By Bill Elliot
Ferguslie Cricket Club enjoyed a successful opening defence of their championship title by edging hosts West of Scotland by three wickets in a close opening day contest.
The hosts batted first on Saturday and were soon under pressure from new recruit Mohammed Mayet and Adil Ghaffar, the latter in particular regularly beating the outside edge of the bat.
The variable bounce of the ball throughout both innings also ensured batters were never totally comfortable in the difficult conditions.
By the sixth over, West of Scotland were already 16 for three, with Ghaffar (one) and Mayet (two) making the early breakthroughs.
Despite a brief recovery which saw the hosts reach 62 without further loss, Ferguslie took two quick wickets for one run and set the hosts reeling at 63 for five. Mayet had now claimed three victims, with young Qasim Khan excelling with two towering catches in the deep.
The home side were in trouble and skipper Haroon Tahir continued to turn the screw as both he and his fellow bowlers kept up the pressure on the hosts, with a lethal combination of tight bowling and wicket taking.
In one spell of miserly bowling, Ferguslie conceded a mere 12 runs in 10 overs, while claiming three in the process, to ensure the home side’s final total of 117 was, at best, a modest one to be chasing.
The visitors had an early shock, losing a wicket in the very first over.
And with conditions continuing to cause problems for the batting side, it was Ferguslie’s turn to struggle early in the innings.
They lost both professional Mayet and Taimoor Ahmad cheaply to be 21 for three in the ninth over, but a 60-run partnership between the latter’s younger brother, Uzair, and Bahadar Esakhiel allowed the champions to regroup.
The former secured a patient 41 to top score for the visitors, while the latter provided crucial support in making 25 critical runs.
Another slight wobble saw the visitors go to 99 for six, still needing another 19 to win, but a steady knock of 17 not out by the returning David Stafford helped secure the win in a nervy finale.
Best in the bowling department were skipper Haroon with four for 12, while pro Mayet picked up three early wickets for 38 on his competitive debut which set the tone for the day. Uzair Ahmad and Esakhiel’s fourth-wicket stand blunted the home attack and steered Ferguslie to the win.
Ferguslie have a mouthwatering home fixture to look forward to on Saturday when they take on Prestwick CC, last year’s runners up, at Meikleriggs at 12noon.
Meikleriggs (Ferguslie’s second team) were scheduled to play Shawholm (Poloc) at home on Saturday but after the sad folding of the club last month, a friendly was arranged against Mearns.
It proved to be an excellent run out for a strong team this year under captain Anup Vejandla.
Batting first on a good Meikleriggs wicket, they amassed a huge score of 373 in their 50 overs, with a starring performance by Hameed Mahmood who was 119 not out.
He then took an impressive six wickets as Mearns were dismissed for just 68.
Youngster Greg Shaw also passed 50 for the first time in senior cricket, scoring 64, while Govind Vialithan scored 45.
Meikleriggs’ league programme starts next week away at St. Ninians (Prestwick).
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