A brilliant first 5 wicket haul for the club from Liam Skeldon proved to be in vain as Gala 2nds lost out to Edinburgh South 3rds at Meigle Park on Saturday. An excellent partnership of over 70 runs for the 7th wicket from the visitors Singh and Suriyapperuma was enough to see the capital side to victory.
Gala batted first on what was an excellent day for cricket. The home side made a positive start opening up with skipper for the day Max Hastings and Jamie Bell. However, South opener Singh made the first breakthrough as he bowled bell for 9 leaving Gala 26 for 1 from the opening 8 overs. John Imray arrived at the crease and he and Hastings then put on a superb partnership worth 80 runs. Both batsman playing cool headed and measured innings while keeping the scoring rate ticking along. As Gala passed the 100 mark in the 28th over, they looked comfortable thanks to the 2nd wicket partnership.
However the visitors came back into the game as they removed Hastings (47) following his excellent innings and Imray (54) who continued his fine form with the bat registering his 2nd half century of the season. After being 110 for 3 from 30, Gala managed to score 45 from the last 10 overs with Sam McAneny (7), Stuart Anderson (7) and Robbie Paterson (6) all chipping in.
Gala got off to a flying start with the ball. Liam Skeldon was once again taking early wickets as he picked up Souths opening bat and their number 3 to leave them 17 for 2. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as Skeldon went onto claim his first 5 wicket haul for the club after taking the opening 5 wickets of the innings. After Robbie Paterson then picked up another wicket to leave the visitors 70 for 6, Gala looked to be in real control.
However an excellent partnership then ensued from the city sides J.Singh and A.Suriyapperuma which took the game away from the hosts. The pair scored quickly and put Gala’s bowlers under pressure. Despite Stuart Anderson picking up his first wicket, eventually removing the latter for a well made 26, the damage had been done and Edinburgh South won by 7 wickets in the 36th over, with Singh (35*) and Blood (13*) seeing the visitors home.
A good win for the away side but Gala will be frustrated at not being able to finish off the game. Next week, the 2nds host Dunfermline and Carnegie 2nds at Meigle Park.
Gala Innings
M.Hastings ct K.Bhatnagar b J.Singh 47
J.Bell b J.Singh 9
J.Imray ct Brookes b O.Henderson 54
S.McAneny run out 7
S.Anderson ct M.Llangovan b K.Bhatnagar 7
R.Paterson not out 6
J.Boyle LBW S.Reddy 3
M.Maceira LBW S.Reddy 0
C.Ormiston not out 0
Extras – 22
Total: Gala 2nds 155 for 6 from 40 overs.
Edinburgh South Bowling
J.Singh 8-0-25-2
J.Blood 5-0-16-0
F.Shafiq 4-0-26-0
S.Reddy 8-4-13-2
M.Llangovan 3-0-12-0
A.Suriyapperuma 1-0-11-0
K.Bhatnagar 7-0-25-1
O.Henderson 3-0-16-1
Edinburgh South Innings
I.Ross c+b L.Skeldon 20
M.Llangovan b L.Skeldon 9
B.Brookes b L.Skeldon 0
F.Shafiq ct M.Hastings b L.Skeldon 15
S.Reddy b R.Paterson 6
O.Henderson b L.Skeldon 0
J.Singh not out 35
A.Suriyapperuma LBW S.Anderson 26
J.Blood not out 13
Extras – 33
Total: Edinburgh South 3rds 157 for 7 from 36.1 overs.
Gala Bowling
J.Bell 8-0-26-0
L.Skeldon 8-0-30-5
R.Paterson 5-0-29-1
C.Ormiston 4-0-16-0
S.McAneny 5.1-0-22-0
S.Anderson 3-0-12-1
M.Maceira 3-0-11-0