Following a cancelled booking in Aberdeen, the 2nd XI game against Master Blasters in the SPCU Division 2 on Saturday was hastily rearranged to be played at Gilvenbank Park instead - a huge thanks to everyone that helped get the ground ready in time!

Glens knew it was going to be tough game against the league leaders, who had won eight from eight so far, and having won the toss the visitors continued their normal approach of batting first with the aim of setting a big score.

It was though to be a strong day in the field for the young Glens team, with bowlers and fielders staying focused and putting pressure on the batters.

The breakthrough came from Wahab Tawheedi with a direct hit to run out Lenekar, then his brother Rahman Tawheedi stepped up to first bowl Yalamanchili and then Kuttykrishnan, much to the displeasure of the batter, caught behind by Karthik Coppisetty.

Master Blasters consolidated through Mandava and Shankar coming together at 36 for 3, and with them closing in on their half century partnership it was to be Wahab Tawheedi to make the breakthrough again as he had Shankar caught well by Jordan Smith in the covers for 25.

At 83 for 4, this was soon followed up by Wahab Tawheedi again as he bowled Nishanth and even better was to follow as Muhammad Tayyiub was to take an excellent caught and bowled to dismiss Augustine running back to the mid-on area.

With Mandava now joined by the powerfully-striking Malireddy, it was great credit to the Glens team to not let them loosen the shackles. Wee Joe Myles in particular can be very proud for bowling through that spell and only conceding five runs from his three overs.

It was to be skipper Kevin Le Roux to join the wicket-takers list for the day though, as he first bowled Malireddy for 16 and soon after bowled Tiwari also.

From there, the Master Blasters were able to see it through to the end of the 30 overs without further loss with Mandava 41 not out and the team total 146 for 8. A very impressive bowling and fielding performance from the Glens!

Focus now turned to the batting, with the youngsters Muhammad Tayyiub and Wahab opening up. They were soon put under pressure with good bowling and vociferous appealing, though battled well through the early stages.

Tayyiub was first to go as he snicked one behind off the bowling of Malireddy for 8. This brought Karthik Coppisetty to the crease, and he again looked dominating in his early shot-making but was to be dismissed for 11.

Wahab Tawheedi was to soon follow him back to the pavilion, to the third catch of the innings, with Glens on 38 for 3 in the 11th over. This brought the experienced middle-order of Ikram Ullah and Jordan Smith together and they batted well to not just consolidate but up the tempo.

Ullah in particular was looking promising for a big score before he was adjudged LBW for 26 despite the ball coming off the bat.

Ben Krzyzanowski now came out to the middle, batting well in partnership with Smith to take singles and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Smith (14) though was the fifth wicket to fall as he was also trapped LBW with Glens on 81 in the 20th over.

With 66 runs needed from 10 overs, the excitement for the home support was to continue to build as the young pair of Krzyzanowski and Rahman Tawheedi put the pressure on the Master Blasters - running well, forcing overthrows and hitting any bad balls to the boundary.

Having moved the score to 111, Rahman Tawheedi was out to the last ball in the 25th over having scored 11. Glens now needing 36 from 30 balls, and Rayaan Shahid now joining Krzyzanowski in the middle.

Both batters batted with great confidence, dotting off the good balls knowing they could still attack any loose balls coming their way. They came in to the last over requiring nine runs to win, though good bowling by Malireddy saw only two runs conceded off the first four balls.

Ben Krzyzanowski was on strike knowing he needed a couple of boundaries but with the fifth ball a dot, it was Master Blasters game without any bowling mistakes. Krzyzanowski was to hit a wonderful reverse sweep four off the last ball - but the excitement/controversy didn't end there....

With fielding teams only allowed five fielders outside the inner fielding circle, they actually breached this as a sixth fielder walked backwards out of the ring by about 10 feet as the bowler was running in. What could have been a no-ball and for Glens a second chance to win the game wasn't to be though as the umpires didn't spot this transgression.

With Krzyzanowski finishing on an excellent 39 not out and well supported by Shahid on seven not out, Glenrothes were to finish on 142 for 6 in their 30 overs - a loss by just four runs.

Whilst it will have been disappointing to miss out on a famous win, the young Glens team (with seven players aged 16 and under) will have taken a huge amount of pride in their performance against the league leaders, putting them under significant pressure throughout the game.

Skipper Kevin Le Roux said: "Even though it hurt to come so close we'll only be stronger for it. It was a top top effort, everyone can hold their head high!"

A well done also goes to young Sam from the Gladiators who was providing support through the day, and helped out with scoring also - his reflections on a slow period of batting was memorable: "Dot dot. Who's there? Dot.".