Conor Young switched from rugby to cricket to lead Melrose to a shock win over Gala in the Border 2020 League at Huntlyburn.

Scotland club rugby internationalist prop Young claimed three wickets and scored a half century as Melrose won by six wickets.

Batting first on a very difficult wicket, Gala tried to hit their way out of trouble rather than build an innings, failing to even reach the end of the 20 overs as they were all out for 88.

Gala got off to a decent start before Duncan Millar was deceived by the low bounce of the wicket and was caught out lbw.

It led to a succession of wickets as Gala were reduced to 49 for 6.

Finlay Rutherford (28) and Kenny Paterson (8) patiently rebuild the innings, putting on 35 before Paterson made a poor decision to run himself out, which led to another collapse as Gala were all out with 10 balls left to bowl.

Australian Young and Douglas Crawford put on 31 for the first wicket, but when Crawford was out, Young continued to dominated, smashing five 6s in his innings of 53.

He was out with the score on 76, and although Melrose lost another wicket, they eventually got home with seven balls to spare to claim a fine win for the Division Four side.

Jamie Crooks claimed two wickets for Gala.

Gala

S. Siddhu ct D. Crawford b C. Young 27

D. Millar lbw R. Williams 6

J. Crooks b D. Howard 4

D. Tharanga lbw b D. Howard 0

S. Evans ct M. Rogerson b C. Young 1

F. Rutherford ct D. Howard b M. Rogerson 28

R. Irvine b O. Phillips 1

K. Paterson run out 8

M. Hastings ct D. King b C. Young 2

A. Hastings b M. Rogerson 0

L. Skeldon not out 0

Extras – 11

Total – 88 for ten wickets

D. Howard 4-0-23-2; R. Williams 3-0-16-1; C. Young 3.2-0-10-3; D. King 4-0-17-0; O. Phillips 2-0-17-1; M. Rogerson 2-0-5-2.

Melrose

C. Young ct J. Crooks b S. Evans 53

D. Crawford ct R. Irvine b D. Tharanga 10

D. King ct M. Hastings b J. Crooks 7

R. Williams not out 16

M. Rogerson ct F. Rutherford b J. Crooks 2

C. Howard not out 1

Extras – 3

Total – 92 for four wickets

D. Tharanga 4-0-15-1; S. Evans 4-1-14-1; R. Irvine 4-0-21-0; J. Crooks 4-0-25-2; F. Rutherford 2.5-0-16-0.

Gala/Hawick Development team put in a creditable against promotion chasing Drummond Trinity at Buccleuch Park.

The development team scored 134 for eight from their 40 overs, with Evan Alexander (35), James Boyle (23) and Harris Brogan (19) top scoring.

In reply, Liam Skeldon (2 for 15), Ryan Johnston (2 for 12) and Brogan (1 for 29) claimed the wickets but Drummond Trinity – who have won all but one game all season – got home with five overs and four wickets to spare.

Gala/Hawick

A. Hastings b V. Puli 8

J. Boyle ct M. Inturi b DK Siddalingaiah 23

E. Alexander b S Yavagaari 35

R. Johnston ct & b V. Puli 3

C. Ormiston b UB Narayana 7

J. Tait run out 11

R. Paterson ct G. Modi b V. Duvvuri 7

H. Brogan ct & b V. Duvvuri 19

L. Skeldon not out 1

Extras – 20

Total – 134 for eight wickets

V. Puli 8-2-13-2; U. Narayana 8-1-32-1; V. Duvvuri 7-1-23-2; N. Billipelli 8-1-34-0; S. Yavagaari 3-0-9-1; DK Siddalingaiah 6-1-18-1.

Drummond Trinity 4s

S. Yavagaari ct E. Alexander b H. Brogan 23

D. Siddalingaiah b R. Johnston 38

S. Balakrishnan ct E. Alexander b L. Skeldon 7

C. Jennings b L. Skeldon 0

G Modi ct H. Brogan b R. Johnston 26

K Balasubramanian not out 19

M. Inturi run out 1

N. Billipelli not out 2

Extras – 20

Total – 136 for six wickets

A. Hastings 4-0-18-0; H. Brogan 7-0-29-1; L. Skeldon 3-0-15-2; C. Ormiston 4-0-14-0; F. Hastings 5-0-21-0; J. Tait 3-0-11-0; R. Johnston 6-1-12-2; R. Paterson 3-0-9-0.

Gala produced one of their best displays of the season to see off Linlithgow and remain top of Division One.

And it was New Zealander Scott Evans who played a key role with bat and ball, scoring an unbeaten 25 to help Gala up to a total of 155 for seven and then taking four wickets as Linlithgow finished 38 runs short on 117 all out.

Gala got off to a good start through Sid Siddhu (21) and Finlay Rutherford (21) but both fell in quick succession, followed by Duncan Millar and Dinesh Tharanga.

At 60 for 4, Jamie Crooks (22) and Robbie Irvine (21) rebuilt the innings, before Crooks was bowled by Brookes.

Evans and Robbie Irvine added another 30 runs to take Gala up to 116, but the runs then dried up as three maidens in a row were bowled.

However the patience of Evans and Ross Patterson (18) was rewarded as the pair added a vital 34 runs in five overs.

Gala got off to a brilliant start as Brookes, who scored 74 against the hosts when they were well beaten at Linlithgow in June, edged behind a Dean Moir delivery to Duncan Millar to leave Linlithgow 0 for 1 after three balls.

Millar claimed another catch when Irvine’s brilliant lifting delivery caught the glove of Stump to depart for 12.

Tharanga then ripped apart the Linlithgow middle order, leaving the visitors 48 for 5.

But Nettleton (17) and Whitton (9) supported remaining opening batsman Strachan well, as Linlithgow fought their way back into the game to set up a tense finish.

Up stepped Evans, who claimed Whitton and then the vital wicket of Strachan, who made 50.

The Kiwi then wrapped up the innings as he finished with 4 for 23, while Tharanga claimed 4 for 27, with Moir (1 for 20) and Irvine (1 for 18) also bowling superbly.

Gala

S. Siddhu ct S. Ahammed b A. Williamson 21

F. Rutherford ct & b G. Raven 21

D. Millar ct C. Whitton b A. Williamson 2

D. Tharanga ct A. Napoli b A. Williamson 0

J. Crooks b P. Brookes 22

R. Irvine ct A. Williamson b P. Brookes 21

S. Evans not out 25

R. Patterson ct W. Nettleton b R. Thomson 18

D. Moir not out 4

Extras – 21

Total – 155 for seven wickets

R. Thomson 5-0-34-1; A. Williamson 9-3-24-3; G. Raven 9-1-18-1; J. Strachan 9-1-25-0; P. Brookes 9-1-32-2; S. Ahammed 4-2-12-0.

Linlithgow

P. Brookes ct D. Millar b D. Moir 0

J. Strachan ct R. Irvine b S. Evans 50

K. Stump ct D. Millar b R Irvine 12

R. Saunders b D. Tharanga 9

S. Ahammed lbw b D. Tharanga 0

A. Napoli b D. Tharanga 0

W. Nettleton lbw D. Tharanga 17

C. Whitton ct D. Tharanga b S. Evans 9

A. Williams ct & b S. Evans 5

R. Thomson not out 1

G. Raven lbw S. Evans 0

Extras – 14

Total – 117 for ten wickets

D. Moir 7-0-20-1; R. Irvine 8-1-18-1; S. Evans 8.4-1-23-4; D. Tharanga 9-4-27-4; J. Crooks 5-0-23-0.

Linlithgow edged out Gala in the final over of a thrilling Sunday friendly at Boghall.

After Gala 2nds home game was cancelled when Dunbar conceded, captain Finlay Rutherford quickly arranged a friendly in West Lothian.

With a host of games being cancelled due to the weather, Gala took the chance to give some of their first team some batting-time.

Graeme Ormiston made 52 not out and Sid Siddhu 48 retired as Gala reached 150 for 4 from their 30 overs.

In reply, Linlithgow saw Ahmed score 51 before retiring but the game went down to the last over, only for the home side to squeezed home with three balls to spare.

Finlay Rutherford took 2 for 17 and father Andrew Rutherford 2 for 22 for Gala 2nds.

Gala 2nds

G. Ormiston not out 52

J. Boyle b A. Graham 0

F. Rutherford ct & b S. Ahmed 12

A. Lawrie retired 18

S. Siddhu retired 48

A. Rutherford b S. Flatley 0

M. Rutherford b A. Whitmarsh 0

L. Skeldon not out 5

Extras – 15

Total – 150 for four wickets

C. Graham 6-2-11-0; A. Graham 6-1-31-1; S. Flatley 6-0-28-1; A. Warren 5-1-25-1; A. Whitmarsh 2-0-8-0; S. Ahmed 5-0-35-1.

Linlithgow 2nds

D. Whitmarsh retired 19

A. Whitmarsh ct G. Ormiston b A. Rutherford 40

S. Ahmed retired 51

M. Thompson b A. Rutherford 1

A. Warren b F. Rutherford 2

S. Flatley run out (A. Rutherford) 2

A. Graham not out 28

C. Graham not out 5

Extras – 7

Total – 155 for 4 wickets

M. Rutherford 6-0-33-0; L. Skeldon 3-0-26-0; D. Tharanga 6-1-30-1; A. Rutherford 6-2-22-2; G. Ormiston 3-0-21-0; F. Rutherford 5.3-3-17-2.

Gala Under 15s made the trip to Northumberland to play Tillside, and suffered a 50 run defeat.

The home side batted first and made 101 for three, with Liam Skeldon taking two for 25 and Mac Rutherford 1 for 17.

In reply, a very youthful Gala side struggled, with Liam Skeldon top scoring with 24 followed by Matt Lindores (7) as the visitors finished on 50 all out.

Many thanks to Tillside for their hospitality including superb teas, and to Stuart Skeldon for again taking the team and driving the minibus to the game.

Tillside Under 15s

A. Skelly b L. Skeldon 0

E. Maderry retired 25

D. Todd retired 25

B. Elsworth retired 28

K. Ross ct & b L. Skeldon 2

O. Byass  M. Rutherford 0

C. Smith not out 0

A. Newton not out 1

Extras – 20

Total – 101 for 3 wickets

L. Skeldon 4-0-25-2; M. Rutherford 3-0-17-1; M. Lindores 2-0-12-0; M. Maceira 3-0-15-0; K. Singlor 3-0-12-0; F. Skeldon 3-0-19-0l R. Singlor 2-0-10-0.

Gala Under 15s

S. Lindores b A. Skelly 0

M. Rutherford b B. Elsworth 1

M. Maceira b E. Maderry 1

M. Lindores b D. Todd 7

A. Robertson b O. Byass 0

L. Skeldon ct & b A. Newtown 24

K. Singlor b C. Smith 1

R. Singlor b R. Macgregor 3

F. Skeldon run out (O. Byass) 1

Extras – 18

Total – 50 for nine wickets

B. Elsworth 2-1-7-1; A. Skelly 2-0-2-1; E. Maderry 2-0-5-1; R. Macgregor 2-1-1-1; O. Byass 3-0-15-1; D. Todd 2-1-5-1; C. Smith 2-0-3-1; C. Mulberry 2-0-4-0; K. Ross 2-1-6-0; A. Newton 0.3-0-0-1.

Gala claimed their first win over Kelso for four years with a 45 run in the Border 2020 League at Meigle Park on Thursday night.

With both sides missing a number of first team regulars, Gala post 131 for 5 from their 20 overs, with Kelso only able to post 86 in a match which finished at 9.30pm due to a rain delay.

Gala looked to be in deep trouble when they lost Sid Siddhu, Jamie Crooks and Duncan Millar all fell to the bowling of Murray Mason to leave the home side 23 for 3.

But Dinesh Tharanga (54) and Finlay Rutherford (17) put on 81 for the fourth wicket, as Gala ended up 131 for 5.

Kelso got off to a rapid start with South African professional Joel Veeran hitting 12 off the first over.

But gradually Gala pegged back Kelso, who were 51 for 3 at the halfway stage.

Kelso always had a chance with Veeran (61) still at the crease, but when he was well judged catch by Crooks off the bowling of Simon Fairburn, it was game over.

Fairburn (2 for 16) and Tharanga (2 for 13) were the pick of the bowlers, alongside young Liam Skeldon who claimed his first wicket for Gala first XI.

Gala

S. Siddhu ct J. Veeran b M. Mason 1

D. Millar ct & b M. Mason 17

J. Crooks ct J. Veeran b M. Mason 0

D. Tharanga ct & b W. Stephens 54

F. Rutherford lbw C. Davidson 17

K. Paterson not out 11

Extras – 32

Total – 131 for five wickets

M. Mason 4-0-25-3; C. Davidson 4-0-21-1; J. Frame 4-0-29-0; J. Veeran 40-16-0; W. Stephens 4-0-35-1.

Kelso

J. Veeran ct J. Crooks b S. Fairburn 61

N. Mallen run out (S. Siddhu) 4

C. Davidson ct S. Siddhu b F. Rutherford 3

T. Chilcott lbw D. Tharanga 3

W. Stephens ct & b J Crooks 2

J. Frame lbw D. Tharanga 0

M. Mason not out 2

B. Rock ct & b S. Fairburn 0

J. Wheelans run out (F. Rutherford 0)

K. Jackson b L Skeldon 0

Extras – 11

Total – 86 for nine wickets

S. Siddhu 4-0-22-0; F. Rutherford 4-0-17-1; J. Crooks 4-0-15-1; D. Tharanga 4-1-13-2; S Fairburn 3-0-16-2; L. Skeldon 1-0-1-1.

The Over The Hill cyclists are in serious training ahead of their 100 Border Settlements fundraising challenge next month for charity the Lavender Touch.

The team – which includes cricket club members  Keith Irvine, Stevie Halls, Sinclair Paterson, Ronnie Murray and Josh Irvine – are planning to cycle 250 miles over three days, covering 100 Border settlements.

It is quite a challenge, with ages from 20s to over 70, but the team are hard in training ahead of the start of the challenge which begins on Friday 23 August until Sunday 25 August.

Please consider supporting them by donating online via the link below, or at the collection box in the Cricket Club.

They will have a specially adapted bus, which will follow as their support vehicle. It has been fitted out with bunks, a seating area and an eating/drinking area.

For further info and to donate – https://www.lavendertouch.co.uk/project/over_the_hill_elite_riders/

Tributes have been paid to two former Gala players who have passed away this month.

Graham Corcoran and Stan Millar both turned out for the Braw Lads from the 1950s onwards and were popular and well-known figures within the club.

Both featured in the same Gala 2nds team, as can be seen in our photo from 1958, with a young Graham (front row, far left) and Stan (front row, far right) featured.

Graham’s funeral takes place at the Borders Crematorium this Friday at 11am, while Stan’s funeral takes place at the Crematorium on Monday 29 July at 12noon.

Condolences to the families and friends of Graham and Stan, with the club planning to hold a minute’s silence for both men before their T20 game with Kelso this Thursday.

Scott Evans led from the front as Gala defeated Hawick by eight wickets in the Border 2020 League on Thursday night.

New Zealander Evans took 2 for 8 as Hawick made 74 for 8 before he notched an unbeaten 34 to guide Gala to their second win in the competition.

Batting first at Meigle Park, Hawick lost Ryan Johnston early as he was well caught at gully by Finlay Rutherford from Evans’ bowling.

Robbie Irvine then claimed two wickets in one over to reduce Hawick to 24 for 3 but father and son duo Gary and Ronan Alexander put on a patient partnership of 31.

However, the introduction of Jamie Crooks accounted for Ronan Alexander (11), while Evans had Gary Alexander (19) well caught by Max Hastings.

A late cameo from Craig Thomson pulled Hawick up to 74, and the Teries sensed a chance of victory when Johnston caught and bowled Crooks for a duck in Gala’s first over.

Duncan Millar (29) and Evans then put on 50 run partnership before Millar was caught behind by Evan Alexander.

But captain Dinesh Tharanga and Evans saw the Meigle Park men home.

Hawick

G. Alexander ct M. Hastings b S. Evans 19

S. Evans ct F. Rutherford b S. Evans 0

E. Alexander ct R. Hancock b R. Irvine 16

P. Mactaggart ct D. Millar b R. Irvine 0

R. Alexander ct S. Evans b J. Crooks 11

J. Tait b J. Crooks 4

B. Mactaggart b D. Tharanga 3

C. Thomson not out 8

J. Boyle run out (D. Tharanga) 0

Extras – 13

Total – 74 for eight wickets

D. Moir 4-0-20-0; S. Evans 4-0-8-2; R. Irvine 3-0-15-2; D. Tharanga 4-1-12-1; J. Crooks 3-0-7-2; R. Hancock 2-0-11-0.

Gala

D. Millar ct E. Alexander b G. Alexander 29

J. Crooks ct & b R. Johnston 0

S. Evans not out 34

D. Tharanga not out 5

Extras – 9

Total – 77 for two wickets

Duncan Millar claimed his first ever century to lead Gala to an impressive 67 run win at Edinburgh 2nds.

The talented wicketkeeper-batsman smashed 130 not out at Campbell Park, as Gala surpassed 200 for the first time this season with a total of 220 for 5 from their 45 overs.

Dinesh Tharanga then took 5 for 16 as Edinburgh finished 153 all out to ensure Gala remain in the Division One promotion hunt.

Missing a number of regulars, Gala looked in trouble when they lost openers Sid Siddhu (12) and Finlay Rutherford (0) to leave them 16 for 2.

But Millar stepped forward and alongside Jamie Crooks put on 104 in just 18 overs for the fourth wicket.

When Crooks was out, Millar was supported by Kevin Gallagher and Scott Evans to reach his maiden 100, finishing up on 130 which include eight 4s and three 6s in his total.

Millar’s ton surpasses his previous highlight knock – 99 against Eastern Knights five years ago – and is the first league 100 by a Gala 1^st XI player since Rory Hawes’ 177 against Morton in 2016.

Gala soon had Edinburgh in trouble at 23 for 2 as Dean Moir and Scott Evans claimed the openers, before Tharanga and Jamie Crooks reduced the home side to 66 for 6.

But Edinburgh battled back, with Ali (67) leading the way as they surpassed 150.

Yet Millar’s afternoon was capped by two stumpings, including that of dangerman Ali to wrap up the win.

Gala

S. Siddhu ct A. Shabbir b B. Yadav 12

F. Rutherford b Z. Mir 0

D. Millar not out 130

D. Tharanga st M. Nazish b F. Ali 7

J. Crooks ct H. Amann b F. Ali 34

K. Gallagher ct K. Hussain b V. Shrivastava 11

S. Evans not out 9

Extras – 16

Total – 220 for five wickets

B. Yadav 9-2-25-1; Z. Mir 9-0-42-1; F. Ali 9-1-38-2; V. Shrivastava 9-0-52-1; A. Shabir 9-0-57-0.

Edinburgh 2nds

S. Hassan b S. Evans 12

H. Amann ct F. Rutherford b D. Moir 7

K. Hussain b D. Tharanga 19

V. Shrivastava ct R. Patterson b J. Crooks 24

A. Jaffery st D. Millar b D. Tharanga 2

A. Sabbir lbw D. Tharanga 1

B. Yadav ct & b J. Crooks 0

F. Ali st D. Millar b D. Tharanga 67

Z. Mir b C. Ormiston 2

M. Nazish ct K. Gallagher b D. Tharanga 4

H. Khan not out 0

Extras – 15

Total 153 for ten wickets

D. Moir 6-1-29-1; S. Evans 7-3-13-1; J. Crooks 9-0-39-2; D. Tharanga 8.3-0-16-5; F. Rutherford 3-0-22-0; C. Ormiston 3-0-35-1.