A pair of battling youngsters were able to guide Livingston Third XI to victory on an otherwise disappointing weekend for West Lothian’s two cricket clubs.
Srikar Boggla (13) and Zaki Choudry (15) shared a brilliant 114-run partnership as Livi’s third side picked up a comfortable five-wicket win against Edinburgh South Fourth XI in an East of Scotland Division Seven fixture.
The pair teamed up with the score at 20-3 but helped guide their side over the line. Choudry fell just shy of his half-century, bowled for 49, while Boggla (pictured right) was unbeaten on 51.
Choudry had earlier picked up four wickets as Livi restricted the visitors to 138 all out.
That would prove to be the only win of the weekend as Livi’s First and Second XIs suffered defeat, with the same outcome for both Linlithgow sides, too.
Livi’s First XI lost by three wickets at home to Edinburgh South First XI.
Batting first, a late collapse saw Livi fall from 160-6 to 170 all out with Farooq Muhammad (pictured below) top scoring for 37.
In reply, the visitors took control of proceedings as solid top order batting took them to 90-1 before Jared Rubly claimed the first of his three wickets to spark a mini-collapse to 111-5.
However, Edinburgh steadied the ship and were able to score the winning runs with two overs and three wickets to spare.
The club’s Second XI were handily beaten by Bass Rock in a Division Five clash, falling to a 60-run defeat.
The home side tallied 214-4 from their 40 overs with Shrey Awasthi taking all four wickets to fall.
The reply was always behind the run rate as Livi notched 154-5 in their reply. Awasthi and Boggla both with knocks of 44 but Livi fell well short of their target.
For Linlithgow, it was a familiar story of a fine bowling performance not being followed up in kind with the bat as they lost by 54 runs in their home Championship fixure against Morton.
The away side batted first and got off to a solid start, sitting at 80-1 from 23 overs but were pegged back by a fine display both with the ball and in the field as they were all out for 184.
Craig Black was once again stellar with the ball, taking 5-24 from seven overs.
The chase started brilliantly as Linlithgow tallied over a run a ball in the first 10 overs, sitting 66-1 before Rory Saunders’ dismissal on 24 resulted in a collapse to 130 all out - not aided by Black pulling his hamstring and requiring a runner.
He still managed to top score with 42 but was unable to prevent a third straight loss for Linlithgow.
The club’s Second XI also lost by a comfortable margin, going down by four wickets away to Watsonian Third XI who picked up the required 128 runs with 14 overs to spare.
Linlithgow made a strong start with the bat as Chris Ronalson (49) and Chris Whitton (33) helped to take the score to 100-1 before the latter’s exit sparked a change in fortunes as the home side rattled through the order as Linlithgow were all out for 127.
A couple of early wickets gave the visitors hope before Watsonian fought back and scored at a rate well over what was required to seal the victory.
Ramesh Duvvuri was the pick of the bowlers with 2-19 from his eight overs but the supporting cast were not nearly as economical.
Linlithgow Second XI host Holy Cross on Saturday with the club’s First XI travelling to Penicuik.
Livingston, meanwhile have a double-header with Musselburgh. The First XI are away while the Second XI are at home. Livi’s third team host Tranent and Preston Village Third XI.
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here
