Modest Richie Berrington paid tribute to his team-mates for making his match-winning century possible as Western Premier champions Clydesdale launched their title defence in style.
Berrington scored a superb 139no to send Dale on their way to a thumping 199-run over East Kilbride at Titwood.
His effort came after openers Mo Awais (84) and Shreyas Chitnis (29) had repelled EK’s new-ball attack.
Berrington said: “It’s good for me to get time in the middle and be able to construct an innings and clearly my contribution had an impact on the game.
“But it made it a lot easier that the other guys had put a good start on the board and I could play with a bit of freedom.
“It’s a great start for the team.”
Scotland star Berrington showed his class with a range of shots all around the ground yielding twenty boundaries and three maximums.
His 98-ball knock and a late flurry from Kasim Farid (32) allowed Dale to post an imposing 339-6.
Their bowlers were just as dominant, Con de Lange claiming 4-23 and youngster Aliyan Qureshi 3-30 as EK slumped to 140 all out.
If Berrington was characteristically humble, Colin Mitchell, the Clydesdale manager, was much more fulsome in praising the match-winner.
He said: “Richie showed what a class player he is. His boundaries were hit to all areas of the ground making him very difficult to bowl to.
“It was a brilliantly crafted innings and definitely set up the match for us.
“There were other good performances as well with Awais playing with typical flair and, daft as it sounds given Richie’s performance, Kasim actually played some of the best shots of the day.
“This win should put any nervousness to bed about a new-look and young side coming together for the first time.”
Elsewhere Uddingston served notice that they may be ready to mount a challenge following a couple of seasons of under-achievement.
They faced a tricky trip to Glenpark where Greenock were hoping to mark their return to the top flight with victory.
However, the visitors eased to a 66-run D/L success, the capture of Ross Lyons
from East Kilbride already paying dividends for the Bothwell team.
The Scotland all-rounder top-scored with 33 as Uddingston clawed their way to 190-9 in tricky conditions while Aussie recruits Kyle Scrimegour and Julian Hulbert had three wickets apiece for Greenock.
Lyons then claimed 3-21 to ensure the newcomers never challenged their revised target of 188.
Uddingston skipper Bryan Clarke said: “I’m delighted to have Ross at the club. He’s a fantastic cricketer and already proving to be a real positive influence on the younger guys and someone we can build around.
“I’m pretty pleased with our progress as a club and I think we’ll be as competitive as we’ve been for a few years.”
If Greenock failed in their bid for a winning start, it was a different story for Poloc, the side who joined them in stepping up from Division 1.
The Shawholm club attracted several new faces during the close-season and two of them – Hamza Tahir and Taimoor Ahmad – found themselves up against their former Ferguslie team-mates on Saturday.
Both played a part in Ferguslie’s downfall with Ahmad in particular having a day to remember.
He first added 29 valuable runs to propel Poloc to 235-8 after significant contribution from Owais Shah (65) Jurie Snyman (37) and Mohammad Dar (30).
Ahmad then claimed the wicket of Ferguslie’s top scorer Michael English (47) while Tahir returned tidy figures of 1-33 from ten overs as Poloc sealed victory by 32 runs.
There was a thriller at the Henry Thow Oval where Prestwick edged out Kelburne by just one wicket, Sachin Chaudhary’s four wickets and 46 runs proving the difference.
Shujaa Khan hit 79 as Ayr also made a winning start – by 36 runs against Dumfries.
