Meigle not in a Muddle

Glenrothes 2nd XI travelled north on Saturday 17 July to play Meigle 2nd XI in the Breedon Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 2.

On a scorching day most would have been hoping to bat first, and it was Meigle to take that route. Openers Ross and Nicol batted very well, punching the ball hard through gaps they could find and running hard.

It was to be young Anas Tanveer to make the breakthrough, bowling Nicol for 26 with the 100 up in the 16th over. This brought Barron to the crease, and he started in accumulator mode to rotate the strike and look to let opener Ross hit out - which he duly did and soon reached his century in an excellent knock.

Tanveer though was to strike again his second spell, Ross falling for 140 skying a catch to David Snook at gully who took a very solid catch. Tanveer himself finished on two for 62 from his eight overs.

This though only brought Reddy to the crease who continued to look to hit out with Barron - the young Glenrothes bowlers will have learned a lot from bowling to these players as they looked to use their feet and try to dominate the attack. But like through the rest of the innings, much of the luck was with the Meigle batters as a good few mis-hits managed to find the gaps and half-chances were just missed.

At the close of innings, Barron ended on an excellent 76 not out and Meigle finished on 290 for 2 from the 40 overs.

Great credit though to the young Glenrothes bowling attack, with 14 year olds Tanveer, Joshua McEwan and Charlie Burton (the latter suffering from a shoulder injury to curtail his bowling spell) and 13 year olds Ben Krzyzanowski and Muhammad Tayyiub who all put in great efforts - Krzyzanowski was unlucky to see two catches dropped off his bowling.

It was a daunting target to chase down, and against tight bowling from the Meigle opening bowlers Barron and Sinclair, Glenrothes never looked like they would manage - though "batting the overs" and accumulating runs throughout was crucial to help build confidence.

With Joe Burton operating in singles, it was fellow opener Snook to hit the first boundary, though the Meigle fielder perhaps unfairly made it look like the ball hadn't crossed the line to push the batters to run more - neither batter falling for the ruse though! It was to be Snook to fall first, bowled by Sinclair in the 10th over.

Colin Dryburgh made a quick visit to the crease, bowled by Barron. This brought young McEwan to the crease, and with Barron bowling quicker and shorter than McEwan had previously been used to he took time to find his confidence. Great credit him though for digging in and then looking to start opening up after being out in the middle for five overs, but this was to be his downfall as he snicked one behind off Barron to wicket-keeper Christie.

With Iain Georgeson also missing out on the big score he would have wanted, it was to be Charlie Burton to join his father Joe - both looked comfortable, so it was some surprise to see Burton Snr fall for 20 off the bowling of Croll.

One further wicket was to fall, young Tayyiub after a good 23 run partnership with Burton Jnr, bringing Tanveer to the crease. Both he and Burton continued to bat confidently, defending their wickets with intent. Both did well to maintain focus on their own batting goals (staying in) and ignoring any calls to to hit out, though a couple of straight hits late on by Tanveer showed he had it within him to push on if need be.

At the end, Burton Jnr was 24 not out and Tanveer 10 not out with Glenrothes finishing on 91 for 6 from their 40 overs. It wasn't to be a run-fest, but time out in the middle (both batting and bowling) is so crucial for young players at such an early stage in their senior cricket development, and we were delighted with the focus they all kept.

Many thanks to Meigle for hosting us and for a great game.

View the scorecard via the SPCU website.