Banchory 2nds vs Methlick 2nds 01_06_2024 @ Burnett Park
Methlick 2nds were at Burnett Park to take on Banchory 2nds as summer started. The weather was glorious and the ground in fantastic condition, it looked to be set for a run fest from the outset.Methlick were invited to field 1st and skipper Lewis Crutchfield opened the bowling from the pavilion end with an uneventful over, 3 runs conceded. David Low opened from the other end, running up a slight slope, and immediately made a significant impact, clean bowling the dangerous Anderson, a great ball, delivered from wide on the crease angling in to the right hander, clipped the leg stump bail. Methlick were up and running.
Banchory settled into a steady batting pace, finding the boundary each over as a fast outfield meant anything placed well was reaching the boundary. Low was always looking dangerous with the occasional jaffa, however as often happens it was a wide full toss which saw Brizer take a stunning catch at gully, a poor ball which was almost called a no-ball, the outgoing batsman was very aggrieved. Lewis was now straining hard to get into the game, bowling a tight line on or just outside off stump with both batsmen playing and missing several times. Shakir was looking to be aggressive off Low but miss-timed a drive in the air to mid-on where Deni Sarafimoski took an excellent high catch.
After 5 overs Lewis replaced himself with Shahid Choudry who was expensive initially, then almost unplayable. Low was into his 6th over when he struck again, taking a sharp catch off his own bowling. Bryan Carr replaced him as he tired after a 7 over stint, and got into a tidy rhythm. At the other end Shahid was getting prodigious swing away from the right handers and inevitably Adyanthaya nicked one through to Dave Chalmers behind the stumps who took a regulation catch, he had made a solid 41. Next over Shahid trapped Colley LBW, the ball pitching middle and leg swinging towards off stump, a ball that would get most Grade level batsmen out. During this spell he was denied a 2nd caught behind by a disputed umpiring decision.
In over 22 Bryan came to the fore, Abbot was caught and bowled for a duck, then Crozier was bowled off an inside edge on ball 6 of the over. The 1st ball of his next over was a hat-trick opportunity which didn't transpire. Lewis was back on, running downhill with renewed vigour and greater pace off his effort ball. In his 2nd over he finally got reward for a fine spell of bowling as he clean bowled Brown for 4 runs. Methlick were deep into the Banchory bottom order, but Tanvir responded positively with a flurry of boundaries off Lewis and Low who was now seeking his first ever five-for. It seemed inevitable on a day when luck had favoured him when he bowled Matthews for 9 runs, Banchory ending on 146 all out off only 29.3 overs. David ended with figures of 5 for 56 off 9.3 overs, a superb effort for the promising young cricketer. Methlick bowled and fielded well as a team, catches were taken well and they took tea in good fettle.
The mood in the Methlick camp changed dramatically as openers Rob Fryer and Ross Moir were both removed in the opening spell of Banchory's young flier Tom Burnett, Rob clean bowled 1st ball of the innings, Ross suffering the same fate 5 balls later. Shahid and Bryan sought to stem the onslaught from Burnett and Tanvir batting with dilligence to block the threat. In his 2nd over Burnett displayed a fault which would prove costly later in the innings as he was no-balled for a big over step of the bowling crease. Shahid started to take on the bowling from over 10, striking Tanvir for a couple of expansive drives in the over. Methlick were recovering well and just about up with the required run rate. Shane Abbot, another promising Banchory youngster, replaced Burnett, his opening over was costly as Shahid plundered 18 from it, Methlick were now in the ascendancy. Abbot's fortunes changed dramatically in his 2nd over as he bowled a wicket maiden, removing Carr whose long vigil took him to 5, he was clean bowled looking to maintain the pressure on the youngster. Dod Duncan faced only 2 balls, bowled by Adyanthaya, for a duck as he was too aggressive at the start of his innings. Methlick now needed someone to support Shahid as he was batting majestically and in full control of the situation. Lewis was that man, and he held the fort for a few overs, scoring a lovely 4 through mid-wicket before being caught at mid-on off Adyanthaya for 5 runs. Deni Sarafimoski strode purposefully to the crease and was quickly in the runs, striking a four off his 3rd ball faced, through cow-corner. Just as Methlick looked set to canter to victory, disaster struck as Abbot got a good delivery through Shahid’s defences when he was a boundary away from making his fifty.
The game situation was tense now, Methlick were on 79 for 6, 68 short of the target, only 4 wickets away from defeat. Mike Bremaneson joined Deni and the partnership thrived, a series of singles and fours saw them over the 100 mark. Burnett was back, bowling from the town end, but the no-balls were proving costly as Deni survived being bowled twice because of it. Methlick were on 124 and heading for victory when Mikey was bowled by Burnett for a very useful 12 runs. Dave Chalmers joined Deni and was clean bowled 1st ball, only to reprieved by another no-ball call from the umpire. Two balls later the same offence was compounded as Dave struck the ball to the the square leg boundary. Deni was bowled by Matthews next over, having made a crucial 20 runs, which had put Methlick back in control. Only 22 runs were now required off 9 overs, Brian Anderson joined Dave to hopefully see Methlick home.
Inexplicably Banchory brought on Gordon Brown, a leg-spinner who was very wayward in line and length which the Methlick batters sought to target, Brian hit him for a lovely 4 through long on and they rotated the strike with singles. Dave saw his opportunity as a short leg-side delivery landed in his striking zone, but the ball went aerially , straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket, a yard either side of the fielder and it was 4 runs. Now Methlick required 13 runs off 5 overs, however Tanvir was bowling brilliantly at the other end, giving nothing away at all. David Low had joined Brian, however the Banchory skipper had the presence of mind to remove Brown from the attack, bringing Adyanthaya back for the penultimate over, he kept it to 2 runs off it. Tanvir bowled a maiden 40th over of the innings to see his side home by a margin of only 6 runs.
What a game it was, exciting to play in and watch, the game was played in great spirit by two competitive teams. Banchory had very generously put on a barbecue, so the chat continued into the warm Banchory evening. It was an excellent performance from the Methlick side, the best for a long time and they hope to continue in that vein as they visit Stonehaven next weekend, and always a tough fixture.
By David Chalmers