A wonderful bowling display from Farooq Muhammad ensured Livingston kept hold of top spot in the East of Scotland First Division table.
A fine knock of 59 from the in-form Omais Altaf helped steer Livi to 188-8 against Drummond Trinity as they batted first, with the hosts seemingly well-placed at 97-3 before Muhammad worked his magic.
He picked up four wickets, including the dismissal of the dangerous Faisal Riaz on 66, as Drummond Trinity faltered to 167-9 from their allotted 45 overs with Livi winning by 21 runs.
The win sets up a cracking encounter between the top two sides this weekend when Livingston travel to Stewart’s Melville on Saturday.
While Livi remain sitting pretty at the top of their table, a third successive loss for Linlithgow saw them pushed off top spot in the Championship as they fell to a narrow two-wicket loss away to Edinburgh Accies.
Batting first, Linlithgow never quite got going with Rory Saunders top-scoring with a knock of 38 in a total of 177-9. In reply, Accies got off to a fine start but Linlithgow answered back as they reduced the hosts from 76-1 to 103-6 but they were unable to capitalise as Accies knocked the winning runs with just two wickets and two overs to spare.
Linlithgow’s Second XI won comfortably by 58 runs in their Division Four clash at home to Royal High Corstorphine Third XI.
They recovered brilliantly from losing both openers for a duck as Matthew Hedge (56) and Kamlesh Marshiya (50) knocked half-centuries while Jack Bell (49) fell agonisingly short. The home side scored 194-7 before the bowlers whittled through RHC, dismissing them for 136 with Paul Brookes and Rory Thomson both taking three wickets.
Livi’s Second XI saw their away game against Edinburgh Third fail to get underway due to an unplayable pitch while it was mixed fortunes for the club’s Third and Fourth sides.
In Division Seven, Livi’s third-stringers edged a low-scoring affair against Holy Cross Second XI. The visitors batted first and scored 89 all out with remarkably seven different wicket takers for Livi. In reply, the batters struggled mightily before being rescued by the Bukhari brothers - Habib scoring 40 and Ali 17 - as they won by three wickets.
The Fourth XI were defeated by eight wickets against Murrayfield DAFs Fifth XI. Opener Cam McDill top-scored with 30 as Livi tallied 125-8 but they picked up only two wickets as they were comfortably beaten.
While the club’s top side have a table-topping thriller against Stewart’s Melville, it’s home games for the Second and Fourth XIs as they entertain Musselburgh Second XI and Leith FAB Third XI respectively. The third team are away to Murrayfield DAFs Fourth XI.
For Linlithgow, the top team will be aiming to get back to winning ways when they host Edinburgh South while the Second XI visit Drummond Trinity Third XI.
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