Hillhead 1st X1 202 all out ( after 45.2 overs ) 5 points Victoria 1st X1 206 for 7 ( after 43.2 overs ) 25 points
After the midweek highs of victories at Hughenden over Victoria in the Western Cup by 1 run on Tuesday evening and then by 72 runs in round 1 of the Rowan Cup against Glasgow Accies on Thursday, Hillhead played poorly to lose to Victoria by 3 wickets in the league on Saturday.
Yet Hillhead, inserted first, on a fairly flat blameless wicket, underachieved with the bat. Batters Lindley Dawe ( 23 ), Ganesh Adarkar ( 35 ), Lucas Farndale ( 25 ) and Jared Bartlett ( 26 ) all returned to the “ hutch” when they were well set and could have gone on to add to their score. A first innings total of 202 is not necessarily an easy one to reach, but with the short boundaries of the Bellahouston Oval, big hitters can attack at times with impunity.
And so it proved, as the hosts batters Waqas ( 37 ), Noah ( 36 ) and Ul-Haq( 39 no ) ground their way to a merited victory. The Hillhead attack, apart from Farndale ( 4-38 ) and Bartlett ( 2-42 ) were rather toothless, despite plenty of grunt and sweat. Additionally the recent worrying trend of gifting wides to their opponents continued. Some 35 wides made a significant contribution to the chasing total.
A disappointing outcome then to an important league game in which Hillhead 1st X1 captain, Jack Holland, led from the front in the field. His catching of 3 of the Victoria batters in the deep field indicated an ability to snare birds in mid-flight. Wonderful cricket !!
Redemption hopefully arrives soon in the visit of Titwood to Hughenden on league business this coming Saturday, May 27, with a 12.00 start . Meanwhile Western Cup business continues at Old Anniesland on Tuesday evening, May 23rd, when GHK 2nd are the hosts.