Hot stuff from top of table Meigle
82-run victory over Doo’cot in tough conditions
Meigle recorded an 82-run victory over near neighbours Perth Doo’cot at a blisteringly hot Victory Park in the Breedon NE Championship on Saturday.
Home captain Charles Clark elected to bat first on a wicket that groundsman Craig Mitchell had worked miracles on during the recent spell of warm weather.
Meigle lost Shahzeb Saeed early on to a good catch by Ali down the leg side.
Thereafter, in-form duo Majid Rasheed and Alan Neave put on 50 before Rasheed was adjudged to be LBW for 39.
Just as was the case the previous week, Neave did a great job at the top of the innings in partnership with Raju Gayashan.
The pair had taken the total to 172 until the introduction of Doo’cot skipper Khalil stopped the Meigle momentum.
He picked up five wickets in quick succession, including both Neave and Gayashan, before running through the middle order.
With the innings threatening to close with a whimper, Hayden Guest managed to work well with the tail to bring the total up to a competitive 252.
The Doo’cot reply got off to a stuttering start and they were reduced to 39-4 with wickets for Majid Rasheed, Guest and Clark, one of which fell to a stunning catch at slip by Neave.
The Fair City side’s Usman Saeed started to rebuild the innings, first with youngster Moody and then with Ali.
This put the visitors in with an outside chance of victory as the score was now 153-5 with 15 overs remaining.
However, Meigle’s Iain Stewart removed dangerman Usman Saeed before claiming another two wickets in the same over.
He went on to complete his ‘five-for’, and take his eighth wicket in the past two games, by taking a final scalp to dismiss Doo’cot for 170.
It was another fantastic allround team performance from Meigle, who were made to work hard for their 252 total in tough conditions.
The sponsor of the match ball was Robin Barron.
The win means Meigle sit top of the table with two games remaining in the championship.
Meanwhile, Meigle’s second string beat Breadalbane by one wicket in SPCU Division One at Aberfeldy on the same day.
Breadalbane batted first but were soon in trouble as Meigle openers Fergus Barron and Matthew Sinclair reduced the home side to 16-3.
Spinner Murray Scott was next into the attack and he struck with his very first delivery to remove the previous game’s top scorer Callum Laing.
Barron removed Ednall to put the hosts in further trouble on 33-5.
The Breadalbane fightback was led by Silva, who received good support from the lower order.
He made an unbeaten 71 in getting the home side up to a respectable 144 runs.
Meigle’s opening batters, Thomas Lamb and Fred Kelly, battled well against an accurate spell of bowling from Rae and Laing until Lamb was dismissed for 16.
Former Breadalbane man Neil Wimberley looked much more at home in the conditions as he fluently made his way to 37 from only 30 deliveries.
The introduction of Andrew Smith into the attack changed the game completely as Meigle folded from 89-1 to 121-9 as Smith completed his five-wicket haul.
With 24 runs still required, skipper Bobby Edington was joined by youngster Callum Murray with the odds stacked heavily in Breadalbane’s favour.
Three sweetly struck boundaries by Edington put the game back in the balance, with Meigle requiring two runs to win and young Murray on strike.
A wide then tied the scores before Murray produced a wonderful cover drive to seal the win for Meigle.
It was great result for the visitors at a venue that has proved tricky for most away sides this season.
Another fantastic all-round team performance from Meigle, who were made to work hard for their 252 total in tough conditions