Livingston Cricket Club’s under-13s fell just short of national success after they were beaten in the ECB Vitality Cup final by Carlton in Inverleith.
The youngsters had made it to Finals Day and progressed after squeezing past Uddingston in the semi-final after defending 87 to grab the win.
Carlton proved to be too strong, however, as Livi were unable to build on a decent start and fell to 55 all out in the final with the opposition reaching their target in just over five overs.
The club’s senior men’s sides also performed well at the weekend with two wins from three fixtures as the First and Second XI both picked up victories.
The First XI hosted Murrayfield DAFS in an East of Scotland Division One fixture and got off to a brilliant start with the bat before a late innings collapse.
The opening four batters all tallied at least 30 runs with Ahmed Bilal leading the way with 53 as Livi raced to 149-2.
However, Ahmed Ali’s dismissal for 30 sparked a run of six wickets falling for just 11 runs as the hosts were eventually all out for 175.
The reply was much the same in that a solid start made way for a spate of wickets with Murrayfield sitting at 99-2 only to be skittled all out for 143 as Livi sealed a 32-run victory.
Adnan Ali was impressive with the ball, taking 4-19 in 7.1 overs as the bowlers produced a fine effort with the win lifting them into fourth in the table.
Livi’s Second XI travelled to face Murrayfield’s Third XI and produced a stunning display with the bat to seal a six-wicket triumph.
The home side batted first and it was largely honours even with Murrayfield scoring 156-7 from their 40 overs. Shrey Awasthi was in brilliant form with the ball, conceding just 14 runs in eight overs as well as picking up two wickets.
In reply, Livi lost three early wickets before a remarkable display by Salman Aslam saw them hit the running runs with almost 15 overs to spare.
Aslam (pictured above) smashed 13 fours and two sixes on his way to a match-winning 70 not out. He was ably supported by Jai Karthickeyan (43 not out) as the visitors scored at more than a run a ball to seal the comfortable win.
Livi’s Third XI are in their first season and suffered a Division Seven loss against Clackmannan County Second XI, going down by 38-runs.
The home side batted first and tallied 177-8 in their 40 overs, with Khuram Walayat (8-0-14-2) being the pick of Livi’s bowlers. That figure proved to be too great an obstacle for the batters, who batted the distance but could only score 139-8 from their allotted 40 overs despite Zaki Choudry’s best efforts as the teenage ace smashed a half-century, finishing 50 not out.
Linlithgow Cricket Club saw their teams split the double-header with Edinburgh as the First XI suffered defeat while it was a win for the Second XI against the capital club’s Third XI.
It was a familiar story of a poor batting display from the First XI in their home clash as they were bowled out for 117 with Gregor Thomson top scoring with 33.
Linlithgow’s bowling has often given them a fighting chance in matches this season but that wasn’t the case here as they were smashed around the park with Edinburgh needing less than 15 overs to seal a nine-wicket win.
The Second XI travelled through to the capital and won a thrilling encounter by a single run thanks to a wonderful bowling display.
Linlithgow batted first with Andrew Graham leading the scoring with 30 as they tallied 129-9 from their 40 overs. He
Graham starred with the ball, too, taking 3-15 as the clash went down to the wire.
Chris Witton was given the task of bowling the final over and sparked jubilant scenes when he picked up the decisive wicket.
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