By Greig Taylor

On a day in which the weather could have won, Clackmannan were able to complete their game against their fellow Division leaders Kinross.  The grounds of Kinross House were the perfect setting for an excellent and nail-biting game.  The heavy showers that preceded the toss ensured that the 1pm start time was not going to be adhered to.  It wasn’t until 2.10pm that the first ball was bowled and in nonchalant fashion was pushed into the leg-side for a quick single.  Openers Craig Black and Alan Oliver continued in the same fashion for the first 10 over’s off the match, taking the total to 37 before Oliver was bowled through the gate for 6.  The heavy downpours had ensured that the outfield was annoyingly slow and any ball that was timed well was stopping up just before the boundary rope.  Keith Hefer had now joined Black at the crease and the two negotiated the bowlers very well, ensuring that the scoreboard did not run out of fuel.  The 2nd wicket fell for the county side when Hefer was bowled by Drew for a well made 18.  Without any progression to the scoreboard Craig Black holed out to the fielder at long on and had to depart for a superb and patient innings of 43.  Charlie McNish only lasted one ball as he was out caught behind.  Clackmannan had now lost 3 wickets for the addition of only 2 runs and seemed to be in a sticky patch at 81 for 4 with only 16overs to go.  New batsmen, Tippu Sultan and Noor Jhangir, put on 30 for the 5th wicket partnership and made sure that Clackmannan had a total to defend.  Jhangir was caught at deep-square leg for 9, going for another big hit but it was his brother Tippu who started to shine and flourish in Clackmannan’s time of need.  Kash Ali didn’t last long, being run out for 1 but Tippu found Graham Fraser a suitable partner adding 45 for the 7th partnership.  Unselfishly, Sultan was caught going for another shot in the last over and had to be content with an explosive 46.  Fraser (6*) and Riswan Ashraf (0*) brought the innings to a close with Clackmannan scoring a below par 155 for 7 off their 40 over’s.
Kinross started the chase in similar fashion, being in a like position to Clackmannan at 10 over’s (37 – 1).  Riswan Ashraf dismissed Smith for 1, which took a painstaking 26 balls to achieve.  Ashraf and Craig Black kept it very tight but failed to really penetrate the strong Kinross line up, so the captain turned to Tippu Sultan and Will Kay in the hope that a breakthrough could be found.  In Sultan’s 3rd over, he duly provided the wicket that Clackmannan so desperately needed, Dixon, holing out at mid-on, Kevin King holding onto a superb catch, running to his right.  Next over, the old adage of “one brings two” came to fruition as Kay clean bowled Lopez for 7.  Kinross skipper, Muncey hit a four and then was bowled the next ball by Tippu Sultan, who was manufacturing a fine spell of bowling.  At this stage, Kinross were 71 for 4, but with 22 over’s to go were still in the best position to win the game.  A 30 run partnership between James Ross and James Tree (14) steadied the rocking Kinross ship until the latter was bowled by Alan Oliver.  Kinross always had plenty of over’s under their belt, so it was going to come down to whether Kinross could knock off the remaining runs or Clackmannan could take the final 5 wickets.  After Ashraf had bowled his 9 over’s, he was replaced by Black who struck with the second ball of his second spell, clean bowling Ross for 22.  Jack (21) found a partner in Nicol (13) who ably supported him and these two took the home side’s score to within 6 off victory.  Clackmannan kept on fighting until the end and this determined spirit paid dividends when Sultan clean bowled Nicol and Black repeated the same feat with Jack.  With 3 runs to win, and only 2 wickets needed, the spectators at the side were furiously biting their nails until the stage that they had no nail left to bite.  Unfortunately, the experienced Ant Drew and John Ross saw their side home for a well earned victory.  Probably, the most disappointing sight for Clackmannan players and fans was the extras total of 36.
A tremendous game as befits a top of the table clash with the added bonus that it will be repeated this Sunday when Kinross travel to the Arns, for the return fixture.