Hooray for Cooray (again)

Aberdeenshire won the toss and despite some over night rain had no hesitation in choosing to bat. Tyler Buchan's decision may have been in question as the Dons were reduced to 18-2 after Calum Howard nicked a full ball through to the wicket keeper and Graeme Tomlinson was trapped in front.

Chris Venske steadied the ship for Shire as he added 45 off 37 balls and added 53 with Harsha Cooray. Venske had diced with death during his innings offering multiple run out opportunities for the visitors and it was no surprise when he was caught short of his ground attempting a quick single. Despite the healthy run rate, (71 from 13 overs) the loss of 3 quick wickets was of some concern to the hosts.

This brought Kenny Reid to the crease and together with Harsha Cooray a match defining partnership was formed as the pair punished the bad ball and rotated the strike nicely. By the time Reid departed for a well made 51 the pair had added 139 for the 4th wicket, the highest partnership of the Shire season so far.

Cooray went on to complete his first century for Aberdeenshire, finishing the innings on 107*. The Dons closed on 267 as Martin, Brand and Singh all added some late runs.

With showers forecast for later in the day the Dons were mindful that early wickets would be vital in the event of any D/L calculations. Daya Singh and Tyler Buchan were repelled initially by some solid defence from the SMRH openers, however Tyler Buchan struck in three consecutive overs to remove the top three SMRH batsmen, including danger man Cedric English, reducing the visitors to 43-3.

Adrian Neill replaced Buchan from the Great Western road end and picked up a 3 wicket haul of his own, removing the SMRH middle order and sending the visitors crashing to 75-6.

In a day of wickets falling in three's, Harsha Cooray took wickets 7, 8 and 9 to complete a thoroughly successful day for the Shire pro. To round off the innings, Calum Howard's left arm spin was introduced and produced immediate results picking up the final wicket of the innings as SMRH were skittled for only 98.

A return to winning ways for the Dons who are back in Scottish Cup action next week with a visit to Glenrothes, who are flying high in the Eastern First Division.

[Full match Scorecard here]