FP’s 2nd XI took to a well kempt Countesswells pitch full of enthusiasm for their Bon Accord Cup match against Gordonians.
The team lined up as follows; M Devendran (c), M Barker, C Clelland (w), R Hegde, R Knudson, Jo Lord, B Manogna, K Mohanan, G Thangamani, J Thomson, K Whyte.
The weather was threatening showers but play got underway on schedule; the sunshine warm enough to make some wish they’d left their long-johns in the pavilion.
FPs bowled and fielded well early on for little reward. Whyte in particular bowled an unplayable spell and was unlucky not to find the edge.
Wickets eventually began to fall in the 12th over, Thompson uprooting a middle stump as reward for a consistent few overs (39 for 1). Knudson was next to chip in, beating the bat to give Clelland his first stumping of the day in the 20th over (63 for 2). Despite struggling with his choice of footwear, Hegde was next to strike, bowling the other opener for a decent 33 (75 for 3).
At this point FPs felt they were making some headway. Gordonian’s Dyson had other ideas, hoovering up any bad balls and dispatching them to the boundary. Fortunately, Knudson was on hand to utilise his vast experience, first removing the slow scoring Khan for 5 with another stumping (128 for 4), and subsequently bagging the danger man Dyson, again via a stumping, for 42 (134 for 5).
Tea was taken early around this point as the heavens opened. Gordonians seemed eager to abandon the match, but following a round of sandwiches and donuts the rain abated and play continued.
Magesh claimed a couple of wickets in the remaining overs, a well taken caught behind by Clelland and, more unusually, a run-out following a direct hit by the Captain from mid-on. The crowd went wild!
Thompson picked up his second wicket, bowling Pratipatti for an aggressive 26, and the final ball brought a further run-out, but FPs were only able to restrict Gordonians to 195 from their 40 overs. Pick of the bowlers, R Knudson 3-51 and Thomson 2-33.
Given the strength of the Gordonian bowling attack, 195 was always going to be a tricky target and so it proved. There was some doughty defence from the openers, Lord and Clelland, but ultimately the run rate was too slow and Gordo’s took wickets at regular intervals to leave FP’s all out for 88 in the 34th over.
Not for the first time this season, Hegde was the pick of the batsmen with a controlled and mature 19. Lord’s patience brought him 12, and a few boundaries gave Manogna a score of 10. Unfortunately these were the only batsmen to make double figures, with three ducks also blotting the scorebook.
Gordonians advance to the next stage of the cup whilst FPs will look for redemption in their next fixture at Knightriders.
Man of the Match – Rutwik Hegde for taking a key wicket and batting responsibly when those around him were losing their heads.
