National T20 Finals at Nunholm
Dumfries Cricket Club hosted the Murgitroyd National T20 Final’s Day on Sunday for the first time with four clubs qualifying from around Scotland to vye for the title of Scottish Champions of the short twenty over a side format. The day had plenty of Scotland internationals and Scotland representative players across the teams and the sides duly delivered some big hitting and high quality fielding.
Croma Vigilant Dumfries played Heriots in the morning semi-final but the home side were well beaten by the side fresh from winning the Scottish Cup with the Edinburgh side hitting 169 for 8. In reply Dumfries never got going after early wickets fell and finished on just 67.
The second semi-final was between Glasgow side Clydesdale and the newly crowned East League and Scottish Club Champions, Forfarshire, from Dundee. The action really lit up in the ninth over when Scotland’s Richie Berrington accelerated and smashed three huge sixes over the road, clubhouse and onto a nearby roof. He top scored with 63 as Clydesdale reached 143 for 5. However his Scotland team-mate, Craig Wallace, responded as he opened and was steered his Forfarshire side to an 8 wicket win in hitting the day’s top score of 75 with his share of fours and sixes.
So the final was appropriately between the Scottish Cup and Scottish Club Champions. Heriots chose to bat first once more and after a fast start looked reasonably placed going past eighty with 3 wickets down. However leg spinner Hogarth slowed the scoring down by taking wickets and ended up with a man of the match performance with 6 wickets for just 12, including three wickets in his final over, as Heriots subsided to 111 all out. Wallace and Greaves then took twenty off the first two overs but Watt held on to a screamer at short cover to remove danger man Wallace. Heriots then raised a few question marks with Forfarshire 5 down for eighty six. However Greaves hit a no-ball free hit onto the training area for another massive six to settle any worries and ended 55 not out as the Dundee side won with an over left.
The Murgitroyd T20 Cup was presented to the winning Forfarshire Captain, Umair Mohammed, for their third trophy of the season, by Sue Strachan from the Dumfries Club in her role as President-Elect of Cricket Scotland.
Scottish T20 Semi Final 1
Heriots 169 for 8 in 20 overs (Elnathan Meiri 34, Hayes van der Berg 36, Michael Shean 31, Mark Watt 31. S Beveridge 4 for 18) defeated Dumfries 67 all out in 17.1 overs (Thomas McBride 26. Keith Morton 3 for 5, Micheal Shean 2 for 7, Elliot Ruthven 2 for 17, Ryan Brown 2 for 20)
Scottish T20 Semi Final 2 Clydesdale 143 for 5 in 20 overs (Richie Berrington 63, Angus Guy 25, Arman Farid 22. Bryce Allchin 2 for 23) lost to Forfarshire 146 for 2 in 18.4 overs (Craig Wallace 75, Callum Garden 49*)
Scottish T20 Final Heriots 111 all out in 20 overs (Mark Watt 25, Hayes van der Berg 18. Jack Hogarth 6 for 12) lost to Forfarshire 112 for 5 in 19 overs. (Chris Greaves 55*, Craig Wallace 18. Michael Shean 3 for 15, Elliot Ruthven 2 for 25)
Croma Vigilant miss out on National T20 Final
Croma Vigilant Dumfries played a strong Heriots side on Sunday as the South Champions in the Murgitroyd T20 National semi-final at Nunholm. However the East Champions came away with a convincing win to reach the later final against Forfarshire.
Heriots chose to bat first first with a 10:30 start and swung the game away from the local side as they wrestled with the morning dew on the pink match ball. A South African overseas opening pairing of Van der Berg and Meira asserted themselves and that, and a few too many extras, meant they were already nearing ninety after just eight overs.
Dumfries managed to fight back with skipper McCutcheon dismissing Meira thanks to excellent catch from Thomas McBride at long-on and Scott Beveridge bowled Van der Berg for 36. Scotland player Mark Watt and Shean then hustled Heriots up past 150 with three overs to go. The McCutcheon/McBride combination removed Watt for 31 and Dumfries managed to pick up a succession of wickets in the final over. Beveridge took three, including a triumphant catch by Stuart Alexander on the boundary, plus run-outs from him and McCutcheon as Heriots scored four for the loss of five wickets but still finished with a commanding total of 169 for 8.
Dumfries needed a couple of commanding innings of their own to even threaten that target but got off the worst start losing a wicket first ball, bowled Ruthven. Regular wickets kept any boundary shots at bay and the side were four down at the half stage. Thomas McBride looked comfortable but was bowled for 26 looking for runs and the side limped to 67 all out in the 18th over for Heriots to canter into the later final.
This weekend the final games of the Dumfries season take place with the Club Day for juniors to seniors on Saturday and the final outing of the summer for the Sunday Development XI away on Sunday.
Heriots 169 for 8 (20 overs) E. Meiri 34, H. Van der Berg 36, M. Shean 31, M, Watt 31; S Beveridge 4 overs 4 for 18, C McCutcheon 4 overs 2 for 29 Dumfries 67 all out (17.1 overs) T. McBride 26; K. Morton 3 for 5, M. Shean 2 for 7, E. Ruthven 2 for 17, R. Brown 2 for 20—
Dumfries Sunday XI win at Appleby
Appleby-Eden 115 all out lost to Dumfries Sunday XI 118 for 5
The Dumfries Sunday XI travelled to Appleby for a re-arranged encounter and returned with a commendable 5 wicket win.
Appleby-Eden batted first and the side from north of the border were able to apply some pressure. Youngster Sean Thornely took three wickets and Danny Amstrong claimed two, plus a run-out, to have the batting side struggling with seven wickets down for just 57 when rain interrupted play. However they rallied to get past the hundred mark. A wicket to Luke McBurnie and additional wickets to Mufudza and Armstrong kept them to a final total of 115.
Openers Mat Williams and Adam Malik set a platform for the response before Malik was caught behind for 16. After a fine clip for four Williams was sheared next ball on a sharp single and was run-out for 18. Thereafter Andy Reed successfully managed the chase and reached 27 and Danny Armstrong provided some entertainment as he hit 35 not out for a satisfying 5 wicket win.
The Queen of the South Litebites Man of the Match was Danny Armstrong for his all-round display in the field and then with the bat.
Appleby-Eden 115 all out Wickets – Sean Thornely 3 wickets, D Armstrong 3 and a run out, T Mufudza 2, L McBurnie 1 Dumfries Sunday XI 118 for 5 D Armstrong 35 not out, A Reed 27, M Williams 18, A Malik 16 Dumfries won by 5 wickets
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