The prevailing weather at the end of the week, coupled with a far from helpful forecast, suggested a review of the upcoming fixtures would have been a waste of 15 minutes for someone, but surprisingly the majority of the games went ahead, some of them in slightly soggy conditions.
Gordonians continued their recent rich vein of form by defeating Mannofield at Countesswells. Abrar Ahmed scored 50 and Indy Pandit 46 as Gordonians amassed 222 for 9 from their 45 overs. Phil Wood took 5 for 29 and in reply Mannofield were bowled out for 179 with ex Gordonian Indy Yahathugoda hitting a boundary laden 77, receiving good support from son Ken who made 42.
Inverurie lost another last over thriller, this time with Crescent. Inverurie made 176 for 8 from their 45 overs with Chris Watson top scoring with 50 and Dave Gibson taking 4 for 34 for Crescent. Umair Qureshi struck a wonderful 81 to help Crescent get over the line with 4 balls to spare.
Knight Riders kept up their impressive record at fortress Groats Road this time defeating Grammar by 30 runs. Knight Riders made 151 for 8 from their allotted overs with Pelhaj Tenneti scoring 48. In reply 36 from Karan Anand and 26 from Rob Swiergon provided the backbone of the Grammar innings, but 5 wickets from Bijin Vijayaraj helped Knightriders to bowl them out for 121. With their 2 nearest rivals suffering defeats, Bon Accord improved their position at the top without playing as their game with Cults was a victim of the weather.
Stoneywood Dyce thumped Ellon at Peoples Park, as Stuart Lister scored 90 and Ryan Williams made 49 not out to help Stoneywood Dyce to 203 for 7. In reply Ben Webb made the first half century of the season for Ellon, his 57 in vain as Ellon were dismissed for 128. 3 Wickets apiece by Williams and Jack Lambley did the damage.
Siyapa’s charge towards Grade 1 shows no sign of letting up as they defeated Super Kings in a low scoring match at Harlaw. Super Kings were restricted to 95 and Salman Bedaar scored 53 not out to see Siyapa home by 7 wickets.
Jeby George scored his 2nd century of the season and this time it was a massive 151 as Grampian made 239 for 3 from 40 overs. Banchory were bundled out for 93 with Tim Wilkinson en route to his 11,000th run for Banchory as he top scored with 31. The games at Methlick and Stonehaven were rained off.
In Grade 3 Crathie closed the gap on Portcullis at the top of the table with a 46 run victory over their promotion rivals. Peter Cunningham played a captains innings unbeaten on 71 of their 117 total in a match reduced to 30 overs per side due to the expectant weather. Justin Thomas then took 5 for 12 for Crathie as Portcullis were bowled out for 71 with only Owen Thorpe and Shevon Mostofa making double figures. The match between 2nd Gordonians and Methlick was rained off and 2nd Grampian conceded the points to Dunecht.
Inverurie kindly hosted the Reid Cup final and Portcullis won the toss and inserted Crathie. Crathie started brightly with an opening stand between Peter Cunningham and Paul Morris before Morris had to retire hurt. Rhod Humphrey with 48 was the catalyst towards the end of the innings striking some powerful blows being particularly severe on one over from Jay Raj as Crathie mustered 136 from their 20 overs.
Kanan Vijayakrishnan top scored in the Portcullis reply but they always struggled to keep up with the required rate thanks to good bowling from Mike Baldry and Justin Thomas. A 39 run win ended 13 years of hurt for the Balmoral side in the Reid Cup, and they probably drove straight past the Coilacreich Inn as they headed home to apply deep heat and get the painkillers onboard after 2 games in a weekend.
Much heavier rain to the south decimated the SPCU NE Championship card, and the EPL only managed to get one game completed. Michael Leask was out for a duck but Forfarshire still piled up 279 for 9 at Mannofield as fellow Scotland player Craig Wallace made 73. Kenny Reid contributed 48 to the Aberdeenshire total of 139.