Gala 1st XI hosted Hawick and Wilton 1st XI on Tuesday night in what was the home sides third fixture in the Border T20. Again, skipper Josh Irvine opted to give 2nd team players a chance including captain Craig Thomson, alongside a handful of youth players. Hawick would win the toss and batted first at Meigle Park.

2 early wickets would fall for the visitors after Indrasiri brilliantly ran out Justin Tait and then shortly after Skeldon struck as Gareth Welsh cut one aerial to Sam McAneny leaving Hawick 2 wickets down with 1 run on the board. Evan Alexander and former Gala player Robbie Pringle then came to the crease with Alexander playing himself in well nurdling the good ball about and punishing the bad ball. Pringle then looked to increase the run rate however was found to be short of his ground looking for a quick single thanks to a brilliantly executed direct hit from Finlay Rutherford. Stuart Hair then joined his captain Alexander at the crease and the pair did excellently to push Gala hard in the field. Gala’s fielding was questionable at points dropping Alexander a number of times as he pushed on and raised his bat for his half century. He and Hair would then complete the Hawick innings unbeaten as the visitors reached 122 for 3 wickets after their 20 overs. Hair finished on 18 and Alexander led the charge as he came in at the halfway stage 80 not out.

Khalia and Eyre opened the batting for Gala however, the former was dismissed early on by Johnston for 6. Shortly after Irvine was bowled from a peach of a delivery from Pringle and Crooks would join Irvine in the clubhouse shortly after when he chipped the ball to midwicket 2 balls later, both batsmen failing to trouble the scorers. Indrasiri would join Eyre and the pair did an excellent job in chasing down their target with confident shots both rotating the strike and powering the ball to the boundary. Indrasiri would bring up his half century as Gala closed on the total however a mix up with Eyre on a single shortly after meant Eyre would be run out on 38. Rutherford then came in and he and Indrasiri took Gala across the line, Rutherford finishing on 6 and Indrasiri 67 as Gala reached their total in the 16th over.

A disappointing fielding display will frustrate captain Irvine however, credit where it is due Alexander batted well and kept powering on despite finding the Gala fielders on a number of times. A small batting collapse at the beginning of the innings will also trouble Irvine however he will be relieved that the team managed to grind out a win. On Thursday, the first of a three game intra-club series begins as Crooks captaining Mossilee and Rutherford captaining Meigle look to compete for the Kinalba Cup. The 1st team then travel to Cavalry Park to take on Marchmont in the eighth round of ESCA Championship fixtures.

HAWICK SCORECARD
J Tait run out (Indrasiri) 1
G Welsh c S McAneny b L Skeldon 0
E Alexander not out 80
R Pringle run out (Rutherford) 7
S Hair not out 18

Extras 16

Hawick 122 for 3 wickets after 20 overs

GALA BOWLING
R Khalia 4-0-13-0
L Skeldon 4-1-22-1
R Paterson 3-0-18-0
C Thomson 3-0-19-0
J Crooks 3-0-21-0
S McAneny 2-0-18-0
F Rutherford 1-0-9-0

GALA SCORECARD

R Khalia c M Tait b R Johnston 6
E Eyre run out 38
J Irvine b R Pringle 0
J Crooks c S Hair b R Pringle 0
U Indrasiri not out 67
F Rutherford not out 6

Extras 6

Gala 123 for 4 wickets after 15.2 overs

HAWICK BOWLING

R Pringle 4-0-16-2
R Johnston 3-0-18-1
S Hair 2-0-19-0
M Tait 4-0-41-0
G Welsh 2.2-0-28-0

Blustery and wet conditions would be the main feature in Gala’s 1st XI game at Meigle Park as they took on Grange 2nd XI. The ground staff had done a brilliant job in ensuring the game started however, after 39 overs into the Grange innings the game was brought to a halt due to heavy showers leaving both teams to head home early as the match was abandoned.
Harris Rutherford was on top form for the home side as he had the ball on a string for his opening spell. Supported by a howling gale from behind him, he managed to find the edge of Lothian who was caught by Eyre at first slip with the score on 26. Chatt and Donaldson managed to then build a partnership of 66 before Indrasiri flighted one where Chatt picked out Finlay Rutherford on the boundary taking the catch and dismissing the Grange opener for 52. Soon after, Rhode took a wicket in his first over of an excellent spell by the leg spinner as he trapped Donaldson in front for 29. Indrasiri picked up his second wicket as Harris Rutherford took the catch this time, dismissing Davenport for 16. After Indrasiri had completed his 10 overs, Tharanga was brought back on to halt the flow of runs and was successful in doing so as he took the wicket of Swanson after excellent work from Khalia behind the stumps diving low to his right to take the catch. Rhode then took a wicket in the last over of the game as Grange reached 145 for 6 wickets with no more cricket being played.

GRANGE SCORECARD
C Lothian c E Eyre b H Rutherford 11
J Chatt c F Rutherford b U Indrasiri 52
J Donaldson lbw A Rhode 29
F Huddleston not out 27
A Davenport c H Rutherford b U Indrasiri 16
C Swanson c R Khalia b D Tharanga 4
D Sloan b A Rhode 1
A Docherty not out 0

Extras 5

Grange 2nd XI 145 for 6 wickets after 39 overs

FOW = 1-26, 2-92, 3-97, 4-134, 5-142, 6-145

GALA BOWLING

H Rutherford 6-0-19-1
D Tharanga 7-1-17-1
J Crooks 6-0-32-0
S Ponneri 2-0-13-0
U Indrasiri 10-0-38-2
A Rhode 8-1-25-2

Gala 2nd XI travelled to Arboretum in the capital to take on Holy Cross 2nd XI in a game which would be affected by the weather conditions. Before play, both captains agreed to shorten the game to 30 overs a side and with Gala Captain Seb Loumeau winning the toss, he elected to bat first.

The Gala innings did not get off to a good start with Hastings being run out for 5 and Sujan being bowled on 1 leaving Gala 6 for 2. The returning Stuart Anderson and skipper Loumeau then managed to form a partnership with the former playing an anchor role to the expansive shots that the latter showed. The pair brought up Gala’s half century only to lose Loumeau shortly after when he was caught for 30.

Youngster Sam McAneny then came to the crease to join Anderson and the pair set about increasing the run rate. Stuart Anderson was then trapped in front of his stumps after scoring 16 leaving Gala at 77-4. Despite losing partners, McAneny continued to show his class putting the ball to the boundary countless times in an aggressive fighting performance. This attacking style of batting saw the youngster raise his bat for his maiden half century for the town, a performance he can be proud of. Unfortunately, shortly after McAneny found himself short of his crease being run out for 53 and with his wicket falling, the 2nd XI lower order had a collapse. Ashley Robertson and Bailey Paterson however managed to keep their wicket intact with Gala scoring 133 from their 30 overs losing 9 wickets.

Skeldon would open the bowling however, it would be McAneny back into action in the second over taking the wicket of opener Robertson for a duck. Maceira would come on and take the wicket of other opener Worsnop however, for Holy Cross, Parker would score easily reaching 44 before he was caught behind by Max Hastings with Gala’s star man McAneny claiming his wicket. Maceira would then take another 2 wickets in her last 2 overs in a good spell. Robertson would then take 2 wickets in her 4 over spell, really making the game a tense one that would end in a nervy finish. Unfortunately for Gala, it wasn’t to be as Holy Cross reached their target on the second last ball of the game leaving Gala agonisingly short of claiming a victory.

Gala will be devastated with the result however, some great performances from McAneny with bat and ball as well as Maceira again chipping in with wickets will really boost the youngster’s performances in weeks to come as they grow in confidence. Next week the 2nd XI return home to Meigle Park to take on Morton 3rd XI.

GALA SCORECARD
M Hastings run out 5
A Sujan b P Chinnathambi 1
S Anderson lbw R Worsnop 16
S Loumeau c P Chinnathambi b A Robertson 30
S McAneny run out 53
J Boyle c+b P Chinnathambi 8
R Anderson c H Anosh b P Chinnathambi 3
A Robertson not out 1
L Skeldon b J Aide 0
M Maceira b P Chinnathambi 0
B Paterson not out 1

Extras 15

Gala 133 for 9 wickets after 30 overs

HOLY CROSS BOWLING

K Geddes 5-0-25-0
P Chinnathambi 6-0-23-4
A Robertson 4-0-25-1
R Worsnop 6-1-20-1
H Anosh 3-0-19-0
J Aide 6-1-15-1

HOLY CROSS SCORECARD

R Worsnop b M Maceira 16
A Robertson b S McAneny 0
R Parker c M Hastings b S McAneny 44
J Baits b M Maceira 17
H Anosh c R Anderson b M Maceira 10
P Chinnathambi c M Hastings b A Robertson 7
J Aide lbw A Robertson 1
K Lawrie not out 11
K Geddes not out 3

Extras 25

Holy Cross 134 for 7 wickets after 29.5 overs

GALA BOWLING

L Skeldon 6-0-19-0
S McAneny 5.5-0-28-2
S Loumeau 6-0-22-0
M Maceira 6-0-28-3
A Robertson 4-0-22-2
A Sujan 2-0-8-0

Gala hosted St Boswells in the home sides second game in the Border T20 league on Thursday night. The ground staff at the club can be proud that any cricket was played at the club as heavy rainfall overcame the town the day before. St Boswells won the toss and decided to bat first.

Khalia got the opportunity to get out from behind the stumps as he took the first ball of the match bowling a tidy 3 overs from the farm end. Youngster and debutant Sam McAneny took the ball from the Pavilion end to partner Khalia. Gala used the opportunity of T20s to use a mix of youth players and give 1st team regulars with Finlay Rutherford getting a chance with ball in hand as well as Liam Skeldon and Robbie Paterson who were also given a chance with the latter really showing the promise of the clubs young players with a quite remarkable spell. It would be Khalia who would get the opening wicket when he removed Petu for 4 and not long after Skeldon picked up the wicket of Taylor for 29 and Broom was run out with a brilliant piece of individual skill from Khalia in the outfield. Laidlaw batted the remainder of the innings scoring 42 whilst he saw partner Edmonds be run and Robbie Paterson picking up the wicket of Graham in his excellent spell. Hirtenstein would finish the innings off with Laidlaw as St Boswells posted 105 for 5 from their 20 overs.

Finlay Rutherford and Tharanga were given their chance to open the batting with the pair seeing the ball to the boundary numerous times in a solid partnership that lasted 73 runs. It would be Rutherford who would fall as he was caught by wicketkeeper Graham from the bowling of Edmonds for 37 runs. Khalia would come in just as Tharanga raised his bat for his half century and the pair would take Gala up to 96 only needing 10 runs to win however, Khalia could not see the game through as he was caught again by Graham off Edmonds bowling for 6. Crooks would join Tharanga seeing Gala through to their target with Tharanga finishing unbeaten on 55 and Crooks unbeaten on 5.

Gala now move to 2 wins from 2 in the Border T20 league with some solid performances from both youth and experience which will be pleasing to see by all from around the club as the youngsters get a chance to show their talents. Gala will host Grange 2nd XI on Saturday in the seventh round of ESCA Championship games.

ST BOSWELLS SCORECARD
F Taylor b L Skeldon 29
G Petu b R Khalia 4
J Broom run out 7
S Laidlaw not out 42
B Edmonds run out 14
R Graham b R Paterson 4
D Hirtenstein not out 0

Extras 5

St Boswells 105 for 5 after 20 overs

FOW = 1-25, 2-42, 3-45, 4-82, 5-98

GALA BOWLING

R Khalia 3-0-7-1
S McAneny 2-0-18-0
F Rutherford 3-0-24-0
L Skeldon 3-0-15-1
A Rhode 3-0-11-0
R Paterson 4-0-16-1
J Crooks 2-0-14-0

GALA SCORECARD

F Rutherford c R Graham b B Edmonds 37
D Tharanga not out 55
R Khalia c R Graham b B Edmonds 6
J Crooks not out 5

Extras 3

Gala 106 for 2 after 11.2 overs

FOW = 1-73, 2-96

ST BOSWELLS BOWLING

A Hirtenstein 3-0-17-0
J Broom 3-0-19-0
B Edmonds 3-0-31-2
I Robertson 2-0-34-0
P Valentine 0.2-0-4-0

Gala 2nd XI travelled to Polwarth Oval to take on Tranent & Preston Village in the sixth round of games in ESCA division 6. On a scorcher of a day in East Lothian Tranent would win the toss and put Gala into bat.

Welcoming back John Imray, he and Max Hastings would open the batting. The pair got off to a steady start battling hard to play themselves in until Imray was bowled for 20 and Hastings was caught on 19. Robbie Paterson managed to score 16 before he was caught with the Gala middle order struggling to score against a tricky bowling attack. Co-Captain Thomson would come to the crease and revive the Gala innings in a standout knock of 34 before he was run out. The lower order managed to piece runs together here and there and with the help of 15 extras Gala reached a total of 133 all out after Skeldon was caught by Russell off the bowling of Hussain with 3 overs left in their innings.

Bell struck twice early on with the ball getting Gala off to an excellent start as he claimed the wickets of both openers Lee and Bhadrachala. Thomson and Gilchrist also claimed one each applying plenty of pressure to the Tranent chase. With these 4 wickets having fallen, Gala turned to Maceira who showed class in a tremendous bowling display proving why she is in the national set-up. The youngster took 6 wickets in 6 overs, stunning the hosts to 102 all out.

The travelling Gala side will be immensely happy with their win in East Lothian and with performances like Maceira’s, it will only boost the confidence of the team. The 2nd XI are back on the road again next week as they travel to Arboretum to take on Holy Cross 2nd XI.

GALA SCORECARD
M Hastings c P Barker b A Anto 19
J Imray b A Anto 20
R Paterson c S Russell b A Anto 16
A Sujan lbw A Nair 4
J Bell b A Nair 0
S Loumeau lbw A Nair 9
C Thomson run out 34
J Boyle b P Barker 6
R Gilchrist lbw S Hussain 9
L Skeldon c S Russell b S Hussain 0
M Maceira not out 1

Extras 15

Gala 2nd XI 133 all out after 37 overs

TRANENT BOWLING

A Smith 6-1-16-0
G Sebastian 5-1-15-0
A Nair 6-0-21-3
A Anto 8-0-27-3
S Hussain 8-0-12-2
P Barker 4-0-31-1

TRANENT SCORECARD
S Lee b J Bell 7
R Bhadrachala c S Loumeau b J Bell 9
M Obulareddy lbw C Thomson 6
K Muhkerjee c J Bell b M Maceira 12
P Barker lbw R Gilchrist 3
S Hussain not out 30
A Anto c M Hastings b M Maceira 3
A Nair b M Maceira 3
S Russell b M Maceira 4
G Sebastian lbw M Maceira 0
A Smith b M Maceira 0

Extras 18

Tranent & Preston Village 102 all out after 31 overs

GALA BOWLING

J Bell 8-1-20-2
C Thomson 6-0-17-1
S Loumeau 6-0-23-0
R Gilchrist 2-0-15-1
M Maceira 6-0-16-6
L Skeldon 3-0-9-0

On Saturday, Gala Cricket Club hosted our ladies day event ‘Tiki in the Tent’ on what was a stunning day up at Meigle Park with the event being a huge success. On the field however, the 1st team failed to create a performance that lived up to the off-field activities as they lost out to Edinburgh Accies.

Gala would bat first after Accies won the toss and decided to take it to the home side with their bowling attack. Ponneri and Finlay Rutherford opened for Gala once again and once again the pair failed to get Gala off to a strong start. With Ponneri flashing his bat at the ball and not connecting, Rutherford looked to kick on but was found to be LBW for 3. Khalia and Ponneri joined up to take Gala to the half century marked before Ponneri was then also found to be LBW for 28. A top to middle order collapse once again will frustrate Gala as they went from 52 for 2 to 78 for 7. As Halls was welcomed back to the team, he would join Tharanga where the pair looked to salvage Gala’s innings with a partnership. Halls made 14 before he was removed and with Crooks removed swiftly after, Tharanga looked to increase the pace of the scoring with Harris Rutherford until Tharanga himself was bowled for 18 with Gala limping to 116.

Harris Rutherford had an excellent opening spell on his return to the 1st team. He and Tharanga bowled excellently finding their areas early on however, the defiance of Cosh and Dadwal would win this battle as Gala failed to make a breakthrough. Indrasiri would then come into the attack managing to dismiss 3 of the Accies top 4 in an excellent 10 over spell. Crooks would take the prized wicket of Cosh thanks to the work of skipper Irvine. However, by this time it was too late for Gala to make any kind of comeback with Edinburgh Accies chasing down their total after 30 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Another batting collapse for Gala will really frustrate the teams as they will look to work on how to counter the issue. The team are back in action as they host St Boswells in the Border T20 on Thursday night before returning back to Meigle Park again on Saturday to play Grange 2nd XI

GALA SCORECARD

S Ponneri lbw T Singh 28

F Rutherford lbw M Safi 3

R Khalia c D Ahmed b R Wahi 22

U Indrasiri lbw R Wahi 9

J Irvine b T Singh 1

E Eyre c K Muthuramalingam b R Wahi 0

A Rhode c A Cosh b R Wahi 4

D Tharanga b J Mackinnon 18

J Halls lbw T Singh 14

J Crooks c A Cosh b J Mackinnon 2

H Rutherford not out 0

Extras 15

Gala 1st 116 all out after 38.1 overs

FOW = 1-12, 2-52, 3-63, 4-72, 5-72, 6-76, 7-78, 8-104, 9-113, 10-116

EDINBURGH ACCIES BOWLING

D Ahmed 10-2-28-0

M Safi 6-1-16-1

R Wahi 10-1-41-4

T Singh 10-1-24-3

J Mackinnon 2.1-1-2-2

EDINBURGH ACCIES SCORECARD

A Cosh c J Irvine b J Crooks 36

V Dadwal lbw U Indrasiri 9

J Lee lbw U Indrasiri 10

G Singh lbw U Indrasiri 6

K Muthuramalingam not out 28

R Wahi not out 20

Extras 8

Edinburgh Accies 1st 120 for 4 after 30.2 overs

FOW = 1-17, 2-36, 3-45, 4-82

GALA BOWLING

H Rutherford 5-1-26-0

D Tharanga 9-3-34-0

U Indrasiri 10-4-22-3

J Crooks 6-0-28-1

A Rhode 0.2-0-4-0

Gala welcomed Selkirk to Meigle Park on a sunny Thursday night, with the teams competing in a double header in the Border T20 league and Scottish T20 qualifier. Selkirk captain Greg Fenton would win the toss and selected to bat, looking to put a big total on the board.

It would be Greg Fenton and Murphy to open for the Souters with Bell bowling for the home side. Murphy failed to add to the score with Skeldon taking a catch from the bowling of Bell however, the two Fenton brothers joined at the crease looking to form a partnership. With the brothers managing to find easy runs Gala skipper Irvine went with spin from both ends, pairing Indrasiri and Crooks up. The pair managed both to bowl their overs for the cost of few runs, with Crooks managing to slide one past Michael Fenton who charged down the wicket being stumped on 46. Selkirk would then limp to a very defendable total of 122 with Greg Fenton managing to reach his half century just before the innings close finishing not out on 56 with Kieran Toor 4 not out after the loss of 4 wickets.

Gala’s run chase would start steadily as Khalia and Crooks opening for the home side with the latter really struggling to put the ball away to the fence and struggling to score. Khalia would continue to score until he reached 21 before being trapped in front by Heard. Ponneri would join Crooks and score 18 before another LBW would strike as Greg Fenton managed to trap the former. With 58 on the board after 9 overs pro Indrasiri would join Crooks as the pair looked to chase down the total. With the score on 71 Crooks was then out charging down the wicket and missing a straight one making 11 runs in the 25 balls he faced. Irvine would make a quick 15 before being out LBW with the score on 90. Eyre then came in and managed to reach 10 with Indrasiri not out on 33 as Gala chased down their total with 10 balls to spare and 4 wickets down.

With the win, Gala now moves to the next qualifier of the Scottish T20 cup and go one from one in the Border T20 league. The win wasn’t pretty but it’s knockout cricket and Gala managed to do enough to overcome their division 3 opponents. The 1st XI are back in action at Meigle Park on Saturday as they host Accies in the championship.

SELKIRK SCORECARD
G Fenton not out 56
H Murphy c L Skeldon b J Bell 0
M Fenton st R Khalia b J Crooks 46
I Gardiner lbw D Tharanga 1
B Gillie run out 2
K Toor not out 6

Extras 13

Selkirk 122 for 4 wickets off 20 overs

FOW = 1-11, 2-89, 3-92, 4-98

GALA BOWLING

J Bell 3-0-15-1
D Tharanga 4-1-22-1
U Indrasiri 4-0-19-0
A Rhode 2-0-26-0
J Crooks 4-0-13-1
S Ponneri 2-0-13-0
L Skeldon 1-0-11-0

GALA SCORECARD

R Khalia lbw D Heard 21
J Crooks b B Gillie 11
S Ponneri lbw G Fenton 18
U Indrasiri not out 33
J Irvine lbw B Gillie 15
E Eyre not out 10

Extras 15

Gala 124 for 4 wickets off 18.2 overs

SELKIRK BOWLING

M Fenton 2-0-16-0
D Heard 4-0-27-1
G Fenton 4-0-18-1
B Gillie 4-1-18-2
K Toor 3.2-0-33-0
J Hughes 1-0-9-0

On Saturday, Gala 1st XI were on the road as they travelled to Campbell Park on what was a hot day filled with plenty of sunshine as they took on Edinburgh 1st XI.

Edinburgh won the toss and decided to bat first with Gala beginning the game with a partnership of Indrasiri and Tharanga at either end bowling.

Off the back of last weeks performance in the field it was important for Gala that they saw an improvement and improve they did. An excellent fielding display with players putting bodies on the line helped Gala limit Edinburgh in their run scoring. Tharanga grabbed the first wicket with the score on 6 after he dismissed Hassan with the help Khalia behind the stumps taking the catch. The next wicket fell with the score on 16, some brilliant work from Eddie Eyre in the field and some very poor running from Edinburgh’s batters meant Butt ended his innings being run out. Scott Paterson was then brought into the attack and claimed his first wicket early with Indrasiri involved, taking a catch a mid-off. Edinburgh managed to steady the ship with Ashraf and Farooq taking the capital side to 48-3 before Farooq (16) was bowled by Indrasiri. This was the first of four wickets that fell with the score on 48. Paterson claimed the second wicket of this period after Crooks took the catch of Ashraf. Indrasiri continued to hassle the Edinburgh batters with the last two wickets in an excellent few overs for Gala in the field. Majeed provided resistance against the Gala bowlers however, Indrasiri proved too much for the lower order taking a further 3 wickets in a quite remarkable bowling spell by himself being the main man in Gala’s performance in bowling Edinburgh out for 86. Indrasiri managed to take 6 wickets from 7.5 overs in a simply brilliant display of spin bowling whilst only conceding 8 runs.

Gala would be confident as they welcomed back Ponneri to the team, fresh off his ton the week before for the 2nd XI. However, the two Gala openers started poorly with Rutherford (1) and Ponneri (6) losing their wicket. Thankfully for Gala Khalia and Indrasiri managed to steady the innings with a 40-run partnership where they punished the bad ball, turning the game right back in favour of the travelling Gala side. Indrasiri was bowled by Haider with a brilliant cutter ball putting the nerves back into Gala. Irvine came in however and bossed the game along with Khalia with both batters managing to dig in on a tricky wicket. Just before Gala reached their target Khalia was removed as he nicked the ball to Ashraf for 30 in what will disappoint the South African after he battled hard. Eyre scored a single getting Irvine back on strike and with 1 run to win Gala managed to wrap the game up reaching 87 with Irvine (14) and Eyre (1) finishing unbeaten.

Gala will be really happy with their fielding performance after a good start, they managed to set a tone for the game. Momentum is now with the team after two wins on the bounce. The next game will be on Monday night as Gala host Selkirk in both the Border T20 and Scottish T20 Cup.

EDINBURGH SCORECARD
M Butt run out (E Eyre) 7
S Hassan c R Khalia b D Tharanga 3
Q Ashraf c J Crooks b S Paterson 16
M Munir c U Indrasiri b S Paterson 1
U Farooq b U Indrasiri 16
Z Ul-Haq lbw U Indrasiri 0
A Majeed not out 12
A Khan b U Indrasiri 0
U Haider lbw U Indrasiri 17
A Shabir c E Eyre b U Indrasiri 2
A Wadood lbw U Indrasiri 1

Extras 11

Edinburgh 86-10 off 28.5 overs

FOW = 1-6, 2-16, 3-19, 4-48, 5-48, 6-48, 7-48, 8-74, 9-85, 10-86

GALA BOWLING

U Indrasiri 7.5-4-8-6
D Tharanga 8-3-9-1
S Paterson 10-2-42-2
J Bell 3-0-23-0

GALA SCORECARD

S Ponneri c A Majeed b A Shabir 6
F Rutherford b Z Ul-Haq 1
R Khalia c Q Ashraf b A Wadood 30
U Indrasiri b U Haider 15
J Irvine not out 14
E Eyre not out 1

Extras 20

Gala 87-4 off 19.2 overs

FOW = 1-6, 2-9, 3-49, 4-73

EDINBURGH BOWLING

Z Ul-Haq 7-0-26-1
A Shabir 3-0-11-1
U Farooq 2-0-12-0
U Haider 4-0-11-1
A Majeed 1-0-11-0
A Wadood 1.2-0-4-1
A Khan 1-0-10-0

Meigle Park played host to the ESCA Division 6 match between Gala 2nd XI and Boroughmuir 2nd XI. On what was a brilliant day for cricket, both competing teams provided good performances in an excellent game. Boroughmuir won the toss and elected to bowl first, Gala would open with Ajith Sujan and Max Hastings.

The pair of Gala openers were simply brilliant at digging in and playing an array of shots. The pair managed to rotate the strike and punish the bad ball as they brought the home side to the half century mark. With the score on 62, Sujan was caught on 32 ending the opening partnership. Max Hastings continued to take the game to Boroughmuir despite the loss of his opening partner. Robbie Paterson joined him, and the youngster provided a brilliant performance with bat in hand. Hastings managed to bring up his half century whereas Paterson fell agonisingly short on 45. McAneny did not trouble the scorers as he was dismissed for a golden duck and Ross Patterson only managed to add 2 to the total. Hastings was eventually removed for a solid knock of 61, bringing in Loumeau (38) and Thomson (19). The experienced pair showed some brilliant power hitting in the closing stages taking Gala to 215.

With a total that Gala would be confident to defend the first wicket fell after 25 runs, Gilchrist taking the catch of Gazzala off the bowling of Skeldon. Skeldon then collected a further 2 wickets leaving Boroughmuir 51 for 3 after 13 overs. Wickets fell at regular intervals however J Good provided resistance to the Gala bowling and with the Boroughmuir batter still at the crease the game was still in the balance. Thankfully for Gala, following up from his positive batting display, Paterson popped up to take the prized wicket of Good, pulling the game back into Gala’s favour. After Paterson took his second wicket and the trio of Sujan, Thomson and Loumeau all taking one each, Boroughmuir ran out of time ending their 40 overs 8 down with the score on 170 runs meaning Gala would be victorious by 45 runs.

A tremendous display with both bat and ball by both youth and experience will please the home side. Next week the 2nd XI travel to play Tranent and Preston Village 2nd XI.

GALA SCORECARD
M Hastings c J Good b G McLean 61
A Sujan c A Rajan b D Venkataraman 30
R Paterson c+b K Gazzala 45
S Mcaneny b G McLean 0
R Patterson c G Dickson b J Good 2
S Loumeau not out 38
C Thomson not out 19

Extras 20

Gala 215-5 off 40 overs

FOW = 1-62, 2-143, 3-143, 4-154, 5-166

BOROUGHMUIR BOWLING

G McLean 8-1-27-2
J Good 8-1-22-1
D Venkataraman 8-0-55-1
G Dickson 5-0-23-0
K Gazzala 7-1-40-1
S Chaudry 2-0-26-0
A Shazad 2-0-14-0

BOROUGHMUIR SCORECARD

G Dickson c R Patterson b L Skeldon 23
K Gazzala c R Gilchrist b L Skeldon 18
A Cornick c R Gilchrist b L Skeldon 0
T Reed c R Patterson b A Sujan 11
J Good c A Sujan b R Paterson 45
A Rajan c+b C Thomson 10
D Venkataraman st M Hastings b R Paterson 26
P Hutton b S Loumeau 12
A Shazad not out 2
S Choudry not out 1

Extras 22

Boroughmuir 170-8 off 40 overs

FOW = 1-25, 2-31, 3-51, 4-72, 5-94, 6-135, 7-162, 8-168

GALA BOWLING

L Skeldon 8-0-26-3
R Gilchrist 5-0-23-0
C Thomson 7-0-27-1
A Sujan 6-1-33-1
S Loumeau 7-0-19-1
R Paterson 6-0-28-2
M Purves 1-0-2-0

The past weekend saw the Sunday XI or 3rd XI travel to the capital to take on Edinburgh Accies at Newfield in what was their first game of the ESCA Development League. Unfortunately for the travelling Gala men the result favoured the Edinburgh side.

Winning the toss Accies batted first with Gala youngsters Skeldon and Bell opening the bowling, looking to take early wickets. Gulati and Poojari set the innings off well for the hosts before the latter was bowled by Bell for 14. Wickets fell for Gala at regular intervals however runs came quickly for Accies. Singhtoor claimed the prized wicket of Sukhadiya as he made 68 and was the standout performer in the Accies scorecard. Bell and Sujan both bowled well and managed to claim 3 wickets each as well as the rest of the bowling attack managing to contribute a wicket each. 24 extras from the Gala bowling and fielding left them needing to chase down 174 in their 30 overs.

Bell was in the thick of the action again with fellow youngster Robbie Paterson as they opened the batting. Unfortunately, the pair failed to build a partnership with both openers being bowled early by Pasila. Bishnoi batted well to make 43 runs until he was run out, with captain Finlay Rutherford and James Boyle both making contributions coming into bat at five and seven, they gave Gala a glimmer of hope however wickets were limiting Gala’s chances. With both players losing their wicket, Toor managed to make 15 before being caught leaving Skeldon and Bailey Paterson too much to do as they both finished not out with Gala 128 for 8 wickets from their 30 overs.

The result did not go Gala’s way however, the club and team can be proud that so many youngsters are getting a chance to perform at senior cricket which will only build the club for the future.

EDINBURGH ACCIES SCORECARD
G Gulati c F Rutherford b J Bell 21
A Poojari b J Bell 14
A Sehgal c K Toor b L Skeldon 15
H Sukhadiya c J Bell b K Singhtoor 68
S Mogre c A Sujan b J Bell 2
M Clayton c J Bell b A Sujan 0
T Rajyaguru c&b A Bishnoi 4
P Golakiya b A Sujan 7
V Ramesh lbw A Sujan 0
P Pasila not out 8
K Jethwa c A Sujan b R Paterson 11

Extras 24

Edinburgh Accies 174-10 off 25.1 overs

FOW = 1-21, 2-44, 3-57, 4-87, 5-97, 6-105, 7-145, 8-152, 9-156, 10-174

GALA BOWLING

L Skeldon 4-0-40-1
J Bell 6-1-24-3
A Bishnoi 5-0-41-1
A Sujan 6-0-34-3
K Toor 3-0-25-1
R Paterson 1.1-0-7-1

GALA SCORECARD

J Bell b P Pasila 2
R Paterson b P Pasila 4
S McAneny b P Pasila 0
A Bishnoi run out 43
F Rutherford c T Rajyaguru b G Gulati 18
A Sujan c T Rajyaguru b G Gulati 0
J Boyle c&b A Sehgal 23
K Toor c V Ramesh b P Golakiya 15
L Skeldon not out 3
B Paterson not out 7

Extras 13

Gala 128-8 off 30 overs

FOW = 1-4, 2-4, 3-12, 4-59, 5-69, 6-84, 7-116, 8-128

EDINBURGH ACCIES BOWLING

P Pasila 4-0-14-3
V Ramesh 4-2-9-0
A Poojari 3-0-20-0
G Gulati 3-0-16-2
H Sukhadiya 3-0-12-0
M Clayton 3-0-16-0
S Mogre 3-0-10-0
A Sehgal 3-0-8-1
P Golakiya 3-0-15-1
T Rajyaguru 1-0-7-0