A clinical Gala performance continued the clubs strong start to the season as we beat Clackmannanshire by 10 wickets on Saturday.
Gala bowled first and made an immediate impact as Upul Indrasiri removed Clacks opener Hearnshaw for a duck in the first over. Graeme Ormiston taking the catch at leg slip. Visitors skipper Hefer was then joined by number 3 Band and the pair looked to take the game to Gala’s bowlers. Both played some fine attacking shots but Band ended up caught behind off Dinesh Tharanga.
The returning Kris Mein, making his first Gala appearance in over 4 years, made his mark instantly. He bowled former Gala player Alan Oliver for a duck with a dipping slower ball before taking a brilliant one handed caught and bowled to remove the dangerous Hefer (21). At this point Clacks were struggling on 30 for 4 off 11 overs and over the next 9 overs, the visitors only managed 8 runs while 2 more wickets fell as Gala bowled and fielded tightly.
With the visitors 38 for 6 off 20, Gala were very much in the ascendancy. Despite some encouraging late hitting from Hutchinson (11), Indrasiri, who bowled excellently throughout the day, ripped through the Clacks tail to claim his first 5 wicket haul for Gala. Meanwhile, Mein went onto claim another 2 wickets as he claimed 4 in total to mark a very promising return to action. Clackmannanshire were bowled out for 58 in the 28th over.
Gala got off to a fast start in response with Sid Ponneri and Finlay Rutherford looking to finish the game quickly. There was a moment in the 3rd over where Ponneri was given out LBW much to his bemusement. However, the square leg umpire intervened and informed the umpire that Ponneri had hit the ball. Then, in an act of fantastic sportsmanship, Clacks skipper Hefer removed the visitors appeal and Ponneri was allowed back in.
Some good running between the wickets from Gala’s openers as well as both finding the boundary regularly meant Gala chased down the total in the 10th over having lost no wickets. Ponneri ended up 29 not out from 33 balls while Rutherford finished over a run a ball on 24 from 23 balls.
Another good win for Gala who have now won 5 from their opening 6 league games. We visit Kelso this Saturday following a home Border T20 match against Melrose on Thursday night.
Thanks to Clackmannanshire for the game and all the best for the rest of the season.
Clackmannanshire Innings
K.Hefer c + b K.Mein 21
A.Hearnshaw ct G.Ormiston b U.Indrasiri 0
A.Band ct D.Millar b D.Tharanga 6
A.Oliver b K.Mein 0
A.Arshad ct F.Rutherford b K.Mein 1
R.Ashraf ct K.Mein b U.Indrasiri 5
D.McConchie ct G.Ormiston b U.Indrasiri 1
L.Hartnoll st D.Millar b U.Indrasiri 5
T.Hutchison ct D.Millar b K.Mein 11
A.Deakin not out 2
G.Fraser LBW U.Indrasiri 0
Extras – 6
Total: Clackmannanshire 58 all out from 27.4 overs.
Gala Bowling
U.Indrasiri 9.4-2-20-5
D.Tharanga 7-3-14-1
K.Mein 8-3-17-4
H.Rutherford 3-0-6-0
Gala Innings
S.Ponneri not out 29
F.Rutherford not out 24
Extras – 8
Total: Gala 61 for 0 from 10 overs.
Clackmannanshire Bowling
R.Ashraf 4-0-23-0
K.Hefer 4-0-16-0
A.Arshad 1-0-7-0
A.Oliver 1-0-13-0