A convincing win for Edinburgh South 2nds pegged back Gala 2nds hopes of promotion on Saturday as the visitors eased to a 7 wicket victory at Meigle Park.

Batting first, Gala made a positive start with openers Max Hastings and John Imray, both in good form from previous weeks. However South made the breakthrough after Dey took a fine catch at extra cover off the bowling of Singh to dismiss Imray for 8. Hastings followed soon after as he was bowled by the visitors key bowler Madduri for 12 and Gala were 20 for 2.

Stuart Anderson and Robbie Paterson both arrived at the crease and looked comfortable, adding 20 to the total before the former was bowled by Reddy. Gala captain Patterson followed soon after, being unlucky to be caught and bowled again by Reddy.

Craig Thomson then joined Robbie Paterson and both went about their business, playing some good shots reaching the boundary. Paterson in particular – in good form after his highest score of 48 not out for Gala the previous week – looked comfortable at the crease. He was eventually bowled however by Dey after a well made 29. Thomson was bowled by Barnard soon after.

Jamie Bell was the only other Gala batsman to add any big contribution, as he did well to pick the gaps and play some good shots on his way to 16. Edinburgh South did well to work through Gala’s tailend as Sujan (6), Boyle (2) and Maceira (0) all fell in quick succession.

Gala got off to a dream start with the ball as some excellent bowling from Craig Thomson and Liam Skeldon restricted the visitors to 11 for 3 from the first 10 overs. Thomson claimed all 3 wickets bowling a very tight line while Skeldon did very well at the other end to keep the scoring rate low. Both were unlucky not to take another wicket in particular Skeldon who was so close to an excellent caught and bowled chance.

These would be the last Edinburgh South wickets Gala would take though. A superb partnership of 86 from 16 overs from Singh (39*) and Ross (41*) ensured the visitors eased to victory with 13 overs to spare.

Gala 2nds face Watsonians 4s this Saturday looking to bounce back in Division 7.

GALA SCORECARD

M.Hastings b K.Madduri 12

J.Imray ct D.Dey b P.Singh 8

S.Anderson b S.Reddy 4

R.Paterson b D.Dey 29

R.Patterson ct + b S.Reddy 1

C.Thomson b R.Barnard 11

J.Bell ct M.Llangovan b D.Dey 16

A.Sujan ct M.Llangovan b A.Mundin 6

J.Boyle b K.Madduri 2

L.Skeldon not out 2

M.Maceira b K.Madduri 0

Extras – 5

Total: Gala 96 all out from 34.5 overs.

EDINBURGH SOUTH BOWLING

K.Madduri 5.4-3-13-3

P.Singh 8-0-25-1

S.Reddy 5-2-11-2

R.Barnard 6-1-19-1

D.Dey 7-0-19-2

A.Mundin 3-1-7-1

EDINBURGH SOUTH SCORECARD

K.Singh not out 39

M.Llangovan b C.Thomson 2

P.Griffiths b C.Thomson 0

S.Reddy ct R.Patterson b C.Thomson 2

I.Ross not out 41

Extras – 13

Total: Edinburgh South 97 for 3 from 26.5 overs.

GALA BOWLING

L.Skeldon 8-4-13-0

C.Thomson 8-3-24-3

J.Bell 5-0-21-0

M.Maceira 2-0-9-0

R.Paterson 2-0-14-0

A.Sujan 1-0-10-0

Gala 2nds secured an excellent victory over Carlton 5ths to move into second in Division Seven.

Gala scored an excellent 196 for five from their 40 overs, thanks to a superb opening stand of 93 by Max Hastings and John Imray.

Hastings finished on 78 while Imray made 35 and Seb Loumeau a quickfire 36 not out.

In reply, Carlton were always behind the asking rate and were eventually all out for 108.

Loumeau took 4 for 9 to complete a fine day, while Jamie Bell (2 for 28), Maisie Maceira (1 for 7), Liam Skeldon (1 for 19) and Caitlin Ormiston (1 for 23) also were amongst the wickets.

Gala 2

+
M Hastings Bowled b K Burgess 78

J Imray Bowled b E Murray 35

S Anderson Bowled b E Murray 10

R Paterson Bowled b Z Dancu 14

S Loumeau Not Out 36

D Moir LBW b Z Dancu 0
*
R Patterson Not Out 10

L Skeldon DNB

J Bell DNB

C Ormiston DNB

M Maciera DNB
Extras 4b 1lb 3w 5nb 13
TOTAL for 5 wkts (40 ovs) 196

 Bowler  O   M   R   W    
 K Burgess   8.0 1   21  1    
 H Charman   4.0 1   14  0    
 J Ward  4.0 0   21  0    
 Z Dancu 8.0 1   37  2    
 E Murray    8.0 1   42  2    
 O Stones    8.0 2   50  0    

Fall of Wickets
1 – 93 J Imray
2 – 120 S Anderson
3 – 138 M Hastings
4 – 165 R Paterson
5 – 165 D Moir

Innings of Carlton 5

*
K Murray Caught J Bell b L Skeldon 12

L King Caught L Skeldon b C Ormiston 12

M Robertson Bowled b M Maciera 4

J Beattie Caught M Hastings b J Bell 0
+
M Kennedy Caught M Maciera b J Bell 41

H Charman Ct. & Bld. b S Loumeau 8

O Stones Caught M Hastings b S Loumeau 0

J Ward LBW b S Loumeau 11

Z Dancu Run Out (C Ormiston) 6

E Murray Caught R Paterson b S Loumeau 1

K Burgess Not Out 1
Extras 6lb 1w 5nb 12
TOTAL All Out (32.5 ovs) 108

 Bowler  O   M   R   W    
 L Skeldon   7.0 0   19  1    
 D Moir  3.0 0   6   0    
 M Maciera   5.0 2   7   1    
 C Ormiston  5.0 1   23  1    
 S Loumeau   4.5 0   9   4    
 R Paterson  3.0 0   9   0    

Gala have made their first ever Scottish T20 Finals Day after a 39 run win over Dumfries on Sunday.

The Braw Lads will face top Premiership side Forfarshire at Arbroath CC this Sunday in the semi finals, with the winners playing either Carlton or Ferguslie in the final later on the same day.

Gala got off to a great start against Dumfries as Jamie Crooks (23) and professional Upul Indrasiri (53) put on 64 for the first wicket.

Josh Irvine (12) and Jack Halls (18) supported Indrasiri who scored eight 4s in his 38 ball half century as Gala ended on 144 for five wickets from their 20 overs, with Brockwell (2 for 15) pick of the Dumfries bowlers.

Dumfries also got off to a flying start, knocking 22 off their first two overs. But the first wicket fell with the score on 24, and wickets continued to tumble with Dumfries ending up 105 for eight wickets from their 20 overs.

Top bowlers for Gala were Halls (2 for 9), Seb Loumeau (2 for 11) and Robbie Irvine (2 for 21), while stand-in wicketkeeper Crooks taking four catches.

Gala

J. Crooks b Armstrong 23

U. Indrasiri ct A. Dawson b C. Brockwell 53

J. Irvine lbw b C. Brockwell 12

J. Halls ct D. Armstrong b Davidson 18

A. Rhode not out 6

S. Paterson ct Davidson b Hobman 1

D. Tharanga not out 7

Extras – 24

Total – 144 for five wickets

A. Davidson 4-0-18-1; S. Thornely 3-0-24-0; V. Staples 2-0-24-0; D. Armstrong 1-0-10-1; T. McGrath 4-0-32-0; C. Brockwell 4-0-15-2; J. Hobman 2-0-19-1.

Dumfries

S. Beveridge ct S. Loumeau b R. Irvine 18

C. Brockwell ct J. Crooks b D. Tharanga 5

T. McGrath ct J. Crooks b J. Halls 14

A. Davidson ct U. Indrasiri b R. Irvine 4

M. Byers ct J. Crooks b S. Loumeau 16

D. Armstrong ct J. Crooks b J. Halls 1

A. Dawson ct J. Irvine b S. Loumeau 2

J. Hobman ct A. Rhode b L. Skeldon 8

S. Thornely not out 18

V. Staples not out 2

Extras – 13

Total – 105 for eight wickets

R. Irvine 4-0-21-2; D. Tharanga 3-1-12-1; U. Indrasiri 4-0-3-0; S. Paterson 1-0-9-0; J. Halls 3-0-9-2; S. Loumeau 2-0-11-2; A. Rhode 2-0-21-0; L. Skeldon 1-0-4-1.

Gala moved to the top of the Championship on Saturday with a tense win over previous league leaders Carlton 2nds.

Gala made a competitive total of 202 for 7 thanks to Sid Ponneri (45), Dinesh Tharanga (38 not out), Upul Indrasiri (33) and Graeme Ormiston (22 not out).

Tharanga and Ormiston put on a vital partnership of 60 to take the home side past 200 after they threatened to undo all their early good work.

Allardice (3 for 31) was top bowler for Carlton.

Rain fell between innings, meaning Carlton faced a revised target of 191 from 45 overs.Carlton were up with the run rate throughout but continued to lose wickets at regularly intervals with Scott Paterson (4 for 45) and Indrasiri (3 for 35) leading the way.

However, with over six overs left, Carlton only needed 17 runs to win, until captain Josh Irvine took an excellent catch from Paterson’s bowling to seal victory.

Innings of Gala

S Ponneri Ct. & Bld. b R Allardice 45

F Rutherford Bowled b R McIntyre 1

J Halls Bowled b Ca Everett 16

U Indrasiri Run Out 33
*
J Irvine Ct. & Bld. b H Simpson 18
+
D Millar Caught H Simpson b R Allardice 2

J Crooks Caught H Simpson b R Allardice 0

D Tharanga Not Out 38

G Ormiston Not Out 22

S Paterson DNB

H Rutherford DNB
Extras 27
TOTAL for 7 wkts (50 ovs) 202

 Bowler  O   M   R   W    
 R McIntyre  10.0    0   54  1    
 C Stronach  10.0    0   35  0    
 Ca Everett  10.0    0   46  1    
 R Allardice 10.0    1   31  3    
 H Simpson   10.0    3   30  1    

Innings of Carlton 2

M Whitaker Caught J Irvine b S Paterson 20

G Murray Caught S Paterson b H Rutherford 7

H Laing Caught U Indrasiri b H Rutherford 27

W Hardie LBW b U Indrasiri 1
*
P Deakin Caught S Paterson b U Indrasiri 7
+
B D’ulisse Not Out 44

R Allardice LBW b D Tharanga 22

H Simpson Caught D Millar b S Paterson 11

R McIntyre LBW b U Indrasiri 1

Ca Everett Caught S Ponneri b S Paterson 4

C Stronach Caught J Irvine b S Paterson 8
Extras 4b 4lb 14w 22
TOTAL All Out (38.4 ovs) 174

 Bowler  O   M   R   W    
 S Paterson  7.4 0   45  4    
 D Tharanga  9.0 0   29  1    
 H Rutherford    9.0 0   31  2    
 U Indrasiri 9.0 1   35  3    
 J Halls 3.0 0   21  0    
 J Irvine    1.0 0   5   0    

A nail biting finish swung in favour of Grange 4ths as they won by 8 runs in a fantastic encounter against the Sunday XI at Meigle Park on Sunday.

The visitors batted first and posted a well made total of 167 for 6 from their 30 overs. Liam Skeldon started the game off well, continuing where he left off on Saturday, taking the early wicket of Grant for 3. The visitors Metcalfe and Hodgson came together however and batted excellently with both scoring well made half centuries before the former was bowled by John Imray for 52 and the latter retired after passing the 50 mark.

The Grange scoring did not stop however with batsman lower down the order in Hodgen and Grant chipping in to take the visitors up to an imposing total. Kieran Toor also chipped in well with the ball for Gala, taking the two wickets of Grant and May both bowled.

The Gala reply started well with Stuart Anderson and Jamie Bell opening up. Bell was trapped LBW to Kidd for 10 for the first wicket. Graeme Ormiston joined Anderson and the pair put on a good partnership before the former was bowled by Gore for 17. The home sides most substantial partnership came through Sunday captain Rutherford and Anderson. Rutherford ended retiring following a brilliant 50, while Anderson was unlucky to he dismissed for 36 after a good innings.

At this point Grange began to turn the screw despite Gala staying up with the run rate. However, it was the visitors who prevailed by 8 runs after the bowlers held there nerve at the end of the innings despite late efforts from Imray (8) and Toor (7*).

Well played to the visitors and good luck for the rest of the season.

Grange Innings

R.Grant ct G.Ormiston b L.Skeldon 3

J.Metcalfe b J.Imray 52

H.Kidd ct G.Ormiston b R.Paterson 17

W.Hodgson retired not out 50

S.Hodgen ct F.Rutherford b L.Skeldon 5

J.Grant b K.Toor 25

F.Tracey run out 1

E.May b K.Toor 0

C.Gore not out 1

A.Kidd not out 1

Extras – 13

Total: Grange 4ths 167 for 6 from 30 overs.

Gala Bowling:

L.Skeldon 6-0-29-2

J.Bell 6-0-28-0

J.Imray 6-0-26-1

R.Paterson 6-0-38-1

K.Toor 3-0-32-2

F.Rutherford 3-0-12-0

Gala Innings

S.Anderson ct R.Grant b E.May 36

J.Bell LBW A.Kidd 10

G.Ormiston b M.Gore 17

F.Rutherford retired not out 53

J.Imray ct W.Hodgson b E.May 8

R.Paterson ct R.Grant b E.May 0

K.Toor not out 7

S.McAneny b M.Gore 0

J.Boyle b M.Gore 0

L.Skeldon ct R.Grant b E.May 0

R.Anderson not out 3

Extras – 22

Total: Gala Sunday XI 159 for 9 from 30 overs.

Grange Bowling:

F.Tracey 5-0-14-0

A.Kidd 5-1-10-1

H.Kidd 5-0-27-0

M.Gore 5-1-21-3

C.Gore 4-0-39-0

E.May 6-1-34-1

A ruthless display with the ball led by Upul Indrasiri helped Gala to victory over youthful border rivals Kelso on Saturday. The result was Gala’s first league win away at Shedden Park since the Border League era.

Kelso batted first on a cracking looking wicket and got off to a solid start taking 18 from the first 4 overs for the loss of no wicket with openers Davidson and Stubbs looking comfortable. However the first wicket fell for the home side when Dinesh Tharanga bowled Stubbs for 5. This sparked an incredible flurry of wickets as in the next 9 overs Kelso were bowled out, putting on only 17 more runs.

Tharanga went onto claim two more wickets as former Gala player Charis Scott was bowled for a three ball duck before Craig Adams – who has scored many runs against Gala in the past – was trapped LBW following one that stayed low.

It was Upul Indrasiri however that was the stand out performer for Gala. The Sri Lankan pro produced an epic spell bowling 5 overs and taking 6 wickets for the loss of only 1 run (which was a wide). He removed Gibson, Robson, Jackson and Kennedy all for ducks after removing Kelso’s in form Callum Davidson for 16 as Kelso were bowled out for 35 after 13 overs.

Gala wasted no time in their response. Siddhanth Ponneri and Finlay Rutherford opened up with the former in particular looking to take the game to the home sides bowlers. Some good running between the wickets plus some aggressive striking from Ponneri ended the game in the 6^th over and secured a second 10 wicket win in two weeks for Gala and the clubs first league win away at Kelso for over 10 years.

We travel to Campbell Park on Saturday to take on Edinburgh CC.

Kelso Innings

C.Davidson LBW U.Indrasiri 16

J.Stubbs bowled D.Tharanga 5

C.Scott b D.Tharanga 0

C.Adams LBW D.Tharanga 0

J.Gibson LBW U.Indrasiri 0

M.Mason b U.Indrasiri 3

G.Ford not out 2

B.Rock LBW U.Indrasiri 0

K.Jackson st J.Crooks b U.Indrasiri 0

K.Kennedy b U.Indrasiri 0

Extras – 10

Total: Kelso 35 all out from 13 overs.

Gala Bowling:

S.Paterson 2-0-12-0

D.Tharanga 6-0-22-3

U.Indrasiri 5-4-1-6

Gala Innings

S.Ponneri not out 25

F.Rutherford not out 13

Extras – 1

Total: Gala 39 for 0 from 5.5 overs.

Kelso Bowling:

C.Adams 3-0-21-0

C.Davidson 2.5-0-17-0

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 7^th 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 28^th over, they looked comfortable thanks to the 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 36^th 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

Impressive displays from Upul Indrasiri and Jamie Crooks led the way as Gala claimed victory over Melrose by 69 runs in the Border T20 Cup on Thursday night at Meigle Park.

The win means Gala maintain their 100 percent record in this years competition, winning 4 games from 4 with only one more group stage game to play.

Batting first, Gala got off to a blistering start with Indrasiri sending the ball to all parts of the boundary. He was well supported by Crooks who also looked in fine form as he too played some aggressive shots to the fence. Gala brought up their 100 in just the 10^th over thanks to both openers innings. The pairs excellent performance was capped by a fantastic 136 run partnership. A stand that will undoubtedly be the highest made by an opening Gala pair in a long time. Melrose eventually claimed their first wicket at this stage however in the 15^th over as Indrasiri (87) was caught at slip looking to inflict further damage to the visitors bowling attack.

Melrose managed to claw their way back into the game at this point as the home sides run rate began to slow. Duncan Millar (3) and Josh Irvine (7) both fell cheaply looking to keep the Gala scoring rate high. Jamie Crooks was then bowled by Compton just 5 short of a half century after a fantastically managed innings.

Scott Paterson (2*) and Siddhanth Ponneri (15*) both came together to see Gala through to the end of their innings with Ponneri playing a late flurry of shots to take Gala to 179 for 4 from their 20 overs.

The visitors made a reasonable start in reply, putting on 24 from the first 5 overs for no wicket. The first breakthrough was then made by Indrasiri who claimed the wicket of opener Scott, a player who many of the Gala players found a familiar face as the batsman played against Gala earlier in the season for Grange, top scoring in that match with 73. The second wicket fell soon after with some sharp work from Duncan Millar behind the stumps giving Indrasiri his second wicket and leaving the visitors 30 for 2.

Melrose wickets began to fall at regular intervals thanks to some good bowling from Dinesh Tharanga (2 wickets), Janie Crooks (2 wickets) and Scott Paterson (1 wicket) and the visitors found themselves well below the run rate and struggling on 81 for 7 from 17 overs. Some late striking from Melrose’s Williams carried his team beyond the 100 mark and the away side ended on 110 for 7.

Another good win for Gala with plenty of positives to take moving forward. The 1^st XI travel to Kelso on Saturday while the 2^nd XI host Edinburgh South and Meigle Park.

Thanks to Melrose for the game and good luck for the rest of the season.

Gala Innings

J.Crooks b E.Compton 45

U.Indrasiri ct M.Rogerson b G.Lindsay 87

D.Millar ct C.Scott b A Davenport 3

J.Irvine ct C.Scott b D.Mason 7

S.Paterson not out 2

S.Ponneri not out 15

Extras – 20

Total: Gala 179 for 4 from 20 overs.

Melrose Bowling:

S.Hosny 4-0-31-0

O.Phillips 4-0-38-0

G.Lindsay 4-0-42-1

A.Davenport 4-0-32-1

E.Compton 2-0-10-1

D.Mason 2-0-22-1

Melrose Innings

C.Scott ct S.Paterson b U.Indrasiri 5

G.Lindsay b D.Tharanga 36

A.Davenport st D.Millar b U.Indrasiri 2

O.Phillips ct D.Millar b S.Paterson 19

M.Rogerson ct R.Irvine b D.Tharanga 0

E.Lindsay c+b J.Crooks 5

S.Hosny ct D.Millar b J.Crooks 5

R.Williams not out 24

D.Mason not out 7

Extras – 7

Total: Melrose 110 for 7 from 20 overs.

Gala Bowling:

U.Indrasiri 4-1-14-2

R.Irvine 4-0-23-0

D.Tharanga 4-0-18-2

S.Paterson 3-0-15-1

J.Crooks 3-0-20-2

S.Ponneri 2-0-18-0

A heavy rain shower and poor afternoon forecast meant that Gala Sunday XI’s friendly match away to Musselburgh was sadly brought to a halt after just 12 overs of play on Sunday.

Before the match stopped, Gala captain Finlay Rutherford elected to bat first and he and Graeme Ormiston opened the batting. The pair looked in good touch and ran well between the wickets. With both looking comfortable, Ormiston looked to rotate the strike while Rutherford began to accelerate the scoring. Their 50 partnership was brought up just before the rain came.

The Sunday XI will host Grange 4s this Sunday at Meigle Park.

Gala Innings

F.Rutherford not out 36

G.Ormiston not out 16

Extras – 2

Total: Gala 54 for 0 from 13 overs.

Gala Team – Finlay Rutherford, Graeme Ormiston, Jamie Crooks, Jack Halls, Stuart Anderson, Nick Murton, John Purves, Kieran Toor, Ruaridh Anderson, Liam Skeldon, Seb Loumeau, 12^th man – Sam McAneny

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 28^th 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 3^rd 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 10^th 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