It was a win for both Linlithgow and Livingston’s top teams as they continued their respective fine starts to the season.
Linlithgow sit atop the East of Scotland Cricket Association Championship table through six games with an unbeaten record following their latest victory - a 95 run thumping of Dunnikier.
Linlithgow batted first and scored 168 all out with Craig Black (45) and Gregor Thomson (32) steadying the ship after a slow start. In reply, the bowlers were in exceptional form and whittled the visitors out for just 73 runs with Gordon Allan’s 4-22 doing plenty of the early damage.
Livingston’s First XI, meanwhile, sit second in the First Division after their 57-run win away at Watsonian Second XI.
Opener Imtiaz Khan’s wonderful 83 held the innings together as they scored 217-7 with Ahmed Bilal just shy of a half-century as he scored 49 not out.
The introduction of Farooq Muhammad proved the crucial moment in the reply as his three quick wickets turned the tide while Udday Reddipalli got the key wicket of Daniel Kirk for 83 as Watsonian Second XI were all out for 160.
Imtiaz followed that up with a fine knock of 66 while Omais Altaf hit 85 as Livi scored 218 the following day in a Challenge Cup loss to Murrayfield DAFs. They looked to be sealing their place in the next round as they reduced their opponents to 106-7 only to let it slip and suffer defeat.
Linlithgow’s Second XI were edged out by 22 runs away to Holy Cross in a Fourth Division fixture. Ben Reiss scored 60 as Holy Cross were dismissed for 138. Grant Raven (3-21) and James Honeyford (3-24) were on form but Linlithgow couldn’t muster anything with the bat, being bowled all out for 116 with only Andrew Graham’s knock of 38 offering resistance.
Livingston’s Second XI, though, were spurred to victory thanks to a five-wicket haul from Zaki Choudry against Thorntons Penicuik. Livi put up 140 on the board as they batted first with Shrey Awasthi continuing his fine form with a team-best score of 35 as the opener.
Penicuik looked well on their way to victory before the introduction of Chaudry to the bowling attack where he promptly tore through the middle and lower order, picking up five wickets for just 11 runs in four overs as Livi sealed a 24 run victory as they sit fourth in Division Five.
The club’s Third and Fourth XIs both suffered losses in their respective Division Seven and Division Eight fixtures.
The Third XI went down by 21 runs to Old Contemptibles as their run chase fell short. A decent bowling effort saw the hosts score 152-9 from their 40 overs but Livi were always behind the chase and mustered up only 131 for the loss of eight wickets.
The club’s Fourth XI are searching for a first-ever win in their maiden season and went down by five wickets at home to Westquarter and Redding Second XI. Cam McDill carried his bat for 34 not out in Livi’s total of 128 while Matthew Vettese’s figures of 3-38 weren’t enough to prevent the visitors reaching their target in the 22nd over.
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