Buckie CC v Forres CC |
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Macallan League |
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Swing Wizard McDonald Inspired
On Saturday in a match sponsored by Buckie United F.C. Buckie cricket played host to Forres St Lawrence, the team which beat us just two weeks ago. Buckie once again lost the toss of the coin and were asked by Forres to bat on what looked like a excellently prepared pitch. In fact it was to be a pitch which was to have a very true bounce and rewarded patient batting, but allowed enough seam movement for the pace bowlers to account for any batsmen who were to try to take liberties with the bowling.
Buckie set about the batting with patience, scoring just 33 in the first 10 overs but crucially without losing a wicket. In fact it was the 12 th over before a wicket fell, that of Creamer caught Gerrard bowled C Farr for a patient 17. By this time Walls was looking well set and Corsie joined him at the crease, the solid build up continued with 72 being added by the 20 th over. It was in the 23 rd over that Forres had a significant break through, with Corsie bizarrely run out, backing up of a straight drive by Walls, Corsie run out for 24, and when Duthie was out without troubling the scorers there was a potential problem for Buckie.
However Hall and Walls kept the runs coming in a steady progression and the score ticked over to 121 before Walls was finally out, stumped by Gerrard of the bowling of Benn for 67. This brought Wilson to the crease, Hall and Wilson continued the steady accumulation of runs before Wilson was out also of the bowling of Benn. This brought Baker to the crease to keep Hall company however he quickly fell as well for a very good 23, boweld by D Ross. Clarence batted along with Baker, and when Clarence comes to bat you can expect some very firm hitting of the cricket ball. This was to prove no exception, except the firmly hit ball fell into the hands of McGrath for an excellently taken catch.
However McDonald and Baker kept the runs coming with a couple of boundaries the score was pushed on, until Baker to was dismissed by D Ross for 22, with a little support from the tail McDonald saw Buckie to the close of innings, finishing on 8 not out, and Buckie scoring 175 all out. Good bowling by D Ross saw him have excellent bowling figures of 4 – 34 and J Benn finished on 3 – 56. However this steady batting saw Buckie achieve a good total, which should be defendable.
However McDonald was to have a very different idea, he simply had an inspired day with the ball. The idea of defendable quickly disappeared as McDonald ran right through the Forres batting attack. After just 10 overs Forres were 5 wickets down, with McDonald using swing and in cutting of the seam to cause havoc in the Forres batting.
Wilson did account for the dangerous A Farr, and Creamer snaffled Hogley but the rest were wickets waiting for McDonald. All bar one of those wickets (a excellently taken catch by Baker in the Gully) where clean bowled, as McDonald ended the day with his best bowling figures so far, taking 8 wickets for just 31 runs. If the batting was to be described as steady, McDonalds bowling should simply be described as inspired.
A special mention here as well for Curran, the Buckie wicket keeper. He made a point to tell me that this match was the 5 th match in a row that no byes had been conceded by him. This milestone should be marked especially considering the sometimes aggressive nature of the Buckie bowling.
A good win all round for Buckie, ensuring that the cricket club will finish the season in the top half when the league splits, and excellent performance considering there are three games yet to be played in the first half of the season. Next week see’s Buckie take on Northern Counties away in Inverness in a match sponsored by James and Rose Miller, here is hoping Buckie continue their run of good form.
Buckie 175 all out
Forres 50 all out
