Flogged by Falkland

The 1st XI welcomed Falkland 2nd XI to Gilvenbank Park for the third round of fixtures in the Breedon Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 1 on Saturday 14 May. With Captain Chris Marshman coming to an agreement with Falklands Captain Craig Hepburn, Glenrothes would bat first.

Unfortunately, it would not be the start that Glenrothes wanted as opener Joe Burton was bowled by Falkland’s young and impressive opening bowler Cutler from the third delivery of the innings. This brought debutant Mayank Sautiyal to the crease who would bat with good judgment and display a wide range of shots through his innings.

Glenrothes lost other opener Reyon Thomas, who was bowled by Palin with the score on 8. Sufyan Ahmed then came to the crease and helped Sautiyal to steady the innings with the two pushing the score onto 40 before Ahmed fell for 16 to Cutler.

In at number 5 was Muhammad Talha who looked to be in good touch before being run out to a direct hit for 4. Through this, Sautiyal had continued to impress, scoring well on both sides of the wicket before he too fell for a well made 43 to the bowling of Hepburn.

Paul Culleton enjoyed a brief cameo before falling for 7 after picking out point off the bowling of Cunningham - the curse of the drinks break his downfall. This would leave Glenrothes on 77 for 6 from 24 overs and facing the possibility of not batting out their overs.

Skipper Marshman was at the crease though, and whilst initially struggling for timing, he soon brought out his "agricultural" shots which suited perfectly the short and indifferent bowling being offered up at this stage, and regularly found the boundary.

Marshman was provided support by the tail allowing him to move to his first half century of the season, finishing on 69 having
hit five 6’s and six 4’s. This would take Glenrothes to 163 all out in the 42nd over - an under-par score though Glenrothes will have been pleased to have not wasted too many overs.

Having managed to post a potentially defendable total, it would be over to the bowlers and fielders to keep things tight and make early in roads if Glenrothes were to chase the win.

Unfortunately, opening batsmen Watson and Ferguson were to start well, punishing some lackluster bowling from Marshman in particular.
Falkland had raced to 48 from the first 10 overs before then losing their first wicket, as Qasim dismissed Watson for 35 thanks to a fine catch from Burton at mid-on - using his chest for cushioning!

Sautiyal then entered the attack and despite initially bowling too short would go on to remove Ferguson for 22 and Langlands for a brisk 35 - both edging behind for wicket-keeper Culleton to take two good catches.

This gave Glenrothes a sniff at 107 for 4, and saw confidence building with Thomas (after finding his rhythm) combining well with Sautiyal. Thomas would dismiss Peggie (1) after he skied the ball to Marshman at mid off and then Sautiyal would bowl Cutler for 7. Falkland now seven wickets down, but their run-rate was high leaving the game well balanced.

However the eighth wicket partnership was to prove decisive as Hepburn and Palin put victory in Falklands sight. Hepburn was bowled by the returning Marshman for 20, while Palin was bowled by Talha for 15, but this had left Falkland needing 11 to win and the fact that they only had to score 5 of these from the bat would sum up the Glenrothes bowling performance!

With Meikle hitting the winning runs in the 30th over the scorecard will make it look like Falkland’s victory was never in doubt. However, there was a brief spell where the Glenrothes attack managed to apply good pressure and take several wickets. Despite this when looking back on this defeat then if Glenrothes are to challenge for victories then they cannot afford to give away 25 extras - bowling a consistent line and length to apply pressure on batters throughout the innings is essential. As is each batter taking responsibility to pace and judge their innings well - only three batters made double figure scores.

Many thanks to Falkland for a good game, and in particular to their captain Hepburn who worked hard to see the game played in good spirits - just as good as his one-handed catch stretching to the skies!

Chris Marshman
Captain