Taking it on the chin.... and winning

Glenrothes 1st XI welcomed Kinloch 2nd XI to GIlvenbank Park on Saturday for the latest Breedon Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 2 game.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat first, Kinloch will have been aiming to post a big total and hope the Glenrothes players wilted in the sun. Regular wickets however kept the scoreboard in check, with wickets shared across all the bowlers.

Highlights were the frugal bowling from Mayank Sautiyal (1 for 22 from 8) and Sufyan Ahmed (2 for 23 from 7), and a one-handed screamer of a catch by young Ben Krzyzanowski at square leg. It the was the unlucky Sautiyal to take one on the chin for the team, as a missed catch led to a call to Dr Ravi Coppisetty to dash from the 2nd XI game at Freuchie to render some emergency first aid treatment.

There was a number of dropped catches which could have kept the score lower, with Kinloch ending on 173 for 6 - tail-wagging from Panwar 27* and Bilal Sadiq 24 boosting the total.

It was great to see Glenrothes going with a young opening pair of Muhammad Tayyiub and Haris Khan to continue their cricket development, with Tayyiub in particular showing his ability by digging in for 14 overs. But it was to be the big-hitting Sufyan Ahmed to change the game, with a brutal 84.

Ahmed's wicket was quickly followed by another couple to buoy the Kinloch team but it was to be Sautiyal 27* (batting lower down the order and showing great determination to battle through his injury) and Paul Culleton 9* to calm the nerves and see Glenrothes through to the winning total with just over 3 overs to spare.

A great game that both teams could and should have taken the win, but Glenrothes will have been pleased to take the spoils and dent K2s 100% start to the season. A number of dropped catches and a profligacy of extras for Glens definitely something to work on though!