1st XI through to next round of Murgatroyd 20/20
Glenrothes made the trip to Meigle on the best day of the year so far, however it turned out to be the darkest game of cricket many had played in!!
Victory Park Meigle was bathed in sunshine as Greig Hopcroft won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first in their Caledonian Murgitroyd T20 match.
Former Meigle and Scotland captain Ryan Watson opened for the visitors along with overseas amateur South African Chris Greaves, whilst left arm spinner Steven Ross opened the bowling for the home side with Jamie Morrison sharing the new ball.
The Glenrothes batsmen went on the attack from the off and with the help of a two dropped catches and a possible run out took the score to 111 before Craig Morrison accepted another Watson chance off the bowling of Meigle captain Iain Stewart to break the partnership.
Watson had made 45 and shortly afterwards he was joined in the pavilion by Greaves, who was snapped up by Meigle keeper Peter Drummond off the bowling of Chris Burns. Chris Greaves top scored for the visitors with 59.
A few more lusty blows enable Glenrothes to reach 137 for 4 in their twenty over allocation.
Meigle knew they would have to hit the ground running if they were to pull off the win. Openers Chris Burns and Denis Christie played their shots from off and looked dangerous. However Christie went for one hit too many and was caught for 13, bringing Peter Drummond to the crease.
The runs continued to flow and Drummond (17) with a pull to square leg hit the umpire Malcolm Gerdes-Hansen, who fortunately was able to continue as the light faded.
Burns top scored for Meigle with 28 and youngster Craig Morrison chipped in with 18 but the home side eventually fell short of their target by eleven runs, despite the efforts of skipper Stewart who hit the only six of their innings.
Glenrothes will now meet Stirling County in the next round of the competition.
*report by DW Potter, CricketEurope.net
