Grammar remain at the top of Grade 1 thanks to a convincing 66 run victory against a strengthened Gordonians team who had the luxury of calling up a few last minute replacements due to their Strathmore Union game being called off. 50’s from Karan Anand and Rob Swiergon helped Grammar to 212 for 7 from their 40 overs then restricted Gordos to 146 for 9 from their 40 overs with veterans Roland Knudson not Sam and John Thomson both picking up 3 fors. Bon Accord remain hot on Grammar’s heels thanks to a 46 run victory over Siyapa. Bon Accords 206 for 8 total from their 40 thanks to 75 from Shakeel Ahmed always looked like a tough ask for Siyapa who were bowled out for 160 but a solid 63 from young Sameer Bin Khalid was an impressive knock for one so young against a good bowling line up. Knightriders overcame Cults at Groats Road by 6 wickets. Cults posting 176 for 9 with Ravi Mahajan and Taj Singh scoring 40s. The Knights knocked it off with 62 from Madhan Mohan providing the sizeable contribution in the chase. Grampian made a below par 137 despite a hard hitting 65 from Jeby George at Inverurie. Good all-round performances from George Hadden and Fraser Lawrance saw the ‘home’ side home by 8 wickets. Crescent lifted themselves off the bottom of the league table with a 118 run victory over Master Blasters. A 50 from Abrar Pewekar then 4 wickets from Anjum Toor made them the key men for Crescent.
In Grade 2 Mannofield still remain undefeated after an 84 run victory over 2nd Grammar. 64 not out from Rene van Oorschot and 53 from Sampath Rajapaskha helped Mannofield rack up 241 for 5 from their 40 overs. In reply Grammar made a respectable 157 for 9 with Hamish Penman and Pete Macklin their top run scorers with 43 and 33*. Recent Scotland Under 15 selection Manu Saraswat picked up 3 for 30 to enhance his reputation further. The game at Methlick between the hosts and 2nd Knightriders had everything, runs, wickets and a tense climax. 4 wicket hauls from Balamurali Balaji and Mohan Vallatharasu helped restrict Methlick to 102 all out. Methlick made early inroads but a key partnership between Sajid Muhammad and Sanjay Arumugam Vijanidran helped the 2nd Knights break the back of their chase as the crept over the line with 3 wickets to spare.
In Grade 3 the match between 2nd Grampian and Stonehaven at Duthie Park started late, in part due to the apparent lack of pitch preparation, and from there things seem to have got somewhat tense. Grampian made 213 and Stonehaven were bowled out for 144. Banchory made light work of their local rivals Crathie after an emphatic 188 run victory. Banchory scored a huge 264 for 5 from their allotted overs with the Abbott brothers Chad scoring 77 and Dean scoring 56. Mark Herbert made early inroads into the Crathie order and they never recovered from this and were bundled out for 76. At Dunecht in a setting not famed for high scoring the hosts made 155 all out against 2nd Gordonians. Matt Witz helping himself to another 50 for the season this time scoring 66. Chris Cowperthwaite picking up an impressive 5 for 11 for 2nd Gordos. In reply despite Ryan Davis batting through the whole innings for 85 not out no other teammate scored more than 5 runs as he ran out of partners and Dunecht won by 34 runs with the Gordonians innings closing on 121. A surprise Grade 3 appearance by Liam Ferguson made all the difference for Huntly at home to 2nd Methlick. His 104 retired out helped Huntly amass 207 for 7 despite Bryan Carr striking early with 3 wickets for Methlick. In reply Methlick were bowled out for 93 as Huntly won by 114 runs.
Stoneywood Dyce had a great result in the Eastern Premier League on Saturday as RH Corstorphine travelled up minus Scotland star George Munsey. RHC won the toss and then it all went wrong from there. Choosing to bat first they were soon in the mire as Jon Grant took 4 quick wickets, throw in a couple of run outs, and 26 overs later they were all out for 89. 42 from Tim Bovaird saw SDCC canter to victory for the loss of only 3 wickets. This result jumps SDCC up to 7th and gives them breathing space ahead of Stew Mel and Meigle, the latter having lost to a Gavin Main inspired Heriots and the former comfortably beaten by Carlton. In the big game at the top of the EPL, Grange crushed Forfarshire by 8 wickets.
In the SPCU North East Championship, persistent drizzle in Dundee put paid to the matches involving Aberdeenshire and Gordonians at Dalnacraig and Forthill. Unfortunately for Huntly the rain didn’t extend as far as Falkland and they became the latest team who couldn’t get out Harsha Cooray as the Falkland Pro rattled up his 4th unbeaten innings, this time making 117 out of 267 for 7. This was way out of reach of the Huntly batsmen but they wouldn’t have expected to have crumbled to 30 all out, Andrew Petrie making an unbeaten 13 at number 10 when they had been reduced to 15 for 9. Tariq Butt top scored for Stoneywood Dyce 2nds as they totalled 122 for 7 at Arbroath. John Salmond scored an undefeated 66 as the hosts cruised to a 6 wicket win. Inconsistent Perth Doocot lost to Kinloch by 3 wickets, and in the big game of the day, 60 from Ian Stonebridge took Freuchie to 180 for 9 against Strathmore who ran out of wickets as they lost by 49 runs. Freuchie remain top of the table.
It was a long way to go for minimal cricket as Bon Accord exited the Challenge Cup on Sunday against Morton. Batting first, Bons were all out for 54 in the 17th over and the run chase was completed by Morton 13 overs later for the loss of 4 wickets.