The Sunday XI picked up their first win of the league  campaign at Lewisvale on Sunday against Musselburgh 3rds.

Batting first, Gala opened up with father and son duo of Malcolm and John Imray. Malcolm was sadly run out early on however John continued his fine form with bat on his way to 39. An innings that included a flurry of good shots. Imray produced good partnerships alongside Sunday skipper Finlay Rutherford (17), and other 1^st XI opener, Siddhanth Siddhu, who himself went onto register a well made half century before retiring. It was Robbie Paterson and Seb Loumeau who finished off Gala’s innings, with Paterson unbeaten as the visitors concluded their 30 overs on 135 for 4.

Musselburgh got off to a slow start in reply with Liam Skeldon taking two quick wickets of the home sides openers, Powlett and Rahman. Seb Loumeau then picked up Musselburghs number 3, Boyd. A good partnership from Chowdhury (22) and Chambers (19), offered good resistance for the home side however the introduction of youngster Kieran Singhtoor changed things quickly. The young seamer bowled excellently on his way to his first ever 5 wicket haul, ripping through the Musselburgh tailend. The home side eventually ended on 95 for 9 from their 30 overs with other junior players Sam McAneny and Finlay Skeldon also bowling very well and picking up 1 wicket each.

GALA INNINGS

J.Imray ct M.Powlett b K.Khanuja 39

M.Imray run out (H.Kings) 2

F.Rutherford st N.MacDonald b J.Slaven 17

S.Siddhu retired not out 53

R.Paterson not out 5

S.Loumeau st N.MacDonald b K.Khanuja 4

Extras – 14

Gala 135 for 4 from 30 overs.

Musselburgh 3^rd XI Bowling

F.Chowdhury 6-1-11-0

H.Kings 6-1-12-0

M.Boyd 4-1-20-0

A.Rahman 6-1-19-0

J.Slaven 4-0-37-1

C.Miller 1-0-11-0

K.Khanuja 2-0-11-2

R.Chambers 1-0-13-0

MUSSELBURGH 3^RD XI INNINGS

M.Powlett b L.Skeldon 3

A.Rahman ct J.Imray b L.Skeldon 0

M.Boyd ct J.Imray b S.Loumeau 3

F.Chowdhury ct S.Siddhu b K.Singhtoor 22

H.Kings ct R.Paterson b K.Singhtoor 1

R.Chambers LBW F.Skeldon 19

A.Javed b K.Singhtoor 3

N.MacDonald ct M.Imray b K.Singhtoor 0

C.Miller ct S.Siddhu b K.Singhtoor 2

J.Slaven not out 11

K.Khanuja not out 4

Extras – 27

Musselburgh 3^rd XI 95 for 9 from 30 overs.

Gala Bowling

L.Skeldon 5-2-3-2

S.Loumeau 5-1-5-1

J.Imray 2-0-9-0

R.Paterson 6-2-17-0

K.Singhtoor 6-0-25-5

S.McAneny 4-0-31-1

F.Skeldon 2-0-4-1

A fantastic maiden Gala century from overseas professional Upul Indrasiri and an excellent bowling spell under pressure from Aashiq Rhode proved major factors as Gala pulled off a brilliant win at the home of Scottish cricket against Grange 2nds on Saturday.

The start of the match was delayed to 12:30pm and the match reduced to 35 overs a side due to the Edinburgh weather and the forecast for the rest of the day.

After winning the toss, Gala captain Josh Irvine elected to bat however the visitors got off to the worst possible start with Sid Siddhu being bowled for a duck from an excellent delivery from Grange opener Peet. Gala’s misery in the opening stages continued with Grange bowling tight lines and making life difficult for our batsmen. Josh Irvine became Peet’s second wicket of the day as he was trapped LBW for 6. This left Gala only 8 for 2. Finlay Rutherford, who looked comfortable early on, was then unlucky to edge a wider Davidson delivery behind, with Grange keeper Hancock taking a fantastic one handed catch to his right.

Gala were now 16 for 3 and in a bleak position. However, the pair of Upul Indrasiri and Duncan Millar came together and looked unphased from the get go. Both batsmen steadied the ship and took Gala up to 61 for 3 from the first 21 overs before the teams had to leave the field for a short rain break.

Upon returning to the field, the pair picked up where they left off and some. They took Gala from 61 for 3 in the 22^nd over to 165 in the 33^rd, scoring 104 in just 12 overs. Indrasiri brought up an excellent century in the process. An innings that included many hard hitting boundaries and patience in the early stages. Duncan Millar was also in great form and found the boundary regularly, including a series of reverse sweeps. He was eventually bowled for a well made 48 when attempting another reverse, bringing to an end his and Indrasiri’s 159 run partnership.

Aashiq Rhode then joined Indrasiri and the pair took Gala u to 180 for 4 from their 35 overs.

Gala then got off to the perfect start in defence of their total. Scott Paterson picked up the wicket of Grange opener Blain thanks to a fine one handed catch in the slips by Graeme Ormiston. Dinesh Tharanga, looking in his usual good form, then bowled other opener Brock who was unfortunate to drag onto his stumps. At this point the home side were 8 for 2. Tharanga then went onto claim his second when he had Cairns caught by Ormiston again in the slips. When Indrasiri then had Chohan out LBW for a duck and Grange sitting on 48 for 4, Gala looked to be in control.

However, the partnership of Donaldson and Scott had other ideas. The pair took Grange up to 87 with both looking confident and putting pressure on Gala’s bowlers. Finlay Rutherford then made a crucial direct hit run out to dismiss Donaldson for 33. Hancock then joined Scott however and put more pressure onto Gala. A fine catch in the covers though from Indrasiri gave Rhode his first wicket. The danger man of Scott however was still at the crease on 73 and with Grange needing 24 from the final 4 overs and Gala needing 4 wickets the home side now looked in control.

Scott then skied the ball up with Duncan Millar taking a good catch off Rhode. An excellent innings that nearly won the game for the home side. Gala then applied the pressure in the next couple of overs and regained control, taking the final 4 wickets in the space of 11 runs. Aashiq Rhode in particular bowled well under pressure taking an excellent 4 for. Sid Siddhu took a fine catch in the deep to claim Gala’s final wicket, giving the visitors a fantastic 12 run win after nail biting finish.

GALA INNINGS

S.Siddhu b F.Peet 0

F.Rutherford ct M.Hancock b D.Davidson 3

J.Irvine LBW F.Peet 6

U.Indrasiri not out 108

D.Millar b J.Cairns 48

A.Rhode not out 4

Extras – 11

Gala 180 for 4 from 35 overs.

Grange 2^nd XI Bowling

F.Peet 7-2-38-2

D.Davidson 7-2-13-1

A.Docherty 7-0-43-0

J.Cairns 7-0-33-1

A.Aniruddhan 5-0-29-0

S.Blain 2-0-20-0

GRANGE 2^ND XI INNINGS

J.Brock b D.Tharanga 6

S.Blain ct G.Ormiston b S.Paterson 1

J.Cairns ct G.Ormiston b D.Tharanga 18

J.Donaldson run out (F.Rutherford) 33

M.Chohan LBW U.Indrasiri 0

C.Scott ct D.Millar b A.Rhode 73

M.Hancock ct U.Indrasiri b A.Rhode 19

A.Docherty st D.Millar b A.Rhode 1

D.Davidson ct S.Siddhu b A.Rhode 7

F.Peet ct D.Millar b S.Paterson 0

A.Aniruddhan not out 4

Extras – 6

Grange 2^nd XI 168 all out from 33.4 overs.

Gala Bowling

S.Paterson 7-0-39-2

D.Tharanga 7-1-31-2

J.Halls 4-0-20-0

U.Indrasiri 7-0-28-1

S.Siddhu 4-0-22-0

A.Rhode 4.4-0-25-4

An period of heavy rain that caused flooding on areas of the Meigle Park pitch brought to an abrupt end, a match that was shaping up to be a good contest on Saturday as the 2^nd XI welcomed Watsonians 4ths.

The visiting side batted first but Gala made a positive start with Liam Skeldon once again taking an early wicket, Watsonians Teall departing for a duck. With the visitors 0 for 1, Borthwick and Suresh came together and took the score up to 26 before Skeldon again removed Borthwick for 11. There was then another good partnership this time between Suresh and new batsman Patrick. The pair took the score up to 56 before Jamie Bell had Patrick caught for 12 and then immediately bowled Ferguson for 0. The visitors were left on 56 for 4 and Gala looking to be in the ascendancy. However, ran began to fall and the players left the field. With the rain persisting, Meigle Park began to flood and the decision was made to cancel the match with Watsonians 4ths 61 for 4 from 20 overs.

WATSONIANS 4TH XI INNINGS

H.Teall ct R.Patterson b L.Skeldon 0

A.Borthwick ct J.Bell b L.Skeldon 11

A.Suresh not out 20

A.Patrick ct N.Murton b J.Bell 12

L.Ferguson b J.Bell 0

T.Tucker not out 1

Extras – 10

Watsonians 4ths 61 for 4 from 20 overs.

Gala Bowling

L.Skeldon 5-0-9-2

C.Ormiston 5-0-15-0

J.Bell 4-0-18-2

M.Maceira 5-1-14-0

N.Murton 1-0-2-0

A top batting performance from Gala captain Josh Irvine and the debuting overseas professional, Upul Indrasiri was enough to secure Gala an emphatic 120 run win in their opening Border T20 cup match away to Hawick on Thursday.

After winning the toss, Irvine decided to bat with Sid Siddhu and Indrasiri opening up. The pair made a positive start before Siddhu was unfortunate to be bowled by Hawick opener Stewart for 14. Indrasiri and Irvine then put on a magnificent partnership as they accelerated the Gala scoring. Both batsmen were looking in fine form, finding the boundary at regular intervals. Indrasiri in particular, playing his first match in Scotland, looked comfortable.

He was eventually out caught off the bowling of Ryan Johnston after making 68 runs from 49 deliveries on debut. The Gala captain followed soon after, running himself out looking to squeeze every last run from Gala’s innings. He made an excellent 75 from just 51 balls.

Dinesh Tharanga (2*) and Scott Paterson (7*) both finished unbeaten as Gala ended on 186 for 3 from their 20 overs.

Hawick’s reply got off to a shaky start with Liam Skeldon, continuing his excellent form with the ball, removing Johnstn for a duck. Hawick’s Stuart Hair and Gareth Welsh then put on a good partnership before Robbie Irvine removed the former. This proved to be the only partnership of any substance for the home side as Gala continued taking wickets at regular intervals. Skeldon went onto pick up 1 more before Indrasiri rounded off what was an excellent debut by taking r Hawick wickets. Ross Patterson claimed the last of Gala’s 8 wickets as the home side finished on 66 for 8 from their 20 overs, giving Gala a 120 run win.

Gala’s next Border T20 fixture is on the 8^th of July away to Selkirk. The match will also double up as the Rae Nichol Memorial Trophy match.

GALA INNINGS

S.Siddhu b L.Stewart 14

U.Indrasiri ct E.Hair b R.Johnston 68

J.Irvine run out 75

D.Tharanga not out 2

S.Paterson not out 7

Extras – 20

Gala 186 for 3 from 20 overs.

Hawick Bowling

L.Stewart 4-0-27-1

S.Hair 4-1-29-0

R.Johnston 4-0-31-1

G.Welsh 3-0-29-0

D.Anderson 2-0-14-0

P.Rayner 2-0-25-0

E.Hair 1-0-24-0

HAWICK INNINGS

S.Hair ct G.Ormiston b R.Irvine 12

R.Johnston ct G.Ormiston b L.Skeldon 0

G.Welsh not out 18

E.Hair ct F.Rutherford b L.Skeldon 5

B.Sutherland LBW U.Indrasiri 9

L.Stewart c+b U.Indrasiri 3

B.McTaggart b U.Indrasiri 0

D.Anderson b U.Indrasiri 1

P.Rayner ct F.Rutherford b R.Patterson 5

D.Solley not out 9

Extras – 3

Hawick 66 for 8 from 20 overs.

Gala Bowling

R.Irvine 3-0-15-1

L.Skeldon 4-1-8-2

S.Paterson 3-0-15-0

U.Indrasiri 3-0-8-4

C.Ormiston 4-0-7-0

R.Patterson 3-0-11-1

Dinesh Tharanga led Gala to their second Championship win of the season thanks to a remarkable performance.

The Sri Lankan top scored with 64 in Gala’s competitive total of 160 before ripping through Edinburgh Accies’ batting line up to claim an incredible nine wickets and dismiss the capital visitors for just 55.

Gala were missing a number of players for the visit of previously unbeaten Accies, with Ash Rhode stepping up as captain.

Unsurprisingly the depleted Braw Lads found things hard going with only three players making double figures but they battled to 160 thanks to support for Tharanga from Rhode (20) and youngsters Robbie Paterson and Liam Skeldon. Top bowler for Accies was Soyebmahammad Khanusiya (4 for 17).

In reply, Accies lost captain and opening batsman Andrew Cosh (9) to Tharanga, and what followed was an incredible spell where the all-rounder finished with figures of nine wickets for just 15 runs from less than nine overs.

Robbie Irvine took the other wicket to complete a fantastic win for Gala in less than 18 overs.

Gala

S. Ponneri ct F. Muhammad b Z. Hamedee 4

F. Rutherford ct F. Muhammad b A. Ali 15

J. Crooks b Z. Hamedee 4

G. Ormiston ct A. Cosh b J. Snitch 8

A. Rhode lbw b S. Khanusiya 20

D. Tharanga b F. Muhammad 64

R. Irvine lbw S. Khanusiya 1

R. Patterson b S. Khanusiya 0

S. Paterson b S. Khanusiya 2

R. Paterson b A. Ali 5

L. Skeldon not out 1

Extras – 36

Total – 160 for ten wickets

Z. Hamedee 9-3-33-2; S. Raparia 1-0-6-0; J. Snitch 10-2-30-1; A. Ali 10-0-31-2; F. Muhammad 9.2-2-33-1; S. Khanusiya 10-3-17-4.

Edinburgh Accies

A. Cosh lbw D. Tharanga 9

F. Muhammad lbw D. Tharanga 6

O. Altaf ct G. Ormiston b D. Tharanga 0

S. Khanusiya b D. Tharanga 2

A. Ali b D. Tharanga 7

R. Javed ct F. Rutherford b D. Tharanga 15

J. Snitch lbw D. Tharanga 0

P. Kuppusamy ct A. Rhode b R. Irvine 6

Z. Hamedee b D. Tharanga 0

V. Ramesh not out 0

S. Raparia ct & b D. Tharanga 1

Extras – 9

Total – 55 for ten wickets

S. Paterson 6-0-21-0; D. Tharanga 8.5-4-15-9; R. Irvine 3-0-18-1.

Gala 2nds got back to winning ways in Division Seven with an excellent showing at Stewart’s Melville Fourths

Choosing to bowl first at Inverleith, Gala bowled out their hosts for 98 thanks in part to some fantastic fielding – including a superb one handed running catch by Kieran Singtoor and excellent run out by Max Hastings.

Caitlin Ormiston continued her fine season with the ball taking four for 32, and her overall total of wickets for season now stands at 14.

Sam McAneny also shone taking two wickets for just two runs, with Ajith Sajun (1 for 19), Jamie Bell (1 for 22) and Maisie Maceira (1 for 16) also putting in excellent shifts.

In reply, Gala were in trouble at 10 for 2 but Hastings (45 not out) led the way with a composed batting performance, well supported by Bell (19) who played some outstanding shots as well as Stuart Skeldon (14) and Sajun (6 not out) as the visitors won by six wickets.

Hayat (2 for 25) and Holland (1 for 16) were top bowlers for Stewart’s Melville.

Stewart’s Melville Fourths

ES Robertson b C. Ormiston 28

C. Holland ct K. Toor b M. Maceira 0

J. Thomas b J. Bell 0

MP Patton b C. Ormiston 11

D. Scott ct & b A. Sujan 6

AC Christy ct K. Paterson b C. Ormiston 4

R. Anderson run out 21

F. Mill b C. Ormiston 1

DG Higgins ct & b S. McAneny 7

I. Lowry b S. McAneny 0

R. Hayat not out 2

Extras – 18

Total – 98 for ten wickets

J. Bell 5-0-22-1; M. Maceira 5-0-16-1; C. Ormiston 8-0-32-4; A. Sujan 8-0-19-1; S. McAneny 2.1-0-2-2; J. Boyle 2-0-5-0.

Gala

M. Hastings not out 45

J. Boyle b F. Mill 1

K. Paterson b R. Hayat 4

J. Bell ct ES Robertson b C. Holland 19

S. Skeldon lbw R. Hayat 14

A. Sujan not out 6

Extras – 10

Total – 99 for four wickets

F. Mill 4-0-19-1; R. Hayat 8-0-25-2; C. Holland 4-1-16-1; AC Christy 4-0-16-0; J. Thomas 4-0-16-0; R. Anderson 1-0-3-0.

Gala 1^st XI hosted Aberdeenshire in their return to the Scottish Cup. Aberdeenshire cruised to a 94-run victory against what was a depleted Gala side however, the game provided the chance and experience to play in the Scottish Cup on what was another beautiful day up Meigle Park. It was a truly fantastic innings from the visitors Kenny Reid, who scored 126, that took the game away from Gala.

Bowling first, the hosts got off to the best possible start with Siddhu trapping Bhardwaj LBW with the first ball of the match. This brought Kenny Reid to the crease who played a magnificent innings scoring a century for the visitors. With Gala conceding too many extras, Reid batting excellently for his century, the middle order all contributing with Chandu going for a well-made 40 the visitors posted a mammoth total of 302. Tharanga and Scott Paterson both bowled well collecting 3 wickets each with Halls taking 2 for himself. Siddhu and Rhode also collected 1 each to add to their total for the season.

In reply, Halls and Rutherford opened the batting posting 15 for the first wicket. Irvine again played himself in for 25 before being removed by Elliot. Rutherford fell soon after for a well-made 24, meaning again Gala’s middle order would have a lot to do. Siddhu came in at 5, with Halls being his runner as he suffered a groin strain in the Aberdeenshire innings. Credit to Halls as he assisted some beautiful ball striking by Siddhu who reached 74 before being caught behind by Horne off the bowling of Chandu. After Siddhu fell, the Gala wickets continued to fall with the home side reaching 208 all out. Lewis Munro was the pick of the Aberdeenshire bowlers picking up 3 wickets.

Gala will be disappointed to go out in the first round of the cup, but the side can take many positives from the game. Credit goes to Aberdeenshire as they played well and deservedly took the win back up the road.

Innings of Aberdeenshire   A Bhardwaj LBW b S Ponneri 0     C Cameron Caught J Irvine b D Tharanga 10   * K Reid Bowled b S Paterson 126     L Munro Bowled b A Rhode 25     R Hedge Caught L Skeldon b J Halls 25   + J Horne Bowled b J Halls 26     R Chandu Caught A Rhode b S Paterson 40     N Elliott Bowled b D Tharanga 9     F Anderson Bowled b D Tharanga 16     D Gamblen LBW b S Paterson 1     M Elliot Not Out   0     Extras 3lb 21w 24     TOTAL All Out (46.2 ovs) 302       Bowler O M R W     S Ponneri 2.0 0 15 1     D Tharanga 10.0 2 37 3     S Paterson 8.2 0 58 3     J Halls 10.0 0 61 2     A Rhode 9.0 0 62 1     J Irvine 4.0 0 39 0     L Skeldon 3.0 0 27 0   Fall of Wickets 1 – 0 A Bhardwaj 2 – 61 C Cameron 3 – 102 L Munro 4 – 130 R Hedge 5 – 188 J Horne 6 – 266 K Reid 7 – 272 R Chandu 8 – 299 N Elliott 9 – 302 F Anderson 10 – 302 D Gamblen Innings of Gala   J Halls Bowled b L Munro 6     F Rutherford Caught J Horne b M Elliot 23     G Ormiston LBW b L Munro 0   * J Irvine LBW b M Elliot 25     S Ponneri Caught J Horne b R Chandu 74     A Rhode Run Out (D Gamblen) 1     D Tharanga LBW b D Gamblen 1   + M Hastings Bowled b F Anderson 6     S Loumeau Bowled b N Elliott 15     S Paterson Bowled b L Munro 14     L Skeldon Not Out   0     Extras 6b 2lb 35w 43     TOTAL All Out (46.5 ovs) 208       Bowler O M R W     N Elliott 10.0 1 44 1     L Munro 7.5 2 13 3     M Elliot 7.0 0 47 2     D Gamblen 10.0 2 38 1     F Anderson 10.0 0 52 1     R Chandu 2.0 1 6 1   Fall of Wickets 1 – 15 J Halls 2 – 18 G Ormiston 3 – 58 J Irvine 4 – 92 F Rutherford 5 – 103 A Rhode 6 – 106 D Tharanga 7 – 129 M Hastings 8 – 147 S Loumeau 9 – 205 S Ponneri 10 – 208 S Paterson

On Saturday, Gala 1^st XI travelled up to Grange Loan to take on city side Carlton 2^nd XI in the hope of making it two wins from two. Unfortunately for the border side, things did not go their way after a great start with the bat with the foxes falling short by 30 runs.

Losing the toss and bowling first, Gala did well to take regular wickets throughout the innings restricting the Carlton batsmen on a pitch favourable for batting. Carlton’s Khan batted well to reach his half century before pulling a ball to Rutherford at square leg off the bowling of Rhode. Allardice also played his part coming in at 9 and scoring a vital 32 for the hosts setting Gala a target of 174. Tharanga continued his great form with the ball picking up 4 wickets with Halls picking up 3 and 2 for Rhode. A special mention goes out to youngster Liam Skeldon as well on championship debut who picked up the other Gala wicket.

In reply Gala got off to a rapid start putting on 63 for the first wicket where Siddhu was trapped LBW for a very well made 44 by Simpson. Simpson then ripped through the Gala line-up collecting 5 wickets for just the 7 runs from his allotted overs claiming the key wicket of Irvine who played himself in for 22 before chipping the ball up to Simpson to be caught. Wickets continued to fall for Gala who were sitting ahead of the required run rate but also running out of batters. Crooks and Scott Paterson made 21 and 17 respectively before the former was bowled by Stronach finishing the game 30 runs short of the target. The pick of the Carlton bowlers was Simpson picking up a fifer with Stronach, Everett, Allardice, MacPherson and Khan all picking up 1 each.

Overall, the Gala side will be disappointed with their performance however with positives to take from the game, the Meigle Park outfit return home next week to test themselves against the visit of Edinburgh Accies.

	H Laing	Caught J Irvine	b D Tharanga	4
	G Murray	LBW	b D Tharanga	15
	S Khan	Caught F Rutherford	b A Rhode	50
*	P Deakin	Bowled	b J Halls	19
	W Hardie	Caught S Paterson	b J Halls	11
	R Macpherson	Ct. & Bld.	b J Halls	0
+	B D’ulisse	Bowled	b A Rhode	10
	H Simpson	LBW	b D Tharanga	16
	R Allardice	LBW	b D Tharanga	32
	Ca Everett	Caught S Ponneri	b L Skeldon	5
	C Stronach	Not Out		0
	Extras	5b 1lb 3w 3nb	12
	TOTAL	All Out (43.4 ovs)	174

Bowler O M R W     A Rhode 9.0 0 51 2     D Tharanga 8.4 1 24 4     S Paterson 6.0 1 30 0     J Halls 10.0 0 22 3     S Ponneri 5.0 0 14 0     J Irvine 3.0 0 14 0     L Skeldon 2.0 0 13 1

Fall of Wickets 1 – 8 H Laing 2 – 27 G Murray 3 – 55 P Deakin 4 – 83 W Hardie 5 – 89 R Macpherson 6 – 105 S Khan 7 – 108 B D’ulisse 8 – 153 H Simpson 9 – 167 Ca Everett 10 – 174 R Allardice

Innings of Gala

	S Ponneri	LBW	b H Simpson	45
	F Rutherford	Bowled	b R Allardice	13
	G Ormiston	Stumped B D’ulisse	b H Simpson	1
*	J Irvine	Ct. & Bld.	b H Simpson	22
	A Rhode	LBW	b H Simpson	0
	J Halls	LBW	b H Simpson	0
	D Tharanga	LBW	b R Macpherson	8
	J Crooks	Bowled	b C Stronach	21
+	M Hastings	Bowled	b Ca Everett	1
	S Paterson	Caught Ca Everett	b S Khan	16
	L Skeldon	Not Out		0
	Extras	5b 7lb 3w 2nb	17
	TOTAL	All Out (40.4 ovs)	144

Bowler O M R W     C Stronach 5.4 0 24 1     Ca Everett 8.0 1 36 1     R Allardice 10.0 2 33 1     H Simpson 10.0 5 7 5     R Macpherson 5.0 0 24 1     S Khan 2.0 0 8 1

Fall of Wickets 1 – 63 S Ponneri 2 – 67 F Rutherford 3 – 71 G Ormiston 4 – 81 J Irvine 5 – 85 A Rhode 6 – 94 G Ormiston 7 – 106 D Tharanga 8 – 113 M Hastings 9 – 135 J Crooks 10 – 144 S Paterson

Gala 2nds were edged out by Carlton 5ths to lose their 100% record in Division Seven.

Stand in skipper Stuart Skeldon won the toss and decided to bat first on a glorious day at Meigle Park.

Craig Thomson and Maisie Maceira both claimed the wickets of Carlton openers Murray and Robertson but Simpson (60) provided a pivotal innings to allow the visitors to make a very competitive total of 164 for six wickets from their 40 overs. Robbie Paterson was top bowler for Gala with 2 for 25.

In reply, Gala lost Stuart Skeldon, Jamie Bell and Paterson cheapily but Thomson (40) and Seb Loumeau (26) put together a good partnership to set the homesters up perfectly at 88 for three off 19 overs.

However, Gala lost five wickets in succession to leave themselves 117 for 8.

Caitlin Ormiston and Maceira kept the contest alive with a ninth wicket partnership but eventually Gala were all out for 143 to lose by 21 runs.

Innings of Carlton 5

*+	K Murray	Caught S Skeldon	b C Thomson	9
	M Robertson	Caught S Skeldon	b M Maceira	15
	D Simpson	Run Out		60
	M Kennedy	Bowled	b C Ormiston	5
	J Beattie	Caught S Skeldon	b R Paterson	27
	B Stronach	Bowled	b S Loumeau	0
	A Turner	Not Out		24
	Z Dancu	Caught J Boyle	b R Paterson	0
	E Murray	DNB
	H Turner	DNB
	K Burgess	DNB
	Extras	8b 6lb 3w 7nb	24
	TOTAL	for 6 wkts (40 ovs)	164

C Thomson 8-0-18-1  J Bell 6-0-17-0  M Maceira 5-1-15-1  C Ormiston 6-0-30-1  S Loumeau 8-0-34-1  A Sujan 2-0-11-0  R Paterson 5-0-25-2

Innings of Gala 2

*+	S Skeldon	LBW	b K Burgess	19
	J Bell	Caught K Murray	b E Murray	5
	R Paterson	Caught K Murray	b K Burgess	7
	C Thomson	Caught H Turner	b E Murray	40
	S Loumeau	Caught M Kennedy	b B Stronach	26
	A Sujan	LBW	b H Turner	0
	J Boyle	Caught A Turner	b H Turner	1
	S McAneny	Run Out (Z Dancu)	0
	C Ormiston	Not Out		7
	M Maceira	Caught K Murray	b Z Dancu	11
	F Skeldon	Ct. & Bld.	b A Turner	0
	Extras	5b 1lb 14w 7nb	27
	TOTAL	All Out (35.1 ovs)	143

K Burgess 8-3-26-2  E Murray 8-1-23-2  Z Dancu 6-0-39-1  B Stronach 8-1-25-1  H Turner 6-0-21-2  A Turner 1.2-0-21

An outstanding spell of bowling by Dinesh Tharanga, coupled with an excellent Gala fielding display ensured an upset win in the 1^st XI’s first competitive match of the season against Edinburgh CC on Saturday at Meigle Park.

After winning the toss, Gala skipper Josh Irvine had no hesitation in electing to bat first. Gala opened with the now established pairing of Siddhanth Siddhu and Finlay Rutherford and the pair started well, taking 16 from the opening 2 overs. However, Rutherford (3) was clean bowled by an excellent yorker from the visitors opening bowler Wadood in the third over. This brought Irvine to the crease and both he and Siddhu looked in good touch with the pair taking the score up to 43 for 1 and looking in a healthy position after the opening 10 overs. The partnership was broken however by other Edinburgh opener Yadav. Siddhu, who was again striking the ball well can count himself unfortunate, however credit must be given to Yadav who produced an outstanding piece of fielding to react and catch a low caught and bowled chance at the second attempt, sending Gala’s opener back to the pavilion for 19.

Yadav then removed Duncan Millar LBW for a duck soon after leaving Gala 53 for 3 and in a rocky position. Aashiq Rhode then joined Irvine and the pair took the score up to 79 and Gala were looking in a comfortable position once more. However, with Wadood still in the attack, he had Irvine out LBW despite the Gala batsman feeling the ball had hit the bat first. Jack Halls and Rhode then moved the score along nicely with Gala sitting on 100 for 4 at the halfway stage of the innings. In the 30^th over however Halls went back to a low delivery and was out LBW to Edinburgh spinner Farooq.

This left Gala 117 for 5 however with a deep batting line up and Rhode striking the ball well, the home side were confident in their ability to continue the scoring. Some good Edinburgh bowling however pulled them back into the game and Gala found themselves 140 for 7 after Rhode (33) and Ormiston (10), who was looking in good shape at the crease, were both dismissed in quick succession. Edinburgh continued to apply pressure on the Gala tail and despite best efforts from Dinesh Tharanga (13) and Robbie Irvine (6), Gala were bowled out in the 45^th over for 156. The home side were disappointed with their overall total after throwing away wickets at different stages. Gala knew they would need a strong fielding performance to compete in the match.

Edinburgh opened with the dangerous pair of Butt and Hussain but Gala made the perfect start after some early pressure. A mix up between the wickets led to the run out of Butt (0) and Siddhu took full advantage with an accurate throw to Millar behind the stumps. An over later Hussain then struck a full toss from Robbie Irvine to Siddhu who just about held onto the catch leaving the visitors 6 for 2.

Then, Dinesh Tharanga, like he has done so many times before, bowled fantastically well on a wicket that was becoming less favourable to the batsman as time passed in the match. Tharanga picked up the wickets of Uddin (1), Q.Ashraf (6) and A.Ashraf (5) in the space of 2 overs leaving the visitors rocked on 20 for 5. Gala were buzzing in the field and looked to maintain the pressure on the Edinburgh batsmen.

A partnership looked to be developing between Farooq and Maseed however looking to accelerate, Farooq lobbed one up to Jack Halls at mid off and Tharanga claimed his 4^th wicket of the day. Gala’s opening bowler then continued to work through his 10 overs and in the penultimate over of his spell, he claimed his first competitive 5 wicket haul of the season, having Maseed LBW for 7 and leaving the visitors 47 for 7.

Edinburgh’s Parvez offered solid resistance and struck the ball to the boundary regularly as he looked to counter attack and bring the visitors back into the game. Edinburgh took the score up to 82 without the loss of another wicket and Gala began to become slightly frustrated knowing the visitors were creeping back into the game. However, an outstanding piece of fielding from Finlay Rutherford, who took a fantastic catch running back off the bowling of Dean Moir, got the crucial wicket of Parvez for 36 and left Edinburgh 82 for 8. The visitors final two wickets were then claimed by Josh Irvine and Jack Halls and Gala won by 65 runs, bowling the visitors out for 91.

A great win for Gala against former champions of the division and a great start in the league. The game was played in great spirit by both teams. Thankyou to Edinburgh CC for the game and we look forward to the reverse fixture at Campbell Park later in the season.

GALA SCORECARD

S.Siddhu c+b B.Yadav 19

F.Rutherford b A.Wadood 3

J.Irvine LBW A.Wadood 34

D.Millar LBW B.Yadav 0

A.Rhode b A.Maseed 33

J.Halls LBW U.Farooq 12

G.Ormiston LBW A.Shabir 10

D.Tharanga ct A.Shabir b A.Wadood 13

J.Crooks c+b A.Maseed 0

R.Irvine b B.Yadav 6

D.Moir not out 0

Extras – 26

Gala 156 all out from 44.4 overs.

Fall of Wickets: 1-14, 2-43, 3-53, 4-79, 5-117, 6-136, 7-140, 8-149, 9-156, 10-156

Edinburgh Bowling

A.Wadood 6.3-0-36-3

B.Yadav 9-0-31-3

A.Shabir 10-4-16-1

U.Farooq 10-2-23-1

K.Parvez 1.1-0-14-0

A.Maseed 8-0-26-2

EDINBURGH SCORECARD

M.Butt run out (S.Siddhu) 0

K.Hussain ct S.Siddhu b R.Irvine 3

K.Uddin LBW D.Tharanga 1

Q.Ashraf b D.Tharanga 6

A.Ashraf b D.Tharanga 5

U.Farooq ct J.Halls b D.Tharanga 4

A.Maseed LBW D.Tharanga 7

K.Parvez ct F.Rutherford b D.Moir 36

A.Shabir ct D.Millar b J.Irvine 1

A.Wadood ct D.Millar b J.Halls 3

B.Yadav not out 2

Extras – 27

Edinburgh 91 all out from 32.1 overs.

Fall of Wickets: 1-4, 2-6, 3-7, 4-14, 5-20, 6-35, 7-47, 8-82, 9-83, 10-91

Gala Bowling

R.Irvine 5-1-9-1

D.Tharanga 10-2-23-5

D.Moir 7-2-23-1

A.Rhode 3-1-6-0

S.Siddhu 4-1-16-0

J.Irvine 2-0-6-1

J.Halls 1.1-0-2-1