Stoneywood-Dyce cricket club captain Lennard Bester has backed his side to come good before the end of the season after another loss in the Eastern Premier League.
The north-east outfit put in a gutsy, defiant performance away to Stewarts Melville, only to lose out by 71 runs after the Peoples Park side’s fragile batting let them down.
Bester said: “Once again we bowled and fielded superbly. Dismissing a good side on their own track for 200 was quite an achievement, but then we failed to take advantage.
“We must learn to value our wicket more. But this is a young side who will learn from these experiences.
“I feel for them, as I was a very impetuous as a young player.
“I can’t wait for next week‘s home game with RH Corstorphine, who we have already beaten in Edinburgh. A double would be a nice way in which to bounce back.”
Should youngsters in the team be looking for a role model, they need look no further than their captain – as Bester hit a superb 72 from 50 balls, coming in with five wickets down for 69. His aggressive, but watchful knock, included seven fours and five sixes, and in the company of the ever-improving Nathan Elliott, looked set to claim an unlikely win, only for both to fall with the score on 114.
Neel Tandel polished off the tail, taking five for 25 as Stoneywood-Dyce slid to their ninth loss in a row.
Earlier in the afternoon, the visitors had performed a containment exercise on the Edinburgh side’s batsmen, with only Shaylen Pillay exerting any supremacy on the Stoneywood-Dyce attack, seeing his side to the 200 mark with an unbeaten 97.
George Ninan and Jack Lambley took two wickets each for the visitors.
In the meantime, Heriots came another step towards the Eastern Premier title after chasing down the 188 set by Forfarshire, their nearest challengers, for the loss of only one wicket.
Arbroath and Falkland, the two bottom sides, both lost – in a boost to Stoneywood-Dyce, although it is still mathematically possible for the north-east outfit to be relegated.
No Meigle slip-up, despite wins for Shire and Huntly
In the NE Championship, leaders Meigle were comfortable 97-run winners away to 2nd Forfarshire and, with only three weeks remaining, it is hard to see the chasers Aberdeenshire and Huntly overhauling the Angus side.
Shire eased to a 41-run win away to Kinloch, who failed to hunt down the 192 set by the Mannofield men, for whom captain Kenny Reid scored 56 – keeping his average over 50 for the season.
Dian Forrester curtailed the home side to 152 with his three for 19.
At Castle Park, Huntly posted 193 for eight, of which Sam Cuconits scored a superb 90, while captain Jack Mitchell chipped in with 39, before bowling out Strathmore for 113.
High-scoring spectacle as Bon Accord meet Crescent in Grade 1
In the Aberdeenshire Grades, all eyes were on the top-of-the-table clash at the Links, where Bon Accord proved they are still the team to beat in Grade 1.
The Bons pushed all the way by Crescent in a swashbuckling affair, which saw the former side recover from losing three wickets for six runs to rack up 282 for nine from their allocation of 40 overs.
Set this target, Crescent – who are seeking their first Grade 1 title since 1908 – made a slow start, but ended the day only an agonising 15 short after being bowled in 39 overs.
The afternoon was punctuated with sixes, leaving both sets of supporters in awe of the occasion, and setting up a grandstand finish in which Bon Accord have 351 points against the Crescent total of 350 with only four games to be played.
Conversation