Mannofield was busy and the spectators watched expectantly, as an enthralling struggle unfolded, between a formidable Huntly attack and a resolute ‘Shire batting order. Huntly’s pacy left-armer, Alexander Maclennan, impressed in his opening spell; Ewan Davidson and Marcus Vila had to fight for their runs in the early exchanges. However, it was Jamie King at the other end, who made the break-through, capturing Ewan’s wicket with 38 runs on the board; Marcus followed soon after for a useful 22 runs. Two more wickets then fell cheaply, as the visitors tightened their early grip on proceedings. Standing firm in the rapidly developing crisis was Kenny Reid. Reading the situation well, Kenny largely abandoned his usual swashbuckling approach to play with caution and judgement; he was joined by Jordan van den Berg who showed equally admirable restraint and this determined duo built the first, half-century partnership of the match, and thus, halted a perilous collapse.

With 125 runs on the board, Jordan fell to a wonder catch in the slips, by George Ninan and Kenny was soon trapped, very much on the front foot, but judged to be LBW. Crucially, the remaining batsmen continued to battle; there were useful contributions from James Robb, Akhlaq Bashir and Izzy Bandara, as the tail-enders carried the struggle right to the final over, before succumbing for a seemingly modest total of 191. For the knowledgeable Ultras on the boundary, there was a feeling of gratitude towards the batsmen, who had put up a genuine fight to register what could yet be a competitive score. Huntly will have felt content that they were chasing an achievable target in this very important match.

All-rounders in our sport are the lucky ones, having so many opportunities to catch the eye in any match. Our talented skipper, Lewis Munro, has starred less with his bat of late and would have wished for a better score in this match; his early deliveries did little to comfort the home crowd, as 10 runs were conceded in just a few balls. Lewis then chose that very moment to turn this vital top of the table clash completely on its head. Running in energetically but smoothly, with his elegant out-swinging action, Lewis dismissed the first five Huntly batsmen with the score on a mere 33 runs. Forgive me, Robbo et al, but this was undoubtedly the bowling performance of the season so far, as our bold captain, there and then, seized total control of this vital tie. When Luke Bain trapped Calum Howard shortly thereafter, the game was all but up for the visitors. Mopping up operations were delayed by a defiant knock by Jamie King, but in the end, the Huntly resistance folded with only 101 runs on the board.

We had overcome a major hurdle and, in doing so, had handled spells of intense pressure throughout this match. Huntly had bowled and fielded magnificently to give themselves a decent chance. We had fought hard in our innings to stay in contention and had managed to put a respectable total on the board. Then, Lewis had gone to work! On the day, Huntly could not cope and Aberdeenshire were convincing winners!

We now have three matches left and none is expected to be straight-forward. On Saturday, we host a Dundee High team, capable of causing an upset. Lewis’ side will doubtless be very focused in this match!

Much has been written by yours truly and others about the fabulous fourteen matches undefeated by our seconds so far this season. In doing so, they have overcome the best sides in Grade cricket in a variety of playing conditions, many contrasting greatly to the pitch at Mannofield. Indeed, yesterday’s match saw them compete with a highly talented Grampian side on Inverdee, just across the water, but a far cry from our beloved home turf.

This was to be a titanic struggle, in which the batsmen ruled supreme! Sujil Thekkumpurathupadi was the first to flourish; the Grampian number three struck a succession of mighty blows, in scoring an aggressive innings of 118 runs. It required a catch in the ever-safe hands of David Gamblen off the bowling of Aayush Sinha to end this onslaught at a time, when our undefeated record seemed doomed to end. This crisis darkened further, when Eldho Varghese then took up the attack in the dying overs of Grampian’s magnificent innings, by scoring a rapid 60 runs off just 48 balls, guiding his side in partnership with John Varghese, to a total of 317 for 6. Skipper, Rizwan had tried several changes of bowler to stem the deluge of runs; the most effective had turned out to be Ali Hashmi, the only one on our side to concede less than five runs per over.

To my generation the task of chasing a total of 317 runs would be deemed exceptionally challenging; to do so in a forty overs match would have been judged to be nigh impossible!

Ah, but!

No challenge had halted Rizwan’s men so far this season! Was this just one more mountain to be climbed. George Gill certainly thought so, as he started our reply very positively. He and Riyansh Kirodian set about the Grampian attack with purpose and aggression. They put a speedy 56 runs on the board, before Riyansh fell, but George stood firm, striking the ball cleanly, as he reached his second consecutive century of the campaign in very quick time. It was now clear that this huge target was at least reachable. When George finally fell for a magnificent 113 runs from only 64 deliveries, victory was clearly a possibility! The chase was on, but other, significant contributions would be needed. We have come to expect Ali Hashmi to cause damage, when he bats; he chipped in with a very useful 53 runs to edge us ever closer, but this innings needed someone with the temperament and skill to guide us through the tension and over the line. Who better for this than our intrepid club President, Clark Cameron? Clarkie has been the successful “Finisher” on a number of occasions; an undefeated half-century in this match was achieved in a very tense climax, in the company of his good friend at the other end: our Vice-President, David Gamblen! We reached our massive target with just five deliveries remaining. The broad smile on Rizwan’s face, was one of pride and relief in equal measure!

So remarkably, it is fifteen out of fifteen! Off to Inverurie next week, where the home side would doubtless love to be the team to end this astonishing run of triumphs!

Pranav Saravanan has been one of the most elegant, young batsmen in our ranks in recent seasons; we have missed him of late. Yesterday, he scored a fine 75 runs to prop up our third eleven’s innings at Huntly. There was support in a family affair at the start from Vikaash, and later from Muteeb Javeed, but the final total of 179 runs hardly looked secure.

So it proved, as Huntly opener, Frank Summers, applied skill and patience to build a match-winning innings of 92 runs. He was ably supported by Ian Kennedy, as the home side passed our total for the loss of just three wickets, with eight overs remaining. Skipper, Lokesh Saraswat had tried an array of bowlers in an effort to make the breakthrough, but we failed to cause serious damage to the home side, who emerged worthy winners. On Sunday, the thirds have the luxury of a home fixture against Grammar 2. I think our lads will take this chance to return to winning ways.

Our fourths were down at Inverdee on Sunday, savouring the delights of the shortened game: a T20 cup-tie against Knight Riders. We elected to field in this match and our opponents were inspired by a truly fabulous knock by Yovani Gabriel David Vetri Raj, who scored 93 runs in an undefeated innings. A few of his team-mates joined in successfully and Knight Riders hoisted the formidable total of 187 runs. Our lads batted valiantly in their attempt to overhaul this large total; there were fine contributions from Oscar Vila, Umesh Basavaraju and Aditya Nagdeve, but we were unable to catch up and Knight Riders emerged on top. Next Saturday, our fourth return to Inverdee to face Grampian. This would be a good time to record another league victory!

Following their magnificent showing down at York last week, our under 15 s are rightly being showered with praise for their achievement in reaching the last eight sides in Britain. The work that has gone in to grow and develop our junior sides has been a shining jewel in the life of Aberdeenshire Cricket Club.

Our junior squads practise throughout the year, indoor and at our outdoor nets. Several or lads make week-end visits to Huntly for Regional Squad sessions. There is so much work for each of these youngsters and they tackle it with enthusiasm and energy. We have a wonderful support network of families, friends and coaches.

At the centre of this growing organisation is the Head Junior Coach: Phil Wood. I have nothing but immense admiration for Phil’s input to the club and perhaps more importantly to the sporting lives of so many youngsters. Working as a volunteer, with the support of his close colleague, Rahul Chandu this coaching duo has raised the standard of junior cricket in our club to a level not seen in the past. The outstanding performances of a number of our youngsters have raised the club’s profile in the cricket world. Moreover, the current coaching programme is providing our club with a supply of talented, enthusiastic youngsters who have entered senior cricket with distinction.

Tomorrow, two of our hardest workers in the club set off to Ireland to represent Scotland in our annual Celtic Cup series of matches. Marcus Vila and Ethan Shedbal, you go with our congratulations and very best wishes!

As we face another, important week in this thrilling season, the supporters wish every player the best of luck this weekend!