolition of Western Premier champions Prestwick at Meikleriggs.
Despite topping the table since the first week of the season, Carruthers has been less than satisfied with performances, but there was no concealing his delight as they reached the halfway point in the season with a comfortable cushion.
He said: “Today was the sort of performance I’ve been asking for from the team and it came at the right time.
“All aspects of the game came together and if it contin-