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Turriff, now playing in grade 4, began their season away to Aberdeenshire grades cricket newcomer Grampian CC. Two weeks of warm air and glorious sunshine had given way to a rather winter-like weather front or two. Heavy rain moving in from the west coast overnight had turned Sheddocksley's grassy park pitch into a muddy, sticky wicket. While the exposed location provided no respite from the nasty north winds sweeping into the north east from Iceland. Turriff managed to field 10 men, including three juniors, against a full strength Grampian side that looked to have another half dozen keen cricketers in reserve. With Turriff put into bat, the game was delayed for a few minutes as a brief shower of hail stones paid a visit to the proceedings.
Play got underway with Skipper Ian Smart opening the batting with Steven Lings, facing the Grampian new ball pair of Noby and John Varghese. Noby, a young, tall, quick and skiddy medium pacer, could swing the ball away from the right handed Smart and into the left handed Lings. Bowling a tight line and length on a pitch with variable pace and bounce he gave little away. John Varghese was an older bowler sporting a sort of medium pace off-cutter that spat, turned at least a foot and reared up from a good length. In fact no Turriff player could remember seeing a bowler turn it as much. It wasn't easy going and after the first 11 overs Turriff had crept to just 11 runs for no loss.
Change bowlers Davis Varghese and Saju Matthews were next up, as Smart and Lings looked to change gear and get some runs on the board. Davis Varghese immediately removed Lings, catching him off his own bowling for just one run as he mis-timed his stroke and an attempted drive was skied straight up in the air. This brought classy right-hander Immanuel Doss to the crease, who looked in good touch, getting off the mark with a boundary off Matthews in his first over. Smart sought to step up the run rate, and hit two fours before Matthews bowled him for 14, which ended the day as the third best score on either team.
As the weather got worse and showers set in, Davis Varghese took full advantage, producing an inspired spell of bowling to remove three of Turriff's middle order without them troubling the scorers. Immanuel Doss, left batting with the tail, farmed the strike superbly to reach a fluent and quickfire 35 before being caught off the bowling of Davis Varghese as he looked to attack the Grampian strike bowler, who had just completed his five-for. Grampian decided to let their spinners have a go. Turriff's increasingly impressive junior, Findlay Gowan, found the leg side rope and struck two more singles from sweetly timed pull shots. A frustrated Grampian decided to go for the kill and brought back opening bowler John. Startled by a cutter that gripped and spun into his hips from nearly two feet wide of his off stump, Gowan fended to the well placed short midwicket fielder and Turriff were all out for 85, probably 40 or so short of a winning total on this pitch.
Conditions cleared up a bit after lunch and the sun was out. assisting the batsmen. But the wind had picked up, making one end rather tricky to bowl from. Senior new ball bowler David Laing draw the short straw and Grampian opener Saji found the fence with a pull shot in the first over. Lings bowled with the wind behind him from the other end to left-hander Seby, who got a jaffer first ball, and played onto his stumps bringing Johnson to the crease. Johnson made 8 before being bowled as one of Lings' outswingers took his off stump bail. In his next over Lings bowled Saji for 8 with a similar delivery and an unlikely Turriff win was looking possible. Grampian veteren number 4 batsman, and demon off cut bowler, John Varghese had different ideas. As he started freeing up his arms, attacking the Turriff bowlers he scored freely and generally looked in a different class to anyone else on the field.
Turriff quicky Immanuel Doss had replaced Laing, but was bowling wrist spin as the wind was making bowling seam up just too tricky for the bowlers and far too easy for the batsman. Grampian middle order batsmen Davis Varghese and Noby both perished hitting hard spun leg breaks straight to new recruit Callum Duncan at backward point for scores of two and five. But the bowlers were struggling to contain John Varghese's strokeplay, and struggling to keep him off strike. He struck a brilliant 54 not out, including four sixes and six fours, to see Grampian home with a lot of overs to spare. His talent and experience proved to be the difference between the two grade 4 teams. In 2014, the average winning score in grade 4 was 127, and with another 40-odd runs on the board Turriff might have had a competitive total on a tricky Sheddockley wicket. Turriff also shelled two difficult catches and can take a lot of positives into their first home game against Portcullis on 2nd May.
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