Friendly thriller sets Ferguslie up for exciting new season
Ferguslie Cricket Club finally got their season underway on Saturday when they made the trip to Dumfries after three rain cancellations.
And despite this just being a warm-up match, both sides served up a cracker that went to the very last ball.
The Paisley side batted first and lost David Stafford early on but Bahadar Esakhiel (64) and acting skipper Taimoor Ahmed (45) then proceeded to take the attack to the hosts by putting on 113 for the second wicket in even time.
New professional Mekyle Pillay, pictured right, put on an impressive show by scoring a boundary-laden 55 before giving a return catch to bowler McGrath ended his innings. Thereafter, none of the visitors managed to trouble the scorers to any great extent, although youngsters Craig Glassford (13) and Qasim Khan (9) put together a late stand of 29 which, in the context of the match, proved to be absolutely critical – dragging the visitors to a respectable, if slightly disappointing, 235 all out. The home side responded in some style, putting on 62 for the first wicket, and a second partnership between Malik and Van Zyl saw them progress to 153 before they lost their next batsman.
Even then, however, they looked well in control with plenty of time to score the remaining 85 runs required for victory.
However, the Ferguslie bowlers began to shake off their close-season lethargy and gradually pulled their side back into the reckoning, as the runs required decreased slowly and the number of wickets lost began to rise with Pillay, Esakhiel, Taimoor Ahmad and Daoud Tahir all striking back.
Going into the last over, the hosts were five runs short of victory with Pillay bowling the final over.
Three runs came from the first three balls, leaving them one short of a tie, and two runs short of victory, before the professional struck to send Hobman back to the pavilion, making it two runs from two balls to win.
Reynolds-Lewis went for the big hit to finish it but only succeeded in holing out in the deep to leave the hosts eight wickets down with one ball remaining.
One run needed for a tie, two for a win and Pillay on a match winning hat-trick.
Jabarkhil managed to slog a single but no more, and the match finished all square, probably a fair result in the context of the day. By the end of the early evening, Ferguslie were beginning to look much more like themselves, with Pillay taking a catch, claiming three victims with the ball, and notching a maiden half-century so perhaps the objectives for the day were accomplished.
The first XI are in home double-header action this weekend as they lock horns on Saturday in Western Premiership One action against Stirling County, who have in the last week made no fewer than six new signings.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, again at Meikleriggs, Ferguslie have a tough Scottish Cup first round match against Falkland. Ahmed will continue as captain in the absence of Haroon Tahir and both matches start at midday.
Club president Tim Preston-Jones paid tribute to the Meikleriggs ground team, saying: “Ground convener Clint Hebberman, head groundsman Colin ‘Moss’ Scott and volunteers have done a marvellous job in getting the ground ready after the remedial work which went on over the winter, and the recent constant rain which has hampered their ability to produce a playable surface.
“The ground looks to be in great condition now and we’re looking forward to playing two big matches.”
The ball sponsor for Saturday’s match is Paul Andrew, a former Ferguslie CC player who now stays in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States.
Another Ferguslie side travelled to Kilmarnock on Sunday and they came away victorious after the home side accumulated 187 runs only for the Paisley outfit – including Stafford and Pillay who both notched half centuries – passing that total with one wicket remaining.
On Saturday, LMSD Meikleriggs travel to take on Partick in their first league match of their campaign.
■In Western Premiership Two on Saturday, Kelburne begin their campaign at home to Langside with Renfrew at Kilmarnock while East Renfrewshire are at home to Irvine. The local trio are also competing in the first round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
Kelburne go to Gala, Renfrew are heading to Drumpellier with East Renfrewshire at Stenhousemuir.
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