Kinloch Claim the Treble

Glenrothes 2nd XI played their penultimate league game for 2022 in the Breedon Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union (SPCU) Division 2 on Sunday, as they traveled to Lochside Park in Forfar to play Kinloch 2nd XI.

Batting first on what was perceived to be a good batting deck, the Glenrothes opening batters of father and son Joe and Charlie Burton soon found that perception to be wrong as variable bounce and unpredictable seam movement made batting tough - particularly against two excellent opening bowlers Khan and Sadiq.

Young Charlie was first wicket to fall, unlucky to drag on for 7 with the score 16 for 1 in the 13th over, and from there it was a procession of wickets over the next 6 overs - as Glenrothes stumbled to 29 for 7 in the 19th over, and playing with only 10 players meant only two wickets remaining.

Jordan Smith, in at 8, was to start a mini-revival with a couple of lovely boundary shots before being bowled for 13 (Glens 47 for 8) in the 30th over. This left the last batting pair of David Snook and Nic Krzyzanowski to try and use up the last 10 overs, both using their vast cricketing experience to show that patient batting and timing of shots (not crash-bang-whallop) is more often than not the best option.

With both batters trading boundary shots and being watchful against good bowling, it was Snook to depart for 13 in the 37th over for a well made 13, Krzyzanowski left on 21 not out and Glenrothes finishing on 79 all out. A disappointing batting performance was balanced with an excellent bowling display from all the Kinloch bowlers.

Glens skipper Jay Lewis opened with Charlie Burton and Snook, looking to utilise their accurate bowling and draw false strokes from the batters - a wise choice as Burton was to strike with his second ball, Amin edging a high ball to the cover area for Kevin Le Roux to take a good catch. With Snook not conceding any runs from his end, Burton soon found the edge of other opener Kurshid's bat but Nic Krzyzanowski behind the stumps couldn't hold on to the catch.

With the bowlers being rotated regularly to seek a second breakthrough, but most importantly to give everyone a go, it was great to see everyone bowling well. In particular, Le Roux and Lewis put the batters under pressure but more pleasing was to see the other youngsters (after Burton's excellent opening spell) bowl with confidence - Muhammad Tayyiub and Ben Krzyzanowski bowling well, but it was to be Irsaq Riahan to grab the wicket as he bowled Kurshid for 37 with the score on 68.

From there, the home-side skipper Mahmood Habib (29*) saw Kinloch reach their target in the 22nd over. An excellent all-round game from Kinloch, completing three wins from three games against Glenrothes 2nd XI for the season. But equally, it was great to see the Glenrothes team fighting hard, with an excellent fielding display from all not making the missing player obvious.

Many thanks to Kinloch for hosting us so well, the teas in particular were top notch!