Big Win at Falkland

After the disappointing loss against Dundee HSFP 2s the previous weekend, Glenrothes 1st XI made the short journey to Falkland for their fifth league match of the season in the Breedon Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 2.

Having won the early season friendly match against the same team (Falkland 3s) at the same venue (second ground at Scroggie Park), the Glenrothes team had the confidence to repeat the win, which they did in emphatic style by 193 runs to boost their net run rate in the league.

Glens skipper Qasim Ahmad won the toss and decided to bat first. This was the first time in the season when after winning the toss Glens decided to bat and the batters did not disappoint. Almost all batters contributed as Glens posted a mammoth total of 370 for 9, with the main contributions coming from Sufyan Ahmed (106), Mayank Sautiyal (75), Bimul Nalapurrakal Balan (41) and Qasim Ahmad 34. Sufyan’s century included 12 sixes in total.

Falkland had made a positive start with the ball, bowling the two openers cheaply by the impressive youngster Rory MacKenzie but the next three partnerships between Bimul, Mayank, Sufyan and Qasim changed the momentum and Falkland bowlers could not cope with the sustained pressure by Glens batsman.

For the second innings, Glens started the bowling with two of their young members of the squad with both Ben Krzyzanowski and Anas Tanveer taking one wicket in their opening spells. There was a good partnership between Halliwell (34) and Barclay (53), but once they got out, the home team found runs harder to come by but they showed their determination by batting through the overs to finish on 177 for 9 from their 40 hours.

With everyone in the Glens team batting and bowling (except wicketkeeper Paul Culleton who kept his gloves on) it was great to see everyone contributing. Lots of positive to be taken from the game, though one area of concern for the Glens is the extras they conceded - 58 in total which is almost 1.5 free runs per over and needs to be reigned in going forward!

Overall, a good game from which both teams will have taken many positives in giving players valuable batting and bowling time in the middle. Many thanks to Falkland 3rd XI for hosting us so well, and we look forward to meeting up again at Gilvenbank Park later in the season.

Qasim Ahmad
1st XI Captain