Swiergon mad another 50
FPs were comfortable winners by 154 runs against Siyapa at Harlaw to maintain their lead in Grade 1. FPs had effectively batted Siyapa out of the game in making 259 for 8, Rob Swiergon with another half-century (53), Mike Nattrass (43), Alex Keith (38), Karan Anand (32), and Conner McKinney (30) all contributing. With the ball, despite a determined start by Siyapa putting on 38 for the 1st wicket, FPs took regular wickets as the home side were bowled out for 105. Conner McKinney nipped in with 4 for 21, taking 4 wickets in a 14 ball spell, mopping up lower order after Aman Sood had taken the 1st 3 wickets (3/25) and Karan Anand had claimed 2 for 22.
Siyapa won the toss and FPs were put in, making 2 changes, Aman Sood replacing the injured John Thomson and Mike Nattrass in for unavailable Fraser Proud. Morrison and Keith opened and maintained their productive opening partnership with another 50 stand, reaching 61 when Alex Keith miscued spinner Khan to Sikandar at mid on to go for 38(4×4, 1×6). It prompted a minor collapse as Morrison fell soon after for 15 (1×4) aiming an ugly hit over the legside but being bowled by Shahid, who then castled Penman 3rd ball for a duck as FPs slid to 62 for 3.
Mike Nattrass joined skipper Swiergon and they settled the innings down with sensible batting , while dispatching the loose balls to the boundary. They picked up the pace and put on 101 for the 4th wicket in 18 overs with Swiergon passing 50 before being clean bowled by Siddique for 53 (8×4) and Nattrass following soon after superbly caught one handed off the bowling of Siddique, FPs 167 for 5 with 8 overs left. Nattrass making a good looking 43 with 3 boundaries.
It brought the conflicting styles of Conner McKinney and Karan Anand together and they added 47 in less than 4 overs as Karan Anand launched into the bowling and McKinney dispatched some fine cover drives. The undoubted highlight was not the cover drives but Conner McKinney opening his account with an all run four which certainly tested Karan Anand’s fitness levels!
With it being a shot a ball from both batsmen, a wicket was always likely and Shahid bowled Anand for a quickfre 32 (6 x4) and after another flurry Conner McKinney edged behind for 30 (5×4), but FPs were now 232 for 7. Mapplebeck and Sood added some quick runs, Sood being bowled for 10 by Shahid for his 5th wicket leaving Mahesh Challa to face the final ball. Even a generous judge would say former Amar XIs man Challa has been a bit out of touch with the bat this season, but he showed everyone what he can do by launching the only ball he received high over mid wicket as FPs closed on 259 for 8.
With everyone all but accepting that the chase was well beyond Siyapa before the innings started, the home side quite sensibly played to maximise bonus points and proved hard to dislodge initially. With rain around FPs were keen to rush through the overs to get the game counting but were still keeping things tight. After a fruitless return for the openers Mapplebeck and Challa, Sood and Anand came on and bowled 16 overs unchanged between them claiming 5 for 47 combined.
Aman Sood was the man who finally got FPs on the board Usman (2) edging into the gully where Keith made the catch. Sood soon had Khalid LBW for 2 and any lingering hopes for Siyapa were gone when Anand caught an absolutely stunning one handed catch at slip as Shahid fell for 9. Karan Anand then joined the party, 1st having opener Qaddir very well caught by McKinney at long on, rushing to his right and pouching the catch, the opener out for an excellent 43. Anand then had a 2nd as the skipper at 3rd slip puched Siddique for 2, Siyapa now 75 for 5.
With Sood and Anand bowled out, McKinney got a rare outing and a combination of good and bad balls had Siyapa in all sorts of trouble as he bagged a 4 for in an improbable 14 ball spell. Roland Knudson nursing a slight strain would have usually been on but his much fabled full toss did the damage initially for McKinney, Challa making good ground for the catch. He then had Yousef well caught by Nattrass for 4 and knocked over Khan for a duck, Challa again pouching the catch. His 4th had some guile about it, tempting Surander out of his crease, leving a simple stumping for Morrison, another duck. Siyapa were now 92 for 9.
Any hopes of a prompt finish were soon dashed as Ghafooor and Husnain battled on for another 7 overs as FPs set fields with next to no one in front of the wicket but could not find the edge or hit the stumps. Challa eventually obliged yorking the determined Husnain for 1 as FPs closed out a big win. Final bowling figures were Mapplebeck 7-1-15-0, Challa 6.4-1-20-1, Sood 8-1-25-3, Anand 8-0-22-2, McKinney 6-0-21-4.
The game was played in an excellent spirit throughout and thankfully the rain delays were minimal. Next up FPs face a key weekend in their season as they first face the formidable Knightriders as Rubislaw before taking on Gordonians on Sunday in the Aberdeenshire Cup Final at Mannofield.
Man of the Match
There were lots of good individual showings with runs spread round, but Aman Sood taking the 1st 3 wickets gets the nod with his 3 for 25.
Champagne Moment
Mahesh Challa’s 600 strike rate, Karan Anand’s one handed catch or McKinney’s 4 for might have got it on another day, but an all 4 four involving Karan Anand was the highlight, he is sure to tell Fraser Proud all about it for a good while…
Scorecard Siyapa v AGSFPs