Greenock's bowlers earn the Murgitroyd Twenty20 cheque
Glory be! A sunny day! And a properly fitting way to end the fickle Scottish cricket season: the finals day of the Murgitroyd Twenty 20 Cup at the delectably disarming damp spot known for the past few weeks as Lake Shawholm.
So we start with praise for the superb efforts of Keith Young - can there ever have been the chief executive officer of a quoted sponsoring company who personally rolled up his sleeves to ensure such a welcoming setting? - and Matty Coyle's team of ground staff, who slaved away through the week to restore the venue to a semblance of summer, producing a pitch that lasted more than 100 overs.
And, while Mr Young - surely to be Lord Young in the not-too-distant future - spent his entire day operating the scoreboard, and with the bar doing a roaring trade for a September Sunday, Poloc Cricket Club proved that they can put on a show worthy of Scotland's most valuable - in cash prize terms - cricket competition.
Greenock won, of course - why 'of course'? - but they should never have been allowed to progress into the lucrative final by APD Dumfries, the happy-go-lucky underdogs who said they were "happy to give it our best shot". They very nearly pulled it off when, with three overs remaining, they needed but 16 runs to overtake the paltry 89 set up in Greenock's first innings of the second semi-final. The 'Doon-Hamers' bottled it.
Earlier, in the first semi-final, the most thrilling match of the day produced an unexpected victor as RH Corstorphine overtook a sparkling 167 from pre-event favourites Dunfermline Knights - despite the ravaging effects of the previous night's stag party in Glasgow.
The Knights rattled up a great 18-overs score thanks to a hugely impressive unbeaten 69* from Vassu Reddy (pictured right, three sixes, since you ask), well supported by Marshall Bunting's 46 in a third-wicket partnership of 91. For Corstorphine, Patrick Sadler's four overs yielded a useful three wickets to keep the carnage under control.
It seemed that nobody at the ground except Corstorphine's constantly-ebullient captain Kevin McLaren thought it would be possible to better the Knights' total. How wrong they were, as South Africa-born 20-year-old Preston Mommsen demonstrated why he is much touted as a soon-to-be-a-residentially-qualified Scottish international player. Mommsen's match-winning 79 (also three sixes) was bolstered by a fine and determined 40* from McLaren (the left-hander also knows how to clear the boundary rope) as the Edinburgh side reached their target with two balls remaining.
Greenock's collapse to 89 all out in 13.4 overs was abject, as Dumfries's part-time seamer Chris Bellwood sent six batsman back to the pavilion to think again in a remarkable spell of four overs, conceding just 14 runs. It should have been a skoosh for Dumfries, even allowing for an attack of nerves. And, for the first nine overs, it was, indeed a skoosh, the first 50 runs coming for the loss of just one wicket. Over-confident Dumfries skipper Scott Beveridge even removed his pads, promoting the lower order to give them a thrill. Then: paralysis, for which great credit, of course, must go to Greenock skipper Richie Berrington, who had predicted that his bowlers would win the game and whose marshalling of his field settings was impeccable. With 10 needed off the last two overs, he himself conceded just three before Sean Weeraratna - often prone to gifting wides - stepped up to bowl the final over. It was an outstanding six balls, just one run scored - and victory by five.
The result of the final therefore seemed all but pre-ordained. Again Greenock were asked to bat first. Again, they under-performed, though Australian amateur Adam Lockhart-Kruse made 33 and a pumped-up Weeraratna added a crucial 30* in 23 balls as the Tail-o'-the-Bank gunners reached 127 from their 18 overs.
And Corstorphine, led once again by the admirable Admiral McLaren, looked as though they were well up to the task as Mommsen and his captain shared a confident second-wicket half-century partnership. Then, with more than half the target achieved, Mommsen made a major mistake (pictured left), allowing a Tony Judd wide down the leg side to escape his bat as he lost his balance. Wicket-keeper Lockhart-Kruse's main contribution of the day with the gloves was that stumping, and Corstorphine seemed suddenly to know they would lose.
They duly did, as spinners Judd and Moneeb Iqbal closed down the Edinburgh middle order, and Berrington and Weeraratna locked the stable door with their final overs to achieve a 13-run victory and pocket the £1,000 cheque, which was presented along with the Cup to the Greenock skipper at the end of the game (pictured left).
But Greenock were not the only winners. The principal plaudits went to Poloc, to Keith Young, and to his firm of patent and trade-mark attorneys, Murgitroyd & Company, whose sponsorship makes this a fitting season closer in years hopefully to come. Glory be!
Report by Mike Stanger
Pictures by David M Potter and Stuart Rousen
