Turriff’s cricketers made a belated start to their season on Saturday, narrowly losing to Grampian Cricket Club’s 2nd XI in a home game at the Haughs. Both teams benefitted from a full turn out, fielding 11 players each. This in itself was a positive, as so far this year grade 4 of the Aberdeenshire competition has been marred by player shortages. Rules changes this season mean there are no longer any draws. League games are now a straight 45 overs a side, win, lose or tie contest. Other than this, the Turriff squad remained largely unchanged from last year, but with Steven Lings taking over the reins from Ian Smart for a stint as captain.
Grampian won the toss and asked Turriff to bat in bright, warm, but humid conditions that perhaps looked as if they might be favourable to Turriff’s swing bowlers. Turriff’s one new signing, right-hander Malcolm Evans, opened the batting with Lings. The pair made a solid but circumspect start, looking to safely navigate the sometimes tricky new ball period. Both batsmen looked to rotate the strike, defend the danger balls and hit the freebies. Grampian rotated their bowlers regularly, mainly making use of a bewildering array of slower bowlers and spinners, looking to catch their hosts openers out and induce a mistake. At the 20 over mark the score was 47 for no loss and the Turra batsmen looked to kick up a gear.
But momentum shifted toward Grampian and Evans was the first to depart, caught off the bowling of Joseph for 15, including one six. Lings followed soon after, bowled by Jose as he attempted to straight drive a yorker-length delivery, having made 31 including 3 sixes.
Turriff stalwarts Neil Smith and Immanuel Doss looked to build on solid foundations, continuing the left-hand, right-hand combination in the middle. Both players navigated the middle overs, scoring regularly and taking the home side to 121-2 by the 35th over. Sensing the chance to get a stranglehold on the game and impose an improbable total on the visitors, Lings signalled to his batsman to go on the attack.
Again, fortune did not favour the brave. Smith was next to depart, caught off Viskrambaran and equalling his skipper’s 31 runs. Doss was run out for 30 soon after. Dod Duncan came in at five and looked to hit big but was also caught off Viskrambaran to give the bowler 2-17. Michael Soper plundered some quick runs before being bowled by Raveendran. Phil Wrigglesworth at 7 and Byron Woolley at 8 both struck out and scampered quick singles before Wrigglesworth was stumped by the visiting skipper off Raveendran who ended with 2-17 also. Woolley was joined by Craig Peters, who struck a magnificent lofted on drive for four, to end 7 not out, with Woolley also unbeaten having ably supported his partners with some athletic running and added two useful runs from well placed shots himself. Turriff’s lower order had taken the score to a par 150, leaving the game perfectly balanced.
After a typically pleasant tea, Grampian openers Valsan and R. Joseph strode out to the crease seeking 151 runs for victory. David Laing opened the bowling as usual, looking to deceive the visitors with his trademark late-inswingers. Lings took the new ball at the other end, seeking to swing the ball away from Grampians two right-handed openers. Laing made the first breakthrough, when Evans took a stunning reaction catch at short cover, diving low to his right to dismiss Valsan for 4. Lings rotated himself with the quicker Doss after three tight overs. Nandan joined his skipper Joseph at the crease, steadying the ship.
After a superb opening spell from Laing, a double bowling change saw junior Noah Balment bowl his first overs in a league match on his 15th birthday. Soper took the ball at the other end, sending down off-breaks as his skipper tried the tactic of taking pace off the ball. Balment bowled his first two overs for only four runs, and was unlucky not to claim his first wicket from a peach of a delivery that hit the seam and moved away from a befuddled Nandan. But it was Soper who made the next breakthrough, clean bowling Nandan when he a well-aimed Yorker deceived the batsman in the flight to bring S. Joseph into the middle.
Lings tried some more bowling rotations, first with Evans bowling two tight overs for only 7 runs on debut. Smith hit the mark from the other end and was unfortunate not to find himself a victim.
Then Laing was brought back into the attack. As per usual he quickly delivered, bowling S. Joseph for 9, and bringing Raj to the crease to join his skipper with the visitors 67-3 and the end a long way out of sight. But not through lack of trying, Turriff could not break the partnership. Lings rotated himself with Doss at one end and Laing with Smith at the other, but the batsmen stood firm, slowly chipping away at the total. The best chance came when Raj drove at Doss, getting a leading edge into the cover region and Lings ran and dived attempting a one-handed catch with his non-throwing arm. But the ball didn’t stick and the Turra skippers spilled a hard chance. At the other end, Laing had both batsmen playing and missing regularly. When he did find leading edges, the ball landing safely between fielders.
Smith eventually picked up the wicket of the opposition skipper, with Doss taking a skied catch at point. With 11 needed, in a last hurrah, Doss and Lings tried their hand at some spin bowling, Lings eventually bowling Raj for 45 with the perfect off-break. The batsman attempting an ill-advised sweep shot to bring up his half century. But it was now too late. Grampian made their runs with four overs to spare and five wickets in hand to take a maximum 30 points. Turriff salvaged 13 points for batting and bowling.
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