Linlithgow and Livingston both kept their place atop their respective divisions despite differing results.
Coming off their first loss of the campaign, Linlithgow suffered a second successive defeat as they went down by 39 runs at home to Carlton second XI in their East of Scotland Cricket Association Championship clash.
It was a different story for Livi in the league below as they thrashed Edinburgh Accies by 153 runs.
Linlithgow fought back with the ball as they reduced Carlton from 122-1 to 202 all out with Clinton Dixon and Keith Morton taking three wickets apiece. Unfortunately, their own collapse was even more spectacular as they went from 144-2 to 163 all out with the bottom seven batters accounting for just two runs as they suffered a stunning defeat.
There was no such drama with Livi as for the second time in as many weeks, Ahmed Ali (74) and Omais Altaf (53) scored the bulk of the runs before the bowlers rattled the opposition out for under 100. Livi batted first and scored 243 all out before Kashif Khalid and Adnad Ali combined to take nine wickets as the hosts eased to victory.
The club’s second XI put in an even more clinical bowling display in their Division Five clash away to Drummond Trinity fourth XI as the hosts were dismissed for just 45 runs with Shrey Awasthi picking up four wickets for 10 runs. Livi needed less than nine overs to reach their target, losing two wickets.
It was victory for Linlithgow’s second stringers, too, as they defeated Dunbar by five wickets in a Division Four fixture. Paul Brookes was the key factor as Dunbar went from 85-3 to 113 all out with Brookes taking four wickets for only 10 runs in 5.4 overs. He then steered his team most of the way in reply with an opening partnership of 88 with Grant Raven. Wickets started to fall – although they were able to drag themselves over the line with plenty to spare.
Livi’s third XI defeated Bass Rock second XI by 82 runs in a Division Seven clash. Habib Bukhari’s 49 helped rescue the batting as they put on 61 for the final two wickets before a great team-wide bowling display saw the visitors dismissed for 129.
The fourth XI weren’t able to make it a perfect weekend as they lost by seven wickets to Dunfermline and Carnegie third XI in the league below. A tremendous 87 from Ashif Rai helped Livi score 186-9 but the hosts eased to the target.
The season now kicks into the second half with Linlithgow and Livi aiming to keep their title hopes alive.
Linlithgow are away to Edinburgh Accies this weekend with their second XI hosting Royal High Corstorphine’s third XI.
For Livi, there’s home clashes for the first XI and third XI as they host Drummond Trinity and Holy Cross second XI respectively while it’s an away trip to Edinburgh third XI for Livi’s second side with the fourth XI making the journey to Murrayfield fifth XI to complete the weekend fixtures.
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