Ferguslie Cricket Club make strong start to title defence with West of Scotland win

dailyrecord.co.uk:

By Bill Elliot Ferguslie Cricket Club enjoyed a successful opening defence of their championship title by edging hosts West of Scotland by three wickets in a close opening day contest.The hosts batted first on Saturday and were soon under pressure from new recruit Mohammed Mayet and Adil Ghaffar, the latter in particular regularly beating the outside edge of the bat.The variable bounce of the ball throughout both innings also ensured batters were never totally comfortable in the difficult conditions.By the sixth over, West of Scotland were already 16 for three, with Ghaffar (one) and Mayet (two) making the early breakthroughs.Despite a brief recovery which saw the hosts reach 62 without further loss, Ferguslie took two quick wickets for one run and set the hosts reeling at 63 for five.

Mayet had now claimed three victims, with young Qasim Khan excelling with two towering catches in the deep.The home side were in trouble and skipper Haroon Tahir continued to turn the screw as both he and his fellow bowlers kept up the pressure on the hosts, with a lethal combination of tight bowling and wicket taking.In one spell of miserly bowling, Ferguslie conceded a mere 12 runs in 10 overs, while claiming three in the process, to ensure the home side’s final total of 117 was, at best, a modest one to be chasing.The visitors had an early shock, losing a wicket in the very first over.And with conditions continuing to cause problems for the batting side, it was Ferguslie’s turn to struggle early in the innings.They lost both professional Mayet and Taimoor Ahmad cheaply to be 21 for three in the ninth over, but a 60-run partnership between the latter’s younger brother, Uzair, and Bahadar Esakhiel allowed the champions to regroup.The