Author Archives: JJM

Grammar ran out convincing winners at Rubislaw with an 8 wicket win over Inverurie. Despite not really locating their best bowling form, the very long outfield made scoring particularly challenging as Grammar restricted Inverurie to 121 for 8, Salman, Sameer and Prash each taking 2 wickets. Alex Keith started the chase well with 22 from 30 but after he fell a quickfire 38 from skipper Haider was well supported by an unbeaten 31 from Rob Swiergon as Grammar won with 13 overs to spare.

Grammar lost the toss and Inverurie batted but were restricted by the field and made slow progress to drinks at 57 but without losing a wicket. Sameer struck 2nd ball after drinks, Norval miscuing to Prash. Grammar then tightened teh screw and Sameer knocked over Watson with an inswinger. Grammar continued to grind and picked up regular wickets, Mapplebeck taking a stunning diving catch on the boundary to remove Kola. Despite a useful stand of 18 for the 9th wicket, it always felt under par with Grammar bowlers all performing well.

With the bat Keith struck 3 fours and a six before being castled by Maxfield for 22, but clean striking from Haider in his 38 before he fell LBW ensured the chase was relatively simple. Salman joined Swiergon and they saw Grammar to victory with minimal fuss.

Man of the Match
Sameer for some good inswing bowling.

Champagne Moment
Mapplebeck’s brilliant diving catch.

Scorecard

A determined performance from Grammar saw them come very close to knocking out holders Knightriders in the Aberdeenshire Cup on Sunday. At another venue which had not had the pleasure of a mower in some time, ground scoring was tricky, borne out by Alex Keith taking 85 balls over his 41 with just 3 boundaries. His gritty batting helped Grammar to an under par 143 all out, only Harry Mapplebeck’s smart running in an unbeaten 28 from 33 and some long handle from Hasnain Javaid mustering double figures in the Grammar innings.

Salman Bedaar showed there is no end to his all round talents with some canny off breaks yielding 2 for 21, the highlight being a very sharp stumping down the legside, Morrison finally seeing a square leg umpire raise the finger for a stumping after about 2 seasons. Grammar kept chipping away but a useful 39 not out from Bhatia saw Knightriders home with 10 balls to spare. All bowlers did well Prash 8-1-35-1, Hassaan bowling magnificently but was somehow wiketless despite many close calls, 7-3-21-0, Mapplebeck castled Chaudhari taking 7.2-1-28-1, and Javaid claim 2 for 40 from his 8.

Man of the Match
Mapplebeck for his clever batting and useful bowling.

Champagne Moment
Hassaan’s low diving catch on the boundary, catch of the season probably already secured.

Scorecard and highlights

Photos – thanks again to Gilles

Mapplebeck took 3 wickets

A first class innings from Shoaib Laghari of 140 for Masterblasters batting Grammar out of the game in Masterblasters 253 all out. Grammar battled diligently but could only make 176 for 9 but at least did record maximum points achievable in a loss. It looked like it would be a lot worse for Grammar with Masterblasters on 219 for 3 in just the 29th over but some excellent late bowling saw Grammar take   7 for 34 thanks to Hassann with a determined 4 for 32 and 3 for 48 from Harry Mapplebeck. Hasnain Javaid took some punishment but did get two in the wickets column for his efforts. Salman Bedaar doubled up as wicket keeper and spinner and claimed 1 for 34.

On a ground of long grass, 4s were exceptionally hard to hit but it was no issue for Laghari who belted 14 of Masterblasters 17 maximums in a ridiculous display of clean hitting.

With the bat, Grammar could never get going and despite 38 from Karan Anand, 21 from Beddar and 17 from skipper Haider, FPs were always behind the rate. Some intelligent batting late on did at least ensure maximum batting points were gathered. Next for 1s is a cup tie on Sunday with Knightriders where Grammar will look to try out some different combinations as the players get to know each other better. There is plenty to build on and it is unlikely that Grammar will meet another batsman like Laghari this season.

Man of the Match
Mohammad Hassaan – kept going and got his rewards with 4 wickets.

Champagne Moment
Mapplebeck finally castling Laghari.