FPs suceeded in engineering a defeat in a game they should have won comfortably as a string on catches went down on a forgettable day in the field, FPs slumping to defeat at the hands of Bon Accord. Despite a below par score of 127 all out thanks to a fine 66 from Alex Keith, FPs ought to have won but dropped chances and 59 not out from Nawaz Mirza guided Bon Accord to victory. Sajid Hameed blew away the top order to prise the door open for FPs but 18 wides and dropped catches undid the good work.
FPs lined up with Morrison, Keith, Tenneti, Davey, Senthil, McDonald, Roland Knudson, Vijapur, Mapplebeck, Hameed and Stuart. As has been the case in all 6 matches so far, Morrison lost the toss and FPs were asked to bat, FPs longing for the day when the rules may be changed so that teams have a decision to make when winning the toss. The game started as all Bon Accord games seem to with a simply ridiculous appeal from cover, Hussain setting the tone for what was to be an appeal fest from him in particular in the 1st innings. Thankfully Blair Thomson had been appointed as umpire and he was spot on with all the decisions throughout the match in an excellent display.
Mirza started with an great spell and caused both openers problems, bowling at good pace and moving the ball. He soon bowled Morrison for 2 with a yorker and had Tenneti plumb LBW for 2 as FPs slipped to 9 for 2. Davey joined Keith and they played carefully in a 14 over partnership, both finding the boundary, adding 46 before Davey played back to Hussain and was bowled the last ball before drinks for 26. Senthil looked in good form, but fell for 10, slogging Hussain to Fyffe at midwicket who held a well judged catch.
Only Keith was hanging in and he lost partner McDonald bowled by Malik for 3 and Knudson caught off Hussain for 1. Vijapur was quickly LBW to Malik for 0 and it was 111 for 8 when Hameed slogged at Malik and lost his leg stump. Mapplebeck did offer some support to Keith as Keith raised his 50, but the former fell for 8 and Keith last man out for 66 (7×4) as Malik claimed a 5 wicket haul. FPs all out for 127.
Needing some early wickets to give themselves a chance, Vijapur should have Awan out for a duck, but Hameed could not cling on at square leg. Hameed’s opening over however had more joy as he comprehensively bowled Ahmed for a 1st ball duck and Win was completely beaten for pace 2nd ball to lose his off stump having only just survived being bowled 1st ball. It was soon 15 for 3, as Vijapur got through Awan’s defences for 10 and it should have be 16 for 4, but Vijapur dropped a caught and bowled off Mirza that he would have expected to claim.
More chances went down as FPs let the game slip from their grasp, as Bon Accord reached 56 for 3, when Mapplebeck had Alam LBW for 10. Bon Accord were progressing well thanks to FPs erractic bowling as they conceeded far too many wides. They got back in the game as the returning Hameed had Hussain LBW for 4 and Alex Keith had Kamel caught at the wicket for a duck by McDonald who was deputising for marathon runner Morrison, 87 for 6. Fyffe joined Mirza and he rode his luck being dropped at slip and edging a number of balls wide of slip as he made 18. His dismissal was somewhat unfortunate however, as he was bowled by Knudson, getting into a tangle and the ball rolling slowly back into the stumps. With 11 still needed FPs sensed a chance, by Mirza passed 50 and closed the game out with a 6 to finish on 59 not out, taking full advantage of the chances offered.
FPs bowling figures were as follows, Vijapur 9-0-30-1, Hameed 10-0-30-3, Mapplebeck 4-0-18-1, Keith 2-0-18-1 and Knudson 3.3-0-22-1.
Overall, it was a very disapointing result for FPs who are not scoring enough runs this season but are also missing chances and bowling too many wides. Alex Keith lacked support from the rest of the batsmen and conceeding 30 extras is far too many. FPs kept battling in the field but are making life hard for themselves. Next up is Ellon who are always a tough match.
