On Saturday, Clackmannan’s promotion hunt took a major dent, with a defeat by Edinburgh University Staff in Edinburgh.
After batting first and posting over 200 in previous games, skipper Graeme Anderson won the toss and had no hesitation in batting.
Due to some tight bowling and good fielding from Edinburgh Uni Staff, Clackmannan made a slow start and the pressure eventually told, when Alan Oliver was bowled. Craig Black joined Gordon Oliver in the middle and the two began to increase the run rate nicely. Until Oliver was caught and bowled, James Couper, Dan Smith and Anderson followed in quick succession.
The most notable partnership of the innings came when Paul Hooper joined Black, who was as untroubled as ever by the opposition bowlers. Until he was caught out on 79. Noor Jhangir, soon followed and two calamitous run outs, accounted for Auranzeb Alamgir and Hooper. Matthew Booth was Clackmannan’s last man out, with the score on 141 in the 41st over.
Clackmannan fell short of the minimum target they had set themselves, by about 10 runs and committed the cardinal sin of not using up their full 50 overs.
The interval was slightly extended as the tea lady was nowhere to be seen. However once the grub was eaten the team were back onto the playing fields, eager to make up for the poor batting.
Matthew Booth and Craig Black opened the bowling, and soon had the opposition in all sorts of trouble, reducing them to 16 for 4. This proved fatal for Clackmannan. As the openers tired in the heat, the fielders relaxed too much, thinking the hard work was done. The buzz and pressure soon eased off, and Anderson and Will Kay struggled to maintain the good work carried out by the opening duo. It wasn't long before these two were changed and Alan Oliver struck in his second over, with the score now 46 for 5. Jhangir and Oliver were unusually expensive; however they weren't aided by some lazy fielding.
It wasn't until Black and Booth returned that the next wicket fell, with the score exactly on 100. And Clackmannan were able to tighten things up again for the next few overs, until these two finished their second spell. Black taking his 4th wicket of the game with his last ball. The score was now 112-7 as Anderson and Kay returned. The score progressed to 119, with plenty of overs to go when Anderson removed Edinburgh Uni Staff's half century maker. Clackmannan needed to take 2 wickets, Edinburgh Uni Staff needed 22 runs, and there were plenty of overs remaining.
Edinburgh then started to put pressure onto the fielders and ran some very quick singles. There were a few near misses here and there, but eventually in the 46th over the Uni staff reached their target.
It was a disappointing day for Clackmannan, which was made worse with the news that league leaders Largo II had also lost. Not only did Clackmannan miss the opportunity to go to the top of the league, they now find themselves 4th in the league. Hosting Largo II at home on Saturday is going to be a crucial game for Clackmannan. Any more slip ups, and the chances of promotion will be gone.