Turriff CC v Siyapa CC match report...

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After a fortnight off, Turriff continued their grade 4 campaign at home to league leaders Siyapa Cricket Club.  The pitch had taken a lot of water on board over the two weeks, but JMS had kindly loaned Turriff their heavy roller, improving matters immeasurably.  Siyapa are a new club to the grades, who describe themselves as "an Aberdeen based team comprising Pakistani oil and gas professionals".  With one win by default, and three more out of three games played, they came to the Haughs looking to defend a one hundred percent record this season.  Batting first, Siyapa had chalked up previous scores of 248 and 251, made in early season bowler-friendly weather on the tricky Sheddocksley pitch.  Their skipper, Abdullah Khan, arrived with the outstanding average of 192, having been dismissed only once.  So when skipper Ian Smart lost the toss, it was no surprise to Turriff's bowlers that he asked them to loosen up.

As usual David Laing and Steven Lings opened for Turriff.  After two maidens, Laing bowled Haroon for four from the last ball of the third over, bringing left hander Siddique to join the right handed Zafar Khan at the crease.  At the twelve over mark, Laing and Lings had conceded only 18 runs between them and Turriff were starting to wonder if the Siyapa batting line up would actually live up to its reputation.  Smart made a double bowling change to bring Michael Soper and Blair Balment into the attack.  The Siyapa batsmen immediately changed gear, ditching their forward defensives and suddenly looking to attack the change bowlers from the word go.  With some aggressive strokeplay, and a fair bit of luck as mistimed shots landed annoying just short of fielders, they plundered another 53 runs by the start of over 22.  Zafar Khan attempted to drive the second ball of Soper's fifth over, only to smack a thick leading edge straight into the hands of Lings at cover point. 

Siyapa captain Abdullah Khan strode out to the crease, and Smart had hatched a cunning plan to try and reduce his average to double figures.  Bringing a refreshed Lings back to replace Soper, hoping to starve the runs at one end, Dodd Duncan was given a licence at the other end to bowl some slower deliveries into the wind with men catching on the fence both sides.  Duncan struck first, but against left hander Amir as Blair Balment took a magnificent skied catch.  This brought another right handed strokeplayer, and centurion against Methlick seconds, Shahram Memon to the middle to join his skipper.  Lings adopted a policy of mixing up quicker straight deliveries with slower ball off-breaks, whilst having Smart move the field around in an attempt confuse the batsmen.  This provoked the batsmen to attack the Turriff opener, as they took 21 off his last 4 overs, his previous 8 having gone for only 10 runs. 

But these runs came at a price as first Memon and then Abdullah Khan were dismissed driving hard at full length balls.  Memon missing and losing his leg stump for 18 and Khan skying a leading edge, taken brilliantly by Laing in the covers for 26, and reducing the away team skipper's batting average to only 109.  Balment came back into the attack and had Raza caught for 30 off the last ball of the 41st over.  Siyapa then declared with the scoreboard reading 201-6.  No Siyapa batsman had scored over 34, and Turriff checked their progress with regular wickets, but had still been put to the sword somewhat by some classy strokeplay.  Scoring over 200 against a quality opposition, that had taken 10 wickets in all three of their games, was going to be a tall ask for the home side.

Smart and Lings opened the batting, facing Haroon and Nisar, both right arm seamers.  After three maiden overs, Smart opened his account with a single of each bowler in overs four and five.  Lings then looked to score at the short leg side boundary by pulling a shorter delivery from Nisar, missing as the ball stayed lower than he expected and losing his off stump bail for a duck.  Soper came to the crease at number 3 but soon became Nisar's second victim when he took a return catch.  Hard-hitting middle order batsman Dodd Duncan came the the crease to face the new ball at 6 for 2, and looked to start the Turriff counter attack.  Smart made it to 8 runs before the first change bowler, left arm swing bowler Hassan, surprised the Turriff skipper with a ball kiwi ace Trent Boult would have been proud of, pinning him lbw in front of middle stump.  Blair Balment joined Duncan at the crease.  Duncan struck a four and two sixes for a quickfire 22 before being caught.  Balment was more circumspect, seeing off the seamers, before becoming the first of three victims for wrist spinner Tanweer Khan for a hard fought 12.

New signing Christian Swan was unlucky to become Khan's second victim as Memon took a professional standard one-handed catch six inches off the floor at square leg.  Turriff's juniors looked to hold out for the draw against quality spin bowling from both ends, and surrounded by short fielders.  Finlay Gowan played some nice strokes to pick up four singles, but one by one the Turriff tail succumbed and the impressive Sipaya CC, who would have given any grade 3 team Turriff played last season a run for their money, won by 135 runs.  Turriff play three more home games in June, and will look to secure their first win of the season against the struggling Kemnay Kintore second team on 13th June.

On Sunday, Turriff held their annual Single Wicket competition securing an impressive turnout of 14 players.  This fun competition takes the form of a knockout tournament, where each pair of players take turns to bowl 4 overs at each other.  The winner - the one with the most runs - goes through to the next stage.  There were two first round upsets.  William Welchler held David Laing to a tie then won a sudden death bowl out, hitting the stumps on his second attempt.  While Kerry Balment, playing her first match for Turriff, knocked out wicket keeper batsman Fraser Smart.  In the second round, Steve Lings went out to Dodd Duncan, falling for the senior players carefully constructed trap and holing out to Ian Smart at deep backward square leg in the first over for four runs.  Duncan then lost a close semi-final game to semi-retired player Neil Smith, who had seen off Blair Balment, to set up a final with Ian Smart.  Smith reminded everyone of his all round ability, only narrowly losing to the Turriff skipper, who just managed to dismiss the left hander for a plausible total, before he really got going with his dangerous strokeplay and took the game too far out of Smart’s grasp.