Rookies tumble Greenock

0 - 0 • Published 25 May 2009 12:00

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NEIL MacRae had words of encouragement for his former team-mates after masterminding a shock win for Aberdeenshire at Mannofield on Saturday.

Greenock, boosted by the return of the majority of their Scotland stars and with Australian star Cameron Borgas making his debut, travelled north in confident mood.

However, they were on the receiving end of a 25-run defeat by the newly promoted Dons who are still awaiting the arrival of their professional, Kiwi Todd Astle.

At times it was the home side who looked like potential title contenders rather than the Glenpark men who are still awaiting their first win of the campaign.

MacRae, who led Greenock to success during a successful two-year stint as captain in 2003 and 2004, believes his old club will bounce back.

He said: 'I think Greenock have the quality to go on and have a good season. Today was a fantastic day for Aberdeenshire. We proved we can compete at this level which is what I wanted but there is a long way to go.

'At full strength Greenock are a real force to be reckoned with. They can beat anyone on their day, but their problem is going to be international call-ups.

'That is why they maybe won"t win the league.'

The Mannofield player-coach, who claimed three wickets to wrap up this surprise win, was understandably just as keen to talk about his current club"s prospects. MacRae added: 'It is a massive win for the club because our aim when we were promoted was to challenge ourselves against the best sides in the country and this is the toughest test we have faced so far.

'I think we have shown we can hold our own in the top division and we will take great confidence from beating a quality side like Greenock.

'I told the boys beforehand not to be overawed by the opposition. They had five or six international players in their team in addition to a quality pro but you always have to remember that good players can make mistakes as well.

'We also showed that it only takes one good ball to get a good player out and our bowlers deserve a lot of credit for putting Greenock under so much pressure.'

Certainly, Shire were still second favourites after stuttering to 171 all out against a Greenock attack weakened by the absence of former Durham leg-spinner Moneeb Iqbal, while skipper Craig Wright was fit enough only to bat for his team.

Saltires seamer Sean Weeraratna made an early breakthrough when he had Kenny Reid caught by Wright for seven.

Overseas amateur Brad Rodden was joined by Ayaz Gul as Shire attempted to lay the foundations for a substantial total, only for their efforts to be undermined by the regular fall of wickets.

Gul was bowled by Cameron Borgas for 21 before Rodden became the first of Jonny Hemspey"s four wickets when he was trapped in front.

The Aussie had made 55 from 88 balls with seven boundaries, again confirming his value to the Mannofield side.

However, his departure sparked something of a procession as the home side slumped from 130-3 to 152-9.

The 19 runs added by Tyler Buchan and Chris West for the last wicket were to prove crucial in giving the home side some leeway during Greenock"s reply.

Chasing 172 should still have been a formality for the star-studded visiting line-up though they suffered an immediate setback when Scotland batsman Richie Berrington was bowled for a duck by West. The Glenpark side were on the receiving end of an even bigger setback when Borgas, making his debut after a successful stint as overseas professional for the Saltires, nicked a Buchan delivery to Shy Nanthakumaran.

Weeraratna became West"s second victim while Richie Lamb removed Shailesh Prabhu and Keenan Bowers as Greenock slumped to 71-7.

Wright launched a counter-attack with a hard-hitting half-century featuring seven boundaries but he was left stranded on 58 after MacRae joined the attack to remove the Greenock tail with 3-20 as the visitors were dismissed with seven overs of their allocation remaining.

MacRae added: 'We thought we would need at least 210 to make a real game of it but the last wicket partnership gave us a boost before our bowlers put us in control. They were on fire today and hopefully we can build on what has been an encouraging start to the season.'

Greenock president David Campbell said: 'Aberdeenshire played better than us on the day. We bowled okay but 172 should have been gettable.'

ABERDEENSHIRE

B. Rodden lbw b J. Hempsey........................55

K. Reid c Wright b Weeraratna........................7

A. Gull b Borgas.............................................21

N. MacRae b J. Hempsey..............................23

I. Brand b Nel................................................16

M. Williams b Nel.............................................1

M. Hayes b J. Hempsey ...............................14

R. Lamb b J. Hempsey....................................1

S. Nanthakumaran b Weeraratna....................1

T. Buchan not out............................................7

C. West b Berrington.....................................10

Extras 15

Total 171

Bowling: J.D. Nel 10-2-27-2; S.D. Weeraratna 10-1-26-2; W. Rowan 9-0-41-0; C.A. Borgas 10-0-37-1; J.P.C. Hempsey 10-1-39-4; R.D. Berrington 0.1-0-0-1.

FoW: 1-12, 2-54, 3-108, 4-130, 5-130, 6-142, 7-147, 8-150, 9-152, 10-171.

GREENOCK

R.D. Berringston b West..................................0

S.S. Prabhu lbw b Lamb................................14

C.A. Borgas c Nanthakumaran b Buchan.......8

S.D. Weeraratna b West.................................1

K. Bowers b Lamb.........................................18

W. Rowan b Brand..........................................4

C.M. Wright not out.......................................58

D. Nel c Nanthakumuran b Brand...................3

C. Hempsey c & b MacRae...........................14

J.P.C. Hempsey lbw b MacRae.......................2