Glenrothes made the short trip over (ok, around) the Lomonds to Scroggie Park to play Falkland 2nd XI in the latest round of fixtures in the Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 1.

With a flat looking pitch on a baking hot day, both teams will have been keen to win the toss and bat first - Falkland won that battle!

Former Glens player Charlie Burton opened with Craig Trewartha, and both batted sensibly to set a solid foundation. Their fifty partnership came up in the 12th over, but just two overs later saw Glens skipper Qasim Ahmad make the breakthrough as Trewartha (22) edged one down the legside for keeper Muhammad Tayyiub to take a good catch.

This brought Falkland's own keeper Mike Hibberd to the crease, lifting the tempo of the game through smart running with singles coming easily - both positive batting and profligate wide bowling by Glenrothes.

With young Burton reaching an excellent half century and the century partnership reached, it was Jordan Smith to make the breakthrough as he trapped Burton LBW for 59 - Smith claiming an excellent one for 34 from seven overs.

Big hitting Geordie Gallagher was next to the crease and looked comfortable - that is until his spikes got stuck in the pitch as he came dancing down the wicket to Anas Tanveer only to be bowled.

One became two as HIbberd, who had already been close to being run out with a direct hit by Ahmad was not so fortunate shortly after as Ahmad repeated the trick at the other end and the umpire gave this one - Falkland 187 for 4 in the 36th over.

Glens had done well to peg the scoring rate back by this point, though big-hitters Ryan Hepburn and Ruben Forbes looked to wrestle back control and soon got going at better than a run a ball between both of them.

With the 250 in sight, Glens bowlers showed the benefit of bowling full and straight - Bimal Nalupurakkal Balan bowling Hepburn for 35, Mayank Sautiyal bowled Forbes for 23 and then Paul Crawford selflessly looked to go dancing down the track next ball to force more runs but Sautiyal bowled him also.

Falkland finished on 268 for 7 from their 45 overs - both teams probably happy, as Falkland could easily have put an extra 20 or 30 runs on top of that whilst Glenrothes also made things far too easy with them with 40 wides conceded!

With a large target, skipper Ahmad decided to go all out attack with his opening pair - regular opener Sufyan Ahmed joined by the pocket rocket Govind Singh.

This proved to be a master stroke as both batters batted with positive intent from the outset - 50 runs coming up in less than seven overs.

Singh in particular was hitting the ball well, whilst Ahmed took a more subdued approach than many of his innings - though that did reflect the Falkland change bowlers exerting more pressure.

With the sun beating down and players from both sides regularly calling for drinks. it was no surprise the batters began to show sign of cramp in their legs - though their grit to battle though as the rest of their colleagues relaxed in the shade on the sidelines said a lot of their focus.

Singh was to bring up an excellent half century in the 16th over, as three balls from Hepburn went 4-4-6. Ahmed was to be not far behind with his 50 coming up in the 20th over.

The drinks break came at the end of the 22nd over, and everyone knew post drinks could be a chance for a wicket as the batters refocused - that was the case, though in the fourth over back as Greg Chambers forced Ahmed (62) into a loose drive into the covers for Hepburn to take a good catch.

As is often the case, one did bring two as young Muhammad Tayyiub perhaps listened to the vocal on-field chat too much and fell LBW to the last ball of Charlie Burton's nine over spell - Glenrothes 162 for 2 after 27 overs, 107 runs from 18 overs required.

Singh continued to bat well, and with the 200 just passed and perhaps one eye on a well deserved century he was teased out by Craig Trewartha bowling him for an excellent 93 from 92 balls.

This brought Basil Varghese and Mayank Sautiyal together, and after a slightly tentative start from Varghese both batters soon found their batting tempo and had the ball flying to all corners.

Varghese in particular showed his burgeoning hardball career (just four games in so far) has a great deal to look forward to, reached a rapid half century with two 4's and four 6's - though his fun was to come to an end with the win in sight as Hepburn bowled him for an excellent 55 from 43 balls.

Balan was next in with instructions to bat sensibly and not risk giving up any more bonus points - though a straight hit four second ball showed his positive intent, then a single next ball brought Sautiyal on strike to hit a towering six down the ground to claim the win.

Glenrothes finished on 274 for 4 in the 41st over, claiming a six wicket victory. This defeat knocked Falkland 2nd XI off the top of the league, though unfortunately for Glenrothes, Rossie Priory also won which should see them go top and Glenrothes move second.

Another positive performance though, with Glenrothes showing their increasing confidence. Hopefully they can take that intent forward on Sunday 17th August as the play in The Cricket SPCU Trophy final at Brechin against Kinloch.