Saturday the 2nd Of May
Vs Nairn County
On Saturday Buckie Cricket Club hosted Nairn Cricket Club in the Macallan NOSCA league, in a match sponsored by Buckie Inshore Fish Sellers. On a pleasant day, Nairn won the toss and elected to make Buckie bat first on what looked like a dry fairly flat wicket. Creamer and D Walls opened the batting for buckie and settled in against the medium pace of Ownes and Crowsen. In the first 10 overs they added 34 runs to the board without losing a wicket. There was the odd chance but nothing stuck and Creamer and Walls looked well set, however when the faster bowling of McGlew was brought into the attack some of the potential difficulties in the wicket were exposed. There was variable bounce at one end and this bounce accounted for D Walls, caught behind of a rising delivery for a solid 34 and Buckie had their first 50 run opening partnership.
When McGlew accounted for Creamer 6 runs later it was up to Wilson and Corsie to settle any potential first game nerves. This they did pushing the score to 112 before Wilson was caught and bowled by Bowie for 20. Newlands pushed the score on and scored a quick 18 before being dismissed by Bowie but Corsie was settling in for a good score and he scored a useful half century before being dismissed by McGlew for 54. In the end Buckie were dismissed for 184, with Corsie top scoring and McGlew being the pick of the Nairn bowlers taking figures of 4 for 29 in 10.3 overs.
When Buckie took to the field to bowl, one significant difference was seen between the teams, and that being Buckie had a few quick bowlers, which enabled them to exploit the variable bounce to its maximum. Wilson bowled from that end, with McDonald bowling from the other with his usual accurate swinging deliveries. Wilson accounted for both openers before McDonald got into the act dismissing Matheson, this was a indication of what was to come, with the Buckie opening pair accounted for the first 7 wickets for just 24 runs.
The only batsman who was to show the necessary grit to come to terms with the difficult batting conditions for Nairn was McGlew who ground out a plucky 12 before being Wilsons 5th wicket, giving Wilson an excellent five wicket haul in the first game of the season. Hart and Creamer finished the Nairn innings with some accurate bowling leaving Nairn dismissed for 46, meaning Buckie won by 138 runs.
It was a good game all round for Buckie, exorcising the demons of a difficult start to the season last year, and giving Corsie his first half century and Wilson his first five wicket haul of the season. Hopefully a firm foundation on which to build as Buckie prepare to play Northern Counties in Inverness next Saturday in a match sponsored by Louis Fish and Chips.
April 18th 20/20
On Saturday the cricket season started for Buckie Cricket Club, with the fast and furious twenty20 competition, sponsored by Macallan. Buckie were drawn in a regional group with Huntly and Keith cricket clubs with Huntly CC hosting the day. The glorious sun of the previous week or two seemed to be in absence and the chilly start to the day saw Huntly defeated by Keith. The first game for Buckie CC, with the ball sponsored by Black Dog financial advisors, saw Buckie taking on Keith CC.
Keith were off to a slow start, seeing McDonald taking an early wicket and bowling once more in tandem with Wilson they pinned the score rate down. Newlands replaced Wilson and he got an early break through clean bowling McKay for 19. Hart came on to bowl and he also acquired his first wicket of the season with a simple caught and bowled. Hart showed the aggression he is capable of as a quick bowler, and he claimed two more wickets, both clean bowled, with Stables getting the highest score of the Keith innings before being bowled by Hart for 22.
Creamer came on and finished off the rest of the Keith innings taking impressive bowling figures of three wickets for no runs in eight balls! This saw the Keith innings to a close on 66 runs which it was felt would not be a good enough score. D Walls and Newlands opened the batting for Buckie and both were back in the pavilion with the score on 25, however the reliable Buckie captain and vice captain team of Corsie and Wilson brought the score home with Wilson scoring 21 not out and Corsie 20 not out with Buckie beating Keith by 8 wickets.
The second game of the day for Buckie saw them take on a stronger Huntly side with some reinforcements arriving from the early morning game. Huntly chose to bat first and Mearns and Alexander put a good start together, batting with aggressive intent. Good balls were being hit hard and far and neither McDonald or Newlands were immune from that aggression, with Newlands being hit for 28 in one over! Hart got the break through dismissing Mearns for 25 and once Baker got through a torrid first over the partnership of Hart and Baker slowed the run rate down a little, especially when Hart also accounted for Alexander, well caught by Tait for a excellent 55. Corsie brought himself on and accounted for Mitchell and Morrison and when Creamer dismissed Angus and Forsyth the Huntly innings were brought to a close at a very credible 154 for 6 with Rough 24 not out.
The Buckie innings was started by Newlands and D Walls, and runs started to flow freely however when Newlands feel to a freak dismissal for 5 this brought Corsie to the crease. Walls and Corsie batted well together as they have done for the last year or two with them both taking advantage of the bowling whenever they could! Corsie fell with the score well progressed with over a hundred on the board for 39 runs including four fours and a six. Creamer came and batted with Walls and seemed happy together before Walls fell trying to push the score on for a magnificent 54 runs, with the score on 125, however the quick loss of E Walls, Tait and Hart meant that Buckie were falling behind on the run rate, and when the 20 overs were ended Buckie had fallen just short on 142 for 6 with Creamer 13 not out. Meaning that Huntly won that match by 14 runs.
20/20 Semi-Final
Finals day of the twenty20 cricket tournament saw Buckie CC travel to Forres to take on Highland of Inverness in the semi finals, in a match sponsored by Black Dog Independent Financial Advisors. The 11am start saw the sun shining and both teams ready to play, to contest for a place in the final, to be played later that day.
Highland started the innings and led by their skipper Crabtree they set apart attacking every ball they could, which saw them off to a flier of a start with boundaries flowing with regularity. Once again though it was the Buckie catching which would let them down with some regulation catches going down. However Hart and Creamer were to drag the rampant Highland down to earth, and they were instrumental in dismissing Highland for 118, which seemed to be under par for the Forres ground.
Corsie and Newlands started making quick inroads into this score during the Buckie reply, and when Corsie was adjudged caught behind the total of 118 seemed well within the grasps of Buckie. However Newlands and Walls soon followed putting a bit of pressure on the fragile batting line up that was to follow. With Buckie only needing 18 runs, the word collapse could rightly be used, although fair comment to the Highland bowling which was straight and accurate, something which could not have been said about Buckie earlier in the day! Buckie were dismissed 14 shy of the Highland total, meaning that Highland would progress to the final to take on RAF Lossiemouth.
Buckie have a rest weekend next weekend, before their first proper league match against Nairn County the following weekend.
30th May Vs Ross county
6th June Vs Fort William
On Saturday Buckie Cricket Club made the long trip to Fort William to play them in the Macallan North Of Scotland cricket League in a match sponsored by P Munch, Post Office. It was a damp and cold day, and the game was to start in drizzling rain, however the ground did dry up and a good game of cricket was had.
Fort William won the toss and elected to bat, and with both Wilson and McDonald unable to play a new opening bowling attack of Newlands and Hart took the new ball. Newlands struck in his first over, clean bowling Spencer. Newlands and Hart bowled economically and kept the run rate to a crawl and this pressure may have contributed to a good run out, with team work between Duthie and Baker, with Baker hitting the stumps to run out C. Farrell for 4.
Hughes was batting well at the other end, and seemed determined to be there at the end, but wickets kept falling around him with Newlands bowling O’Meara for 7 and Tait having P Farrell caught behind by Walls without scoring. Creamer had Coen caught by Hall for 6 and the Fort William team had been reduced to 42 for 5. Duncan did manage to stay with Hughes for a while before Hall took another catch, this time of the bowling of Corsie, dismissing Duncan for 10. In the next over Baker clean bowled Hughes for a creditable 27 and then Corsie bowled Treegaskis for 1 and it seemed as if the Fort would struggle to reach 100.
However Macphee, the Fort William skipper had different ideas and he batted through to the end of the innings finishing on 36 not out, ensuring that Fort William scored 117 for 9 in their 45 overs. Excellent figures for Corsie who took 3 wickets for 20 runs and Newlands who took 2 wickets for 32 runs, however the question asked was if the 117 scored by Fort William would be enough?
Walls and Creamer started he reply and good aggressive batting by Walls and supportive batting by Creamer saw them put on a excellent 50 partnershp. In the end Creamer was bowled by O’Meara aand the pair had put on a opening partnership of 68 and Buckie were well on the way to chasing down the target. When Walls fell shortly after, caught of the bowling of Koen for an excellent 65 the question being asked was if Fort William could force a massive collapse of Buckie.
It was not to be, and Corsie and Newlands brought Buckie home to record a good win for Buckie by 8 wickets. A good result over all, and puts Buckie back on the winning track in the league after the defeat to Fochabers. Next week Buckie have a league double header, entertaining both Elgin and Huntly at home in a match sponsored by Alister and Marjory Ingram.
7th June Vs Bon Accord
On Sunday Buckie Cricket Club played host to Bon Accord cricket club, the grade one club from Aberdeen and last years winners of the small clubs cup. The match, sponsored by Tosh and Carole was for a place in the 3rd Round of the Small Clubs Cup and was played in glorious sun shine.
Buckie batted first and Walls and Creamer again batted well together putting on 43 for the first wicket, before Creamer was adjudged leg before wicket for 10 of the bowling of Luqman, What was to follow was a series of small stands which was to progress the score, with Wilson making 8 and then Walls
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However Shakeel and Corsie were batting well together, but when Corsie was run out for 23 there was a natural fear that the Buckie innings would quickly draw to an end. However Baker was to keep Shakeel company company and run the score up to 136 before Baker went for one shot to many and was clean bowled by Awan for 12. With just three overs remaining Shakeel took the innings to its last over before being run out for 23 and Buckie were all out for 144.
The reply by Bon Accord was swift at first with Awan showing how much can be done with good timing and high quality, and he set of scoring at a swift rate. When the score was on 56 Awan was finally tempted into one shot to many and he was caught by Walls of the bowling of McDonald for 45 runs.
When Win quickly followed, caught in the gulley of the bowling of Shakeel Buckie felt they were in with a shout of winning. However Dhiman and Induchudan put on a strong partnership taking the score to 125 before another wicket was to fall, with both batsmen scoring at a sensible rate. However When Induchudan played a rash slog at the ball he skied the ball of the bowling of Baker for the bowler to take the catch, scoring a steady 33. Creamer had Dhiman stumped by Walls for 29 but the as the score was then 131 Bon Accord were already on their way to a good victory.
This victory was achieved with Mirza on 19 not out. Bon Accord demonstrated why they are unbeaten so far this season and were good small clubs cup champions and we wish them well in the next round. In the final analysis Bon Accord were 145 for 4, winning by 6 wickets.
20th June Vs Highland
This was a good win for Buckie with all the bowlers taking wickets and the batting bring the game home in a secure and non hassled way. If Buckie beat Fortwillian in the next game in the Macallan League cup then we progress to the semi finals, and I will let you know how that game goes in August. Next week Buckie make the trip to Keith, back in the slightly longer 45 over league format, in a match sponsored by E. O. Corsie M.B.E.
4th July Vs Forres
On Saturday Buckie Cricket played host to Forres Cricket club at the Linzee Gordon Park in a match sponsored by Buckie United F.C. It was a hot day that only got hotter as the game progressed, and for Buckie to avail themselves of a good opportunity to bounce back from last week’s defeat a good performance would be necessary. It was good to welcome some of those who had to miss last week’s game back into the team, but it was also good to note that Tait and Wood retained their place after good performances last week.
Buckie lost the flick of the coin and were invited to bat first and Walls and Creamer enjoyed the firm wicket and decent bounce. The first 10 overs passed for just 28 runs, ho wever no wickets fell which meant the opening partnership were establishing a good foundation to build a good score. In fact it wasn’t until the 16th over that a wicket would fall, with Walls missing a full toss to see his leg stump rocked back, bowled by Merricks for 25 with exactly 50 on the board. Wilson joined Creamer at the crease however 12 runs later with Wilson on 8 he hit another full toss straight to the fielder at square leg of the bowling of T Farr. This brought the Buckie captain, Corsie, to the crease and he and Creamer brought up the 25th over with 78 on the board.
Corsie then mistimed a stroke and caught a leading edge to be out caught by Ross of the bowling of Merricks for 9. Newlands and Creamer would have to do the job of rebuilding the score from this point, for Buckie’s lower order batting has been known to be tempermental, so when Creamer was dismissed 9 runs later for a excellent 29, again of the bowling of Merricks questions could be asked about what sort of score Buckie could amass.
However Newlands and Wood batted well together and put on 39 runs before Newlands copied his vice captain by hitting the ball straight to square leg to be caught by Benn of the bowling of T Farr for 29. Duncan joined Wood and the two continued the steady gain of runs, keeping the score board ticking over until on 148 Duncan tried one shot to many to be stumped of the bowling of McGrath for 9. Wood followed shortly after but his work had been done, when McGrath bowled him for 25 the score had progressed to 151. Baker and Hart finished the innings of both being not out at the end with Buckie finishing on 159 for 7.
Over the tea interval whatever cloud there was cleared and a the hot weather continued.
Forres took the aggressive approach from the beginning with A Farr looking to hit the ball clean out of the park, his first ball he hit for two, missed the second and was bowled by the third by Wilson. He is a vital man to get out early though, for he is very capable to score a lot of runs in a short time and when Benn followed in the next over caught by Curran of the bowling of Newlands Forres had been reduced to 3 for 2.
A Farr and McGrath began the rebuild though, and with forceful shots when able they moved the score along, however it was to be a mistimed drive that was to be A Farr’s undoing, clipping the ball to the safe hands of Wilson, off the bowling of Newlands to see him dismissed for 17, with the score on 24. In the 15th over McGrath and Merricks had steered their team to 50 and were in a almost identical postion as Buckie, except at a similar stage Buckie had lost no wickets.
McGrath was the next man to depart, with Merricks performing the holding role at the other end the need to push runs was growing, he took one to many however when the ball was pushed to Corsie, and McGrath was run out=2 021. Ross came to the crease and along with Merricks proved a difficult pair to get out, however Tait produced a good delivery to remove Merricks caught by Newlands for 4 of 32 balls, a true holding role performed.
After Tait had bowled his allocated overs, Hart was introduced to the attack. After a over which he claimed was a warm up, although the weather was so warm who would need a warm up, he produced a excellent display of hostile quick bowling. His second over removing 4 Forres wickets whilst conceding just 1 run, this effectively brought the game to a end, with Forres having just one wicket remaining, the only question being, if Hart would get his 5 wicket haul. However after a 3rd wicketless over, Creamer did the necessary and bowled Merricks to close the Forres innings on 85, giving Buckie a win by 74 runs.
It was fortunate the game came to an end there, for the weather quickly changed and showers, followed by rain were the order for the next hour or so, and this would have dragged the game on to the danger of being a draw. However it was a good win for Buckie, with some steady batting throughout the order with four batsmen getting 25 or more, with McGrath being the pick of the bowlers for Forres taking 2 – 10. In the bowling, it was good to see hostile aggressive bowling from the Buckie bowling unit, with Hart being the pick with 4 – 10, and McGrath and Ross the pick of the batsmen both scoring 20 or more. Next week Buckie have the long trip to Strathpefer to take on Ross County, a team who is there or there abouts when it comes to challenging for honours and the match ball will be sponsored by A M McLeod, Portknockie
8th of August Vs Northern Countys
On Saturday Buckie played host to Northern Counties cricket club in a match sponsored by Wilson Leisure. It was the first game after the split of the NOSCA Macallan league, with the top six teams playing off against each other. Buckie won the toss and elected to make first use of a firm wicket, which was to offer good bounce, especially from the town end.
