Glenrothes 2nd XI v Marchmont 2nd XI

Glenrothes 2nds entertained Marchmont 2s at the Town Park on a gloriously hot and sunny day at the weekend. New 2 nd XI captain Willie Morrison lost the toss, but unexpectedly the captain of the Edinburgh side elected to bat on a wicket that has been notoriously difficult to score on all season.

Opening bowlers Alan Hutchison and Dave Snook took the attack to Marchmont’s opening pairing of Braddon and Meyer, and despite taking no wickets, after 5 overs each the score was only on 22. Skipper Morrison changed the attack with the Craig Gould and left armer Brian Morris coming on. Marchmont moved the score onto 38 before Gould made the breakthrough in the 17 th over, taking the scalp of Meyer (23) when the batsman dragged the ball back onto his own stumps. Gould struck again in the 21 st over when a fine catch by Hutchison at square leg accounted for number 3 bat Clayton (7). Morris got in on the action in the very next over when he trapped Braddon (15) LBW with a fine straight delivery and he claimed his 2 nd victim in his very next over, skittling the stumps of Smyth for a duck. Gav Henderson replaced the tiring Morris and had immediate success in his first over when Morrison caught Meyer (5) on the off side – Marchmont were now struggling on 58 for 5 and there hopes were on the shoulders of number 4 batsman Neil Granger. Craig Gould finished off his allotted 9 overs in fine style with a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Morris for the second duck of the day. John Bell made his return to the Glens bowling, since recovering from a knee injury, to partner Henderson and the ever reliable Bell added to his career wickets in his second over when Ewer (5) skied one to Henderson at mid-off. Henderson got back in on the act when the quick hands of club President Geoff Sampson, whipped the bails off to claim a fine stumping of Marchmont skipper Durling. With the capital side only traveling with 10 men, Marr was the last partner for Granger and with the score only on 72, they needed to put on runs to set a decent target for Glenrothes. Despite a valiant effort, Granger fell to John Bell for 12 when Gould took a catch deep at mid-on. Marchmont finished on 77 all out. It was a fine display of bowling and fielding from Glenrothes all 6 bowlers recording very admirable figures – Gould 3 for 17 from 9 overs, Morris 2 for 14 from 7, Henderson 2 for 14 from 5, Bell 2 for 8 from 3.4 , Hutchison 0 for 12 from 5 and Snook 0 for 10 from 5.

Glenrothes started their run chase with Willie Morrison partnering Geoff Sampson, a pairing that has proved fruitful in the past. Despite starting strongly, it only took until the 10 th over for this partnership to be broken. With the score on 19, Morrison skied a shot off Durling’s bowling, which was firmly held and he was out for 11. Sampson(6) followed soon after with only one more run scored, when a firmly struck shot was held by Meyer off Ewer’s bowling. Andy Muir and Brain Morris were brought together and, after Morris had survived an early scare, pushed the score onto 35 when Morris’s luck ran out as Granger bowled him off his pads for 5. John Bell joined Muir at the crease and they added another 10 to the Glens’ score until Bell was caught behind off Durling’s bowling for 7. Craig Gould joined Muir and soon made his intentions clear with a massive hit that only just fell short of clearing the boundary for 6, but he swung at one ball too many and, through the faintest of snicks, he was caught behind for 5 and despite their being a little doubt as to whether he had got his bat to it he walked, saving umpire Morrison from having to make a decision.

Glenrothes were reeling a little on 51 for 5 and Gav Henderson came and went for 2, by way of an excellently taken catch by Durling, to add to the worry on 62 for 6.

Dave Snook came out to partner Muir, who was slowly gaining confidence the longer he remained in the middle. Snook (2) was unlucky as a ball cut back on him and hit both pads before knocking the bails off with the slightest of touches.

Nigel Duthie came in at number 9, still smarting from a sore hand obtained with an attempt at an improbable catch in the field. Between the two of them, Muir and Duthie brought Glens home, with the winning runs coming by a fine drive for 4 by Muir. Glenrothes finished on 80 for 7 and the victory leap-frogged them above Marchmont to 5 th place, but could be in 4 th depending on how other results went.

That is now 4 wins out of the last 5 games for Glens, 3 out of 3 for skipper Morrison, and confidence is high as they prepare for this week’s trip to the capital to take on 3 rd placed Edinburgh Accies.

Click here for Saturdays scorecard