Aberdeenshire became the first team to lower the colours of Gordonians, leaving Freuchie as the only undefeated team in NEC.
In an absorbing, tense and low-scoring affair at Mannofield, Shire’s young side lead led by 17 year old all-rounder Lewis Munro in the absence of the injured Kenny Reid , demonstrated a maturity beyond their years to ease to a five-wicket win.
Munro was delighted to have won a game which takes thd Mannofield men to fourth in the league and within touching distance of the leaders Freuchie.
He said: “We bowled particularly well, containing them to 136 for nine from their 45 overs.
“We then took our time to get the runs, but were greatly indebted to Nathan Elliott who opened both our bowling and then our innings, carrying his bat for a superb 68.”
Elliott in the company of his skipper, kept the Gordonians top order batsmen on their toes with a hostile but accurate spell of bowling to lay the foundation for the sun.
Elliott’s two for 35 and a slick run out, added to his great unbeaten knock made him easily the standout of the day.
Finlay Anderson’s clever, thoughtful bowling added lustre to the occasion.
His two for 16 from nine overs, helping keep the Countesswells batsmen in check, as did Rahul Chandu’s two for seven.
Gordonians captain Mayank Bhandari conceded his team had been some 50 runs short of posting a winning total.
He said: “We were pretty much controlled by the Shire bowling with only two batsmen getting into the 20s.
“If we are to offer a serious challenge in this league, we will need to be more assertive. But it was a good, competitive game and we’ll learn from it.”
Prashant Srivatsan (28 ) and Debo Barman (21) were the top scorers for Gordonians while Aman Arora’s compensation for a low score was his two wickets for 25 as the visitors tried in vain to prevent Elliott getting a well deserved half century.
In the meantime Stoneywood – Dyce’s 2nd team clocked up their first win in the division, bowling Kinloch out for 152 before cruising to a five wicket win.
An understrength Huntly were bowled out for 110 at Strathmore where the home side eased past the Castle Park side’s total for the loss of only three wickets.
In the NE Grades, Bon Accord deprived Cults of their 100% record, but not their top place to send out a clear message that they are not to be underestimated by anyone in Grade 1.
The Allan Park failed to hunt down the Bons total of 211 falling 47 runs short.
Elsewhere, Knight Riders kept up their relentless pressure with a narrow 10 run win over Gordonians, and with Bon Accord taking on the Hazlehead side next week, the thrills are set to continue.
This weekend’s results…
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND CRICKET GRADES
GRADE 1
AGSFPs (30 points) v Inverurie Don Valley (0 points) Scratched
Siyapa 187 for 8 (30 points) (K Haseeb 29, S Jafri 29, D Gibson 3-25, N Thangaraj 3-30) Crescent 147 (16 points) (V Mani 29, A Pewekar 27, A Yousuf 3-24, A Siddiq 2-20)
Knight Riders 92 (30 points) (S Palaniappan 42, J Shaikh 3-8) Gordonians 82 (13 points) (C Perera 24, V Amirtharaj 5-13)
Grampian 192 for 5 (30 points) (J Aluvathingal 58, B Jacob 45no, C Aggarwal 3-45) Master Blasters Aberdeen 100 (10 points) (C Aggarwal 34, R Paul 3-11, B Jacob 2-7)
Culter Curry Bon Accord 211 (30 points) (J Aziz 52, S Ahmed 41, A Ali 3-23, A Shehman 3-30) infquick.com Cults 164 (19 points) (R Mahajan 60, J Aziz 5-16, S Raja 2-17)
GRADE 2
Stoneywood Dyce (0 points) v 2nd AGSFPs (30 points) Scratched
Mannofield 228 for 4 (30 points) (A Hastie 54, C Cameron 48no, B Balaji 2-40, B Selvaraj 2-45) 2nd Knight Riders 107 (9 points) (V Reddy 25, M Elliott 4-28, M Saraswat 2-16)
Fraserburgh 45 (8 points) (D Mitchell 3-4, K Paterson 3-7) Portcullis 46 for 7 (30 points) (C Gospel 3-4, P O’Neill 2-6)
Methlick 85 for 8 (7 points) (R Greenfield 4-10, J Barrett 3-13) Quilter Cheviot Ellon Gordon 88 for 3 (30 points) (J Barrett 36no, A Addy 23)
REID CUP QUARTER FINALS
2nd Gordonians 114 for 8 (A Hounsome 56, R Davis 25, D Brown 2-19, M Herbert 2-20) lost by 7 wickets to Banchory 115 for 3 (S Rotheram 46, D Abbott 24no)
Dunecht 92 for 4 (S Derrett 30no, J Thomas 2-13) lost by 9 wickets to Crathie 93 for 1 (P Morris 31, P Cunningham 30no)
Stonehaven Thistle 172 for 4 (R Van Gijssel 83, J Gouws 35) won by 130 runs against Huntly 42 (A Dawar 33, C Everest 3-17, B Campbell 2-2)
2nd Grampian 211 for 5 (M Nadim 83, S Rathnayake 81no, J Morgan 2-32) won by 145 runs against 2nd Methlick 66 (M Nadim 2-8)
SPCU BREEDON NORTH EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Gordonians 136 for 9 (6 points) (P Srinivasan 28no, D Barman 21, R Chandu 2-7, F Anderson 2-16) Aberdeenshire 137 for 5 (25 points) (N Elliott 68no, L Munro 24, A Arora 2-25, P Srinivasan 2-26)
Arbroath 156 (6 points) (J Salmond 63, J Burnett 31, L Robertson 4-52, R Hepburn 2-16) Falkland 159 for 3 (25 points) (H Cooray 56no, M Surry 45, M Salmond 2-21)
Perth Doocot 98 (6 points) Freuchie 98 for 9 (25 points) (M Mohsin 5-21)
Kinloch 152 (7 points) (J Shah 47, T Niazi 44, C Forbes 4-35, M Louw 3-39) Stoneywood Dyce 153 for 5 (25 points) (E Davidson 57no, H Bester 42, T Niazi 3-36)
Huntly 115 (4 points) (D Lentz 32no, I Saim 3-20, U Ahmed 2-3) Strathmore 117 for 3 (25 points) (M Simpson 48no, I Saim 39)
Dundee HSFP 170 (25 points) (M Lowdon 31, S Hangetsu 25, J Main 4-25, G Walker 2-33) ion8 Forfarshire 2nd XI 169 (11 points) (C McConnachie 70, J Main 24no, A Lindsay 3-34, J Choudhray 3-42)
EASTERN PREMIER LEAGUE
Heriots 307 for 5 (10 points) (M Cross 171no, M Watt 41, J Lambley 2-36, J Grant 2-42) Stoneywood Dyce 156 (0 points) (D Kidd 48, H Macleod 2-24, J Kinghorn-Gray 2-26)