Mid-innings malaise costs Dons home win

Aberdeenshire won the toss and chose to bowl first at a bright Mannofield. The wicket had been under covers most of the week and was predicted to nip around a little early on.

Tyler Buchan and Tony McKenna took the new ball and the pair kept things tight, conceding only 19 off the opening ten overs. The opening burst could of been so much better had two regulation chances been held at gully and mid-on.

McKenna, bowling an extended spell, finally got his reward for some good work by clean bowling visiting pro Jooste for 12. This brought overseas amateur Papworth to the crease to join Knox, and the pair combined to post Heriots most significant partnership of the game, adding 55 to the total and take the total to 90 before Papworth was caught behind off the bowling of Harsha Cooray.

Economical spells from Fraser Proud and Adrian Neil came and went without taking a wicket and it was Hayes van der Berg's reintroduction that sent wickets tumbling as he took 4-33 on home debut.

Heriots closed off their innings on 174-6, a total the Dons were happy to chase given the way the wicket was playing.

Chris Venske started the reply in the same vein of form he finished last week in, bludgeoning the ball to all parts as he raced towards fifty once more. Calum Howard bludgeoned a forward defence and snapped his bat in half, and was removed shortly after well caught at midwicket off the bowling of Jooste.

Venske and van der Berg combined well in a partnership of 65, the Dons highest, with van der Berg playing some beautifully timed cover drives. He fell to the bowling of Watt, clean bowled for 21.

With the Dons well set at 81-2, Heriots put the brakes on and between overs 20 and 40 the Dons were only able to add 40 runs at 2 an over. During this spell of miserly bowling from Watt and Farooq, Heriots also accounted for the wickets of Chris Venske (58), Harsha Cooray (10) and Kenny Reid (0) to leave the Dons in a spot of bother at 108-5 going into the last ten overs.

Graeme Tomlinson had been patiently holding up an end through this period and was building his way towards a late innings charge towards the target, however when he was stumped in the penultimate over for 30 the Dons hopes faded and they finished 5 short of a very gettable target.

Two losing bonus points were collected in the process, but more initiative through the middle overs will be required by the Dons next time out.