On a muggy overcast day, Clackmannan won the toss and put their promotion rivals Falkland in to bat at the Arns.

The home side could only take the field with nine players but new ball bowlers Rizwan Ashraf and Keith Hefer were still able to keep the runs down and Ashraf reaped the rewards when visiting captain Michael Morris was given out LBW for 9.

Clackmannan were soon boosted to their full complement of 11 and set to work on the Falkland second wicket partnership which was eventually broken by Craig Black who trapped Hamilton in front with the slower ball.

The dangerous Kondandaram walked to the crease at number 4 looking to repeat the dominant innings which took his side to victory in the reverse fixture.

With the score on 69, Black struck again as the obdurate opener Ferguson a cut to Hefer at deep cover who plunged to his left to take a fine catch.

In the next over Oliver struck the crucial blow as Kondandaram, for the second time this season, picked out Dave Watkins, this time with a mistimed cut.

Clackmannan made it three successful overs in a row when Bell’s mistimed drive was taken low by Anderson at cover. 69/2 had become 77/5.

Two overs later the Falkland collapse continued as Hepburn belted a full toss straight back to Black for his fourth wicket of the day.

Sensing blood, Hefer was brought back in to the attack and he castled Stewart for 1 and two overs later he picked up another one as Bell’s pull shot was caught at midwicket by a leaping Watkins for his seventh catch of the season.

With the score at 96/8, the big-hitting Sarfraz walked to the wicket and he immedialey set about repairing the damage, smashing two of his first three balls to the boundary. The ninth wicket pair had managed to put on 43 when Mehboob, fresh from a stellar debut at Penicuik, got his name in the wickets column when he clean bowled number nine Lindsay.

After a long rest, Ashraf came back to bowl the death overs and he wrapped up the innings by knocking over the off-stump of the number 11 Watson.

Clackmannan have been vulnerable in the top order this season and so it proved again as Falkland took the upper hand in the early overs of the reply.

The tall seamer Hamilton induced an edge from Richard Passe and then nipped one back to get Black out for a duck. Hamilton struck again in his fourth over as he bowled Graeme Anderson to leave Clackmannan wobbling on 17/3.

Hefer, fresh off a barnstorming fifty last week, gave the innings some much needed momentum as he middled the ball to the boundary with regularity. When he departed for 29, edging Sarfraz through to the keeper, Clackmannan were 48/4 and back in business. Two overs later Noor Jhangir chopped Sarfraz on to his stumps and Falkland were favourites with half the side out with 96 still required.

Dave Watkins joined Alan Oliver at the wicket and the pair put their heads down and started to milk the middle-innings bowlers to keep up with the required rate of three. The pair survived a heavy blast of rain and a couple of dropped catches to drag Clackmannan back into contention with a fifty stand. It was brought to an end when Watkins went to his go-to cut shot once too often and sliced it to Hamilton at point.

Taylor was next in and he joined in and kept the momentum going with a fine pull for four, some fierce running and calling that resembled a re-enactment of the Battle of Okinawa.

With just 22 required Greig Taylor was given out lbw to the spinner Hepburn. Rizwan Ashraf came out to the wicket and blazed away, smashing his first ball for four and establishing the partnership that would put the game away. Ashraf and Oliver brought the side to within three of victory when Oliver went for the winning boundary but edged through to the keeper to bring an end to a vital knock.

A nervous James Cox walked to the wicket but calmly dispatched his third ball for the three runs required for a thrilling victory that avenged the most painful of defeats in May.