Another midweek T20 at Meigle Park on Wednesday saw Gala defeat Melrose to progress to the South qualifier at the end of the week. Melrose won the toss and put Gala into bat, looking to take early wickets and apply pressure on the Gala batsmen.
Gala opened with Upul Indrasiri and Jamie Crooks as the pair set about their work. The pair struggled to get used to the tennis ball bounce that the wicket provided however Indrasiri soon used this to his advantage dismissing the loose ball for 4 on more than one occasion. In the 6th over Indrasiri chipped out to Crawford at mid on who covered the ground well as he 30 with the score on 44. Ridwan Khalia joined Crooks as the pair looked to increase the scoring rate and take the game away from the visitors. Khalia got away with chipping the ball mistiming it early in his innings before finding his flow going on to score multiple 4’s. Crooks was then stumped as he danced passed a ball from off spinner Crawford for 16 as captain Josh Irvine joined Khalia. Irvine played himself in well before unleashing some deadly blows as he raced on with the scoring, well supported to Khalia. The pair took Gala past the 150 mark both raising their bats for a half century. Irvine continued in his fashion of punishing the ball as he held nothing back in dispatching a monstrous 6 into the field up the hill however, not long after his partner Khalia would be removed in the 18th over on 72. Eyre came in and gave the strike to Irvine straight away as he scored 22 in the final over taking Gala up to 215 with the captain unbeaten on 85.
The Gala defence of their total started steadily. Melrose openers Davenport and Owen got the ball rolling for the visitors, seeing out a tricky spell from Harris Rutherford who bowled well as he found his line and length early on. Khalia bowled the occasional loose delivery which Owen punished down the hill to the long boundary. In the 7th over Crooks managed to break the partnership as he took the wicket of Davenport for 14 as he found his spot with the ball in hand. Paterson then picked up the wicket of Owen who scored 17 displaying some good shots and with this wicket, Gala looked comfortable for the rest of the game as Melrose slipped away from the required rate with every ball bowled. Paterson managed to pick up his second wicket in his 2 over spell with Bell claiming one from the other end. John Imray made his return to the club and was rewarded with his performances from school gaining him a spot in the 1st XI as he took 2 wickets in his three over spell. Melrose finished on 59 for 6 wickets after their 20 overs.
Gala can be happy they got the job done as they move into an important weekend. On Saturday the team travel to Grange Loan to try and tackle Carlton 2nd XI in a crucial league game. Sunday the 1st XI are rewarded for their efforts in the borders knockout cup as they host Dumfries in the South Qualifier for the Scottish T20 Cup where a win will see the team return to finals day as they did last year.
GALA SCORECARD
J Crooks st W Owen b D Crawford 16
U Indrasiri ct D Crawford b A Davenport 30
R Khalia c D Crawford b C Wilson 72
J Irvine not out 85
E Eyre not out 2
Extras 10
Gala 215 for 3 wickets after 20 overs
MELROSE BOWLING
E Compton 4-0-44-0
A Davenport 4-0-35-1
D Crawford 4-0-27-1
C Wilson 4-0-49-1
J Mcpherson 1-0-20-0
J Wojcik 2-0-28-0
D Howard 1-0-11-0
MELROSE SCORECARD
A Davenport lbw J Crooks 14
W Owen c R Khalia b R Paterson 17
D Crawford c E Eyre b J Bell 7
J Wojcik not out 9
S Nerkar b R Paterson 1
J Mcpherson b J Imray 0
D Playfair c A Sujan b J Imray 4
E Compton not out 0
Extras 7
Melrose 59 for 6 wickets after 20 overs
GALA BOWLING
H Rutherford 3-0-10-0
R Khalia 3-0-15-0
J Crooks 2-0-6-1
D Tharanga 2-1-6-0
R Paterson 2-1-3-2
J Bell 2-1-1-1
J Imray 3-0-4-2
A Sujan 3-0-8-0