Week 8 of the season and those watching the live scoring will be keeping an eye on Fazal Awan at Links for Bon Accord against Inverurie as he goes for century number 5 in a row. He isn’t the only Bons batter on form as Malik notched a T20 half century against Gordonians on Thursday evening. Jordan Thom has taken 3 wickets for Inverurie in each of his last 5 matches but they are without John Jessiman who has played in the first 7 games of the season.
It’s top versus bottom at Mannofield as the hosts welcome Grampian. Grampian haven’t batted their full 40 overs in any game this season which doesn’t augur well for a visit to a batting road. A Chandu version of bazball (without the declaration) may be in evidence if Mannofield get off to a good start.
Gordonians title credentials will be tested as misfiring Master Blasters go to Countesswells. Gordos miss the injured Harshad Parkar but Tanish Kirodian will be looking to build on an impressive knock for Gordos 1sts last Saturday.
Cults have gone off the boil after a blistering start to the season and they will be looking to score heavily at Harlaw against AberGreen.
Knight Riders have found some of their title winning form from last season and should be too good for Crescent at Groats Road.
The big match in Grade 2 is at Rubislaw as AGSFPs look to extend their advantage at the top of the table as they play 2nd place Methlick.
Potential all rounder Ronnie Falconer keeps his place in the Portcullis side as they are at Inverdee facing 2nd Grampian who are still looking for their first win of the season. Also at Inverdee, 2nd AberGreen play 2nd Knight Riders.
Huntly aren’t as strong on paper as they were last week and could suffer as they go to Ellon.
Fraserburgh and Banchory get a day off, the latter soaking up the atmosphere at the Ashes.
In Grade 3 Stonehaven are at home to an extremely youthful 2nd Mannofield. Even the inclusion of the evergreen Richard Tonge doesn’t increase their average age much above 18.
2nd Master Blasters have a rare home game at Allan Park which threatens to be a bit of a sun trap as Crathie visit.
3rd Gordonians have been playing well and showcasing their young talent, but their game against Stoneywood Dyce at Countesswells could hinge around whether Mark Lambley can make 3 figures with the bat. 2nd Gordonians pick up 30 league points as 2nd Methlick were seriously short on personnel and had to scratch.
In the SPCU North East Championship, Huntly are without Jack Mitchell as Kinloch make the trip up. This will open up the opportunity for Jordan Squire to work his magic and spin Huntly to a win.
Aberdeenshire head to Scroggie Park to play 2nd Falkland who have a better team on paper than the side well beaten by Gordonians last weekend. Manu Saraswat and Lewis Munro have been the form players for Shire and they should do enough to leave Falkland rooted to the bottom of the league.
Gordonians are at Forfar to play Strathmore with the added bonus of a return to form with the bat by Himanshu Saraswat who made 121 in the T20 against Bon Accord on Thursday.
Arbroath should stay top of the table as they are at home to Perth Doocot, and the 2nd Forfarshire v Freuchie match should be the closest match of the day.
In the Eastern Premier League, Stoneywood Dyce are at home to Forfarshire who have lost their last 2 games quite heavily. Ewan Davidson drops out to try to find form in SPCU Division 1, and Shaun Wolmarans gets a chance to showcase his talents after a string of excellent performances.
Heriot’s and Grange would expect to retain their unbeaten records as they play Stewart’s Melville and Meigle respectively. Watsonian should win at home to Falkland, and Aayush Das is back in the RH Corstorphine line up as they face Carlton.
The cup cricket on Sunday sees AberGreen play Grampian in the Aberdeenshire Cup quarter final at Inverdee, and in the Bon Accord Cup, 2nd Knight Riders are at Huntly as they battle it out for a semi-final place. The Reid Cup has reached the semi-final stage and 2nd Gordonians host Stoneywood Dyce as they try to line up part 1 of a potential all Gordos final.
In the Challenge Cup Gordonians have an opportunity to repair their loss to Edinburgh South in last year’s competition as they again play at Countesswells. Aman Arora and Chamila Perera come in for Gordos but they will be without Himanshu Saraswat.
Crescent play Northern Counties at Brechin. Both sides have a lot of experience in their ranks, but NoSCA sides tend not to travel all that successfully.
Kelso aren’t the force that they were when Gordonians beat them in the 2016 Challenge Cup final and Bon Accord make the long trip down with a strong team including Fazal Awan.
In a busy day for Gordonians, their under 13s head to Inverleith in Edinburgh for national finals day. They face a strong Glasgow Accies side with Grange and Perth Doocot lining up in the other semi-final. Grange will be strong favourites having knocked out the 2021 and 2022 winners Carlton.