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1st XI - Captain's Review

1st XI - Captain's Review

Tyler Buchan29 Oct 2014 - 10:13
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1st XI captain Tyler Buchan reviews his side's performances from the hugely successful 2014 season.

Aberdeenshire went into the 2014 season looking to build on a strong 2013 campaign where the team finished 2nd in the league, made it to the Scottish Cup quarter finals and T20 finals days. Chris Venske and Calum Howard set the tone for our campaign in the opening match away to Carlton, adding 101 for the first wicket with Chris going on to post a season high score of 137*. Chris (pictured below) kicked off his league season in sparkling fashion, posting scores of 137*, 58, 62, and 102* in our first four matches which helped the side to three victories setting us up nicely for our away trip to Arbroath.

Bowling first we did well to restrict the hosts to 205 after they raced to 75-2 off 15 overs. In our reply Calum Howard (56) and Harsha Cooray (36) looked to be taking us to victory however when both fell in quick succession Graeme Tomlinson (46*) ran out of partners as we fell four runs short in the final over. Shades of déjà vu about the nature of the loss, almost a carbon copy of 2013’s defeat, could have potentially derailed our season but a thumping win in the Scottish Cup the following day got us back on track. A quick fire 75 from Chris Venske set the stage for the win, but it was overseas amateur Hayes van der Berg who stole the show with his maiden century for the club, with the ball Tyler Buchan took a career first hat-trick to send the Dons through to the next round.

Our league campaign suffered a further set back as were bundled out for 156 to local rivals Stoneywood Dyce in a defeat where we were totally outplayed. This left us sitting mid table after 6 weeks, three wins and three losses, and in danger of failing to replicate 2013’s title challenge. However what followed was a tremendous run of seven unbeaten league games which transformed our season and forced us to the top of the league.

Grange were demolished at home, Tyler Buchan taking 5 wickets in his opening spell to reduce the visitors to 11 for the loss of 7 wickets. Adrian Neill and Hamish Niven combined well to skittle Falkland for 127 the following week and a thumping 8 wicket victory over Carlton the following week began to build the momentum once again.

Next up the side travelled to Heriots, a ground where we have often struggled in recent seasons. Batting first we suffered a huge blow third ball of the game as Chris Venske was struck on the hand by a full toss (later we would discover the bone was cracked and he’d miss the next 6 weeks of the season).

With Chris retiring hurt it was left to Harsha Cooray to lead the charge as he patiently built his innings, expanding his strokeplay in the final ten overs to reach his hundred off the final ball of the innings, depositing it over the sightscreens. With the ball, Rory Martin took the honours picking up three crucial wickets and was well supported by the spin duo of Harsha and Calum Howard who combined to restrict the run rate in the middle overs. With the Heriots tail fighting all the way the game went down to the final over and final ball with all three results still possible. Step forward Hayes van der Berg who held his nerve to clean bowl the Heriots number 6 and send the Dons into wild celebrations. Victories like this are pivotal in chasing the title as 2009 proved, and upon reflection this game was critical in our season.

With Chris out for the foreseeable future Shay Nanthakumaran came into the side and wasted no time in trying to fill Chris’s shoes, stroking a masterful century at home to Forfarshire as we chased down 237 with the loss of only two wickets, a superb effort from Shay who has played his entire cricket career at Mannofield

A trip to SMRH followed and 109 from Hayes van der Berg (pictured below), 70 from Harsha Cooray and a quick fire 43 from Kenny Reid helped the Dons post their highest score of the season (287-7). With some dark clouds heading towards the ground SMRH started quickly trying to get ahead of the DL score but Harsha Cooray bowled a brilliant nine over spell to keep the hosts in check as another victory was achieved on our travels.

This run of victories had been matched by Arbroath, who were only two bonus points behind us in the league, and set up a potential title decider at Mannofield in early August. However the weather won and the game was washed out in its early stages.

Chris Venske made his return from injury away at Stoneywood the following week and 45* from the big opener helped overcome the hosts 108 in double quick time.

Aberdeenshire travelled to Grange in what was likely to be a huge test of their title credentials. Winning the toss the Dons had no hesitation in bowling first, a decision quickly vindicated as the hosts were reduced to 36/5 with another five wicket haul for Tyler Buchan. The Grange tail rallied to hoist the total to 145 which still felt below par however when Chris Venske was removed in the first over the Dons reply was immediately on the back foot and it never recovered as we struggled to 115 all out, a defeat we feared would cost us the title. However, we were thankful to the efforts of the Watsonians bowlers who had skittled Arbroath for 69 which meant the season would go down to the final weekend.

Unfortunately despite the best efforts of the ground staff torrential rain on Friday had waterlogged one section of the outfield and a blocked drain (which was only discovered via some excavation post season) meant the water couldn’t drain away, resulting in the cancellation of the Falkland game. This gave us an unassailable position and delivered the Eastern Premier League title to Mannofield, our first league victory since 2009.

This victory qualified us for the national championship final where we met the Western Premier League champions Ayr. Kenny Reid stood in as skipper in the absence of Tyler Buchan and won a decisive toss, inserting Ayr to bat on a damp wicket. Four wickets from Rory Martin and three for Chris Venske reduced Ayr to 37/6 but they recovered to 169 all out to post the Dons a challenging total. Venske and Howard added 54 for the first wicket which quickly became 93-4 but Harsha Cooray and Callum Martin saw the Dons over the line with two overs to spare to clinch the National Championship.

A superb season for the side who had local players top the run scoring chart (Chris Venske with 821 from 19 innings) and bowling charts (Tyler Buchan, 40 wickets from 23 matches) for the first time in recent memory. The club was also able to give first team debuts to three young talents in Tom Diamond, Aaron Grayson and Connor Shorten which bodes well for the future and the emergence of Rory Martin and Hamish Niven as regular first team players adds two more players to the side who have developed from our junior ranks.

Across all competitions the first XI used 24 players in the 2014 season which is over half of the clubs regularly available players. It is a huge testament to the strength of the club that despite continual challenges in selection due to injury or unavailability that on field success was achieved to such a high level, congratulations to all those on and off the pitch who made this possible. A special mention should go to Ian Latta who retired from scoring after fifty years of dedicated service to the club, great timing from Ian to bow out on such a high.

Photos from CricketEurope

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