BUCKIE left Cooper Park in Elgin in triumph on Saturday after clinching the senior T20 cup for the first time.
Picture: Buckie Cricket Club.
The final featured a three-team format, with Forres and Highland, both previous winners of the event, being the opposition. Each team would play the other two, with Buckie taking on Forres in the opening encounter.
The damp outfield delayed the start of the first game, but only briefly, and led to a slight reduction in the length of the innings to 16 overs a side. Buckie batted first and set a respectable total of 140 for 4.
Captain Daniel Walls led from the front with a tremendous knock of 63 not out including four big sixes. It’s been a while since Daniel has looked so fluent at the crease, his natural timing and strong wrists also producing deceptive power. Adi Mehta offered great support and looked in great nick himself in reaching 31 before holing out.
Unfortunately, Buckie’s bowling and fielding effort fell a bit short of their usual standards, and the Forres opening pair of Pal Dhami and Gus Farr romped to victory. The winning total was reached with more than three overs to spare, and without any wickets falling.
With the three-team format, redemption was still possible for Buckie. If they could defeat Highland in the next game, and then Highland could beat Forres, there was still the possibility that the cup could end up back at Linzee Gordon Park.
They must have put something in the tea between matches as Buckie fairly hammered a strong looking Highland team in the next game. Batting first once again, the Buckie batting effort was dominated by a sparkling century from Adi Mehta. He offered one half chance to the fielding side early on but, that apart, looked in control throughout and paced his innings beautifully.
No bowler was safe as boundaries were the result of any short or over pitched ball. Towards the end of his knock, Adi was pretty much hitting the ball wherever he wanted. Sixteen fours and five sixes in his innings, a fantastic effort deserving to win any match.
There was good support from John Corsie in an opening stand of 87, and from Barry Newlands in another big stand of 76 at the end, but it will be Adi’s batting that remains in the memory after the other details of the innings have faded.
The Buckie score was an imposing 199 for 4 wickets. Then the bowlers and fielders did their bit. Some great bowling, from Barry and Joe Hough in particular, ensured that Highland would fall well short of the total required, and they ended up on 145 for 7 wickets. Buckie’s hopes rested on Highland defeating Forres, and they did just that. After some frantic checking of the rules the umpires confirmed that Buckie were the winners due to their highest run rate over the two games. A great end to a long day and the first time that Buckie has won this competition.
A good weekend got better when Buckie’s second team progressed to the final of the reserve cup competition. Unfortunately, this was due to their opponents, Ross County, being unable to raise a team. The club now has another cup final in September.
Saturday’s league fixture is at home against Forres.