Scorecard

Meigle v Gordonians Cricket Club Gordonians 1st XI on Sat 30 May 2015 at 13.00
Gordonians Cricket Club Lost by 3 wickets

Match report Some games are easy, some are difficult, and some are made difficult. This fell in to the latter category, and Gordonians were made to agonisingly suffer for their lapses in application with the bat. It was League Champions against League Leaders at Meigle, with sun block not required, and as many layers as could be worn whilst still allowing free arm movement.
It was a good toss to lose, but we didn't, and decided to bat. When Sree double creamed Stewart through the covers for boundaries, it looked the right decision, but the cream soon curdled as Sree got most things in the wrong position, bowled off the last ball of the over for 8. In a surprise move, Meigle opened with leg spinner Ross at the other end. He was getting fairly prodigious spin, but the Meigle pitch can be unforgiving to spinners if they don't pitch it in the right spot, or don't even pitch it. Arora plundered 11 and this took him to face the next over, or as it turned out, his next and last ball, as his lack of recent batting showed, edging behind a ball that he would probably have left last season. 19 for 3 became 30 for 3 as horrible calling left Sunny mid pitch, sacrificing himself for 3. Meigle turned the screw by bringing on Farmer, probably the best bowler in the league, and he proceeded to beat the outside edge with amazing regularity, although maybe Hamish and Swapnil were just looking after the middle of their bats, and the edges. A steady 16 over partnership was brought to an end as spinner Kunje got one to jump and catch the handle of Swapnils bat. The ball was gathered by Laing, and after an umpires consultation, the hopeful, but restrained Meigle appeal, was upheld. Swapnil gone for a patient 20 in what turned out to be the highest partnership of the match, 44. 74 for 4 soon became 75 for 5 as Hamish inexplicably decided that patience was no longer required, and danced down the wicket to Kunje, missing the ball by a considerable distance, stumped by Drummond for an otherwise excellent 27. This brought the now familiar pairing of Debo and Mayank to the wicket, and they duly consolidated as Meigle rested Farmer. They took the score to 108 before the returning Farmer changed ends and for once failed to beat the edge, having Mayank snicking behind for a hard earned 7. Charles Clark had bowled his first over for 6, but then proceeded to take 4 for 1 (a wide) off 10 balls as the last 5 Gordonians wickets fell for 3 runs in 3 overs. Debo was out to a swish for 19 as 'proof of age please' Stark had to watch the carnage from the non-strikers end, left high and dry on 2. Clark had taken 3 for 8 in last seasons encounter between the sides and yet again demonstrated exactly what can happen if you bowl on the stumps and the batsmen decide not to get their bat in the way. 111 can be a competitive score at Meigle, but if you only bat 37.4 overs, you know that you haven't maximised your score.
An excellent tea was followed by the customary pep talk, and Gordonians opened the bowling with Forbes, probably unfamiliar with a downhill run up, but he did make batting look an uphill struggle for the Meigle batsmen. In possibly a farewell appearance, Rahul opened at the other end and couldn't find his length, conceding 9, but his next over was a wicket maiden as he rolled back the years with his trademark inswinging yorker, beating Thorne all ends up. Kunje and Drummond played sensibly, waiting for the bad balls, and Drummond hit the shot of the match as he majestically caressed an over-pitched ball from Rahul through the covers for 4. A wicket was required and Hamish duly delivered, Drummond lbw for 28. Marc had been bowling like a metronome in the nets, but didn't seem to be hitting the spot, and it was a bonus when Lowe picked out Hamish on the boundary taking a fine low diving catch. Hamish was back in the action having Kunje caught behind for 17 next over, a wishy washy shot, out of character with the previous 42 deliveries he had faced. Next in was Laing whose limpet like qualities have frustrated Gordonians in recent seasons. It was game on when he popped a catch up off Swapnil without troubling the scorers other than having to put a zero in a box. 69 for 5 and all to play for. Farmer will never wake up in the middle of the night wishing he hadn't had a swing at a ball, and he smacked a quickfire 22 to put Meigle back in charge. He launched a steepler off Hamish and the betting was odds on that Forbes would spill it, but after numerous adjustments of his feet, Chris got his hands in the right position and it was 96 for 6. Christie soon followed, well taken by the now safe hands of Narula off the returning Forbes. With Hamish and Chris bowled out, it gave a chance for Mayank, Aman and Sunny to be the hero, but unfortunately young Alan Neave hadn't read the Gordonians script, and with stubborn support from Ross, they added the 16 required to win in 13 overs, Neave unbeaten on 22.
Lewis and Forbes bowled particularly well for Gordonians, and the fielding was as good as it has been all season, but ultimately, the failure to bat the overs deprived the bowlers of the chance to win the match. That said, Farmer bowled exceptionally well for Meigle, and on another day could have had all 10 wickets and wrapped up the game by himself with the bat before drinks.
Matches can be decided by small margins, and Gordonians need to avoid shooting themselves in the foot if they are to challenge at the top of the table,


Gordonians Cricket Club Gordonians 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
11w 2b 1lb 
for 10 wickets
14
111		        
Sree Devadas b Stewart 8 4 6 2 133.33 1
Aman Arora ct Stewart 11 9 7 2 157.14
Santhosh Reddy Run out  3 20 12 25.00
Hamish Lewis st Kunje 27 83 67 4 40.30 2
Swapnil Rane ct Kunje 20 59 50 1 40.0
Debojyoti Barman b Clark 19 55 37 2 51.35
Mayank S Bhandari ct Farmer 7 42 31 1 22.58
Jason Stark Not Out  2 15 8 25.00
Chris A R Forbes b Clark 0 2 4 0 1
Rahul Narula lbw Clark 0 7 3 0 1
Marc Jones b Clark 0 2 2 0

Meigle Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Stewart9.0329214.503.22
Ross4.002000.005.00
Farmer9.0118118.002.00
Kunje7.021427.002.00
Christie3.00900.003.00
Neave3.001100.003.67
Clark2.40741.752.63

Meigle Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
8w 2lb 
for 7 wickets
10
112 (40.2 overs)		     
Drummond lbw Lewis 28 54 50 4 56.00
Thorne b Narula 4 15 11 36.36
Kunje ct Lewis 17 65 43 2 39.53
Lowe ct Jones 4 20 12 1 33.33
Neave Not Out  22 85 57 3 38.60
Laing ct Rane 0 14 9 0
Farmer ct Lewis 22 25 20 5 110.0
Christie ct Forbes 0 3 3 0
Ross Not Out  5 37 34 14.71
Stewart  
Clark  

Gordonians Cricket Club Gordonians 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Chris A R Forbes9.0220120.002.22
Rahul Narula5.0127127.005.40
Hamish Lewis9.041535.001.67
Marc Jones4.0018118.004.50
Swapnil Rane5.0124124.004.80
Mayank S Bhandari3.02300.001.00
Aman Arora3.02100.000.33
Santhosh Reddy2.21200.000.86

  • Umpire :
    Ryan Milne
  • Scorer :
    Paul Gray