FPs once again lost the toss and were invited to bat and with Budd missing it was Lord and Knudson who opened.  They set about a weak attack and quickly built a 74 run partnership with little alarm before Vyas bowled Skipper Knudson for an aggressive 28 which contained 2 sixes.  The new batsmen joined Lord who was already past 50, but their partnership was quickly broken as Lord was Caught off the bowling of Chisholm for 55.

Eagles and Youles both launched some lusty blows, with Dickie taking some serious punishment.  However, Artisans struck back with first Eagles caught at point off Chisholm and then Youles caught at mid wicket as FPS fell back to 158 for 4 in the 26th over.

McDonald and Clelland continued the aggressive approach with McDonald hitting 3 fours in a brisk 21 before Morrison was dismissed for 8 3rd ball, hitting Joyce through midwicket twice for four and then being caught on the boundary off  a full toss.

Craig Fraser hammered a quickfire 24 not out and was ably assisted by Gary Stuart 8 not out as FPs declared in 40 overs on 248 for 8.

Looking for Early wickets Stuart and James Lord opened the bowling and Stuart struck in his fourth over bowling Ritchie.  Eagles introduction then brought almost instant results as Stuart held a stunning catch at square leg to dismiss Munro.  Eagles had his 2nd wicket 10 balls later bowling Thomson and when Frizell caught M Munro, FPs looked in command with Artisans struggling on 47 for 4.  Eagles continued to chip away and Fraser held Ashish at mid on as Eagles claimed his fourth and FPs 5th wicket.

With Youles claiming the wickets of Joyce and Ram with 15 overs still remaining it looked certain FPs would close out victory, however as has so often been the case this season they could not clean up the tail as Chisholm and Vikranth combined until the 48th over until Stuart eventually had Vikranth caught.  John Dickie held firm for the remaining 14 balls as Artisans closed on 130 for 8 in 50 overs, Chisholm carrying his bat for 43 not out.

Eagles was the top bowler with 4 for 11 from 8 overs.

Scoring was slow and the Queens cross bowling extremely accurate and having laboured to 74, Youles was bowled for 16 playing an ugly shot at a straight ball from Gavin Jamieson.  MacDonald helped Budd move the score to 102 before departing in a similar way to Youles for 16 off Gavin Jamieson.

Knudson could only muster 4 and when Budd was bowled for 37 FPs only had 111 on the board for the loss of 7 wickets.  Budd to his credit had at least dug in for 93 balls in a stay of just over 2 hours.  Muthu fell moments later, Morrison hit a straight six in a brisk 14 but when he was bowled by Findlay and Tomkins soon followed to leave FPs 130 all out.  This seemed 50 runs short of par, but credit was certainly due to a fine all round bowling performance by the visitors with the Jamieson brothers both impressive.

FPs needed quick wickets, but Findlay and Jamieson blunted the opening attack with Findlay launching an impressive straight 6 onto the pavilion roof from Moir’s bowling.  However, he could only add 2 more as he was comprehensively bowled by Stuart.  Soon after Moir had Jamieson plumb LBW playing across the line to reduce Queens Cross to 37 for 2.  It was soon 39 for 3 as Eagles brilliantly caught Wood in the gully.

It got better for FPs as the left hander Shepherd was brilliant bowled by Stuart for 12 to leave Queens Cross 54 for 4.  Skipper Knudson then decided to gamble and keep Moir and Stuart on to bowl out there 12 overs each, but despite some close calls the batsman survived to leave Moir with 1 for 26 from 12 and Stuart 3 for 50.

Tomkins came into the attack and was joined by MacDonald who in his 3rd overs 3 times believed he had McLarnon LBW but all three appeals were rejected, much to MacDonald’s astonishment and anger.  McLarnon then went on the attack particularly severe on Tomkins and when he reached 50 it was clear there was to be only one winner.  He finished with a match winning 56 and gave Queens Cross a well deserved win.

However, it was MacDonald who hauled FPs back into the match when he tempted Findlay out of his crease to have him expertly stumped by Clelland, standing up, for a well played 23. Jerry Moir was by now into the attack after a double change and he removed dangerman Jamieson with a slightly loose delivery which Jamieson could only direct in the direction of Eagles. Initially, he appeared not to sight it, but managed to dive forward claiming a good low catch to reduce Queens Cross to 66 for 2.  They were soon 69 for 4 as first Moir had Blair Findlay caught by Clelland after a loose shot and then MacDonald had Shepherd caught by Roland Knudson at mid off for a duck.

MacDonald picked up his third wicket soon after with Russell brilliantly caught in the deep by John Lord. A diving effort on the run going to his right will be hard to beat for catch of the season. This left Queens Cross on 77 for 5 with Hutton and Murphy at the wicket.

After being beaten a number of times by Jerry Moir outside the off stump, Moir straightened his line to comprehensively bowl him leg stump for 5. Jamieson snr was the new batsman but he aimed a truly awful smash at Eagles and was stumped by yards. FPs had ideas of finishing Queens Cross off for around 100, but a useful partnership between Hutton and Bell carried the score towards 150 before Bell was caught by Knudson when Tomkins returned to the attack for 23. With his partner dismissed and batting with a runner, Hutton soon perished, bowled by Knudson for a well played 36. The innings closed on 152 when Tomkins bowled last man Taylor for 1.

Overall 152 looks a competitive score mainly thanks to the fast start and useful 8th wicket stand. James Lord was slightly off colour with 5 overs for 29, Tomkins bowled some good balls and will certainly be an asset this summer with 2 for 38 and Eagles and Knudson provided some tidy spin with 1 for 29 and 1 for 17 respectively. The star bowlers however were MacDonald with 10 overs 3 for 24 and the magnificent Jerry Moir whose 12 overs included 8 maidens as he picked up 3 for 9.

Lord opened the batting with Clelland and FPs were soon in trouble as first Clelland was caught down the leg side by Murphy off the bowling of Jamieson and then Muthu departed for a second ball duck caught by K Findlay at mid off, leaving FPs 15 for 2. Dallas Moir joined Lord at the crease and took some time playing himself in, failing to score from his first 11 balls. After 14 overs FPs had reached 27 for 2, but just 14 overs later 129 additional runs had been added as Moir got into full flow.

The introduction of Taylor seemed to be the catalyst, as Moir launched him for some enormous blows as he was hit out of the attack in 3 overs which cost 31 runs, mainly in boundaries. Kieran Findlay was next to have a bowl but threw in the towel after 1 over which went for 13. With Queens Cross clearly up against it, their captain with overs still to bowl, retired to deep mid wicket and left his team mates to try and stem the flow of runs. Next to have a crack was Blair Findlay but he was dealt with in a similar style but at least deserves credit for sticking at it for 3 overs which cost 25. The final bowler used was Bell and his 13 balls were also massacred in fine style by Moir as he conceeded 27. Moir hit the winning runs, not surprisingly a six to finish on 97 not out from 66 balls in 76 minutes.  He hit 10 fours and 7 sixes.

This also meant the stand had been 129 unbroken and Lord deserves great credit for a very fine innings at the other end, where he played the opening bowlers with great sense early on and was happy to pick off the bad balls in a very fine 38 not out which contained 5 well struck boundaries. His blunting of the opening attack certainly allowed Moir free reign to dismantle the change bowlers. It could be some time before an FPs batsman plays a more destructive innings.

Next up for FPs is a tricky home match versus old foes Gordonians.

The team to face Fraserburgh is:

John Lord, Budd, Clelland, James Lord, Eagles, Morrison, Miller, Muthu, Fraser, R Knudson, Stuart.

FPs were back at close to full strength with Budd restored to the top of the order and MacDonald, Moir and Muthu also returning. Glen Millar made a first start for the season. Those dropping out were Fryer, Govil, Gill and Magesh who lined up for the second team. Stuart was unavailable due to family commitments.

Knudson lost the toss and was invited to bat first on a soft slow looking wicket. After a watchful start, Lord and Budd began to score freely with Budd in particularly dominant form, taking full advantage of anything short hitting a fine six over mid wicket and following up with 2 thumping fours moments later. The 50 stand was raised in only the 11th over and the partnership had reached 63 when Lord was was unfortunate to play on off the bowling of Fyffe. This brought Youles to the crease but he was soon on his way, bowled round his legs by Hawkins, leaving FPs on 64 for 2.

All-rounder MacDonald came in at 4 and was inexplicably dropped on 1, but soon took advantage of this looking to be positive as he and Budd built a fine partnership. Budd who had been dropped a sitter on 22 started to up the pace , drilling another six and picking up 4 more well struck boundaries. MacDonald then got in on the act hitting a huge six over mid wicket. As the score moved well past 100, Budd brought up his 50 with a 2 through the legside. It was a fine knock, with limited risk and he had scored in good time, making his 50 in 61 balls.

He really then began to score freely, moving quickly to 71 before he was deceived by a slower ball and tamely departed lofting a simple chance to cover. It had been a fine innings comprising 7 fours and 3 sixes, made from 78 balls. Moir came to the crease at 5 and he was soon to be joined by Millar as MacDonald played all round a straight one to be bowled for 28. Millar looked to get after the bowling straight away and he clubbed a rapid 20 in a 13 ball stay, hitting 3 fours and a six before being adjudged LBW, the only LBW victim of the day. With Moir struggling with injury he decided to retire hurt on 9 and with Sam Knudson falling for a duck, FPs batting was subsiding quickly with them now on 170 for 6, effectively 170 for 7.

Muthu was in at 8 and skipper Knudson at 9, Knudson hit two fours before falling for 8, which brought Fraser to the crease who was looking for his first run in 9 innings. It duly arrived with a push to cover, to a large cheer, however the joy was shortlived as he was caught at point for his solitary single. Morrison was in the unusual position of 11 with usual incumbent Stuart unavailable. Muthu was looking to play shots with the end of the innings looking, and he was caught and bowled for 18 by Fyffe to leave FPs 204 for 9 in 40.1 overs with Moir unable to resume.

FPs were in confident mood of claiming the 10 wickets they required for victory and it was Sam Knudson and Glen Millar who opened the attack with Muthu preferred behind the stumps to Fraser. Millar only took 4 balls to make his mark claiming Fyffe caught and bowled for 6. Sam Knudson quickly got in on the act bowling Watson via an inside edge for 3  It should have been 9 for 3 moments later as J Thom popped a tame catch to Budd who to the astonishment of everyone somehow managed to fail to claim it, in what will be remembered for many years to come as a real shocker. However, his blushes were soon spared as Thom pushed one into the air and Morrison turned quickly to dive a claim it over his shoulder to reduce Kemnay to 12 for 3. Two balls later it was 12 for 4 as Knudson cleaned up Stark. In Knudson’s next over, he had Hawkins caught at short leg, this time, Budd making no mistake. When Millar then comprehensively bowled Wallace, Kemnay’s innings seemed to be in tatters at 18 for 6 in only the 10th over.

However, FPS were about to self destruct as a combination of some extremely bad luck and some terrible catching was about to cost them victory over the next 39 overs. How FPs could take 6 wickets in 10 overs but then only 2 in the next 39 will be a question that could well be revisited if promotion is not achieved at the end of the season.

It was now Petrie and Copping who were at the crease and next to get involved in the dropped catches was Skipper Knudson who shelled a regulation chance at mid off. Youles was moved to gully and when Copping guided the next ball straight to him, he also let the bowler down as he grassed the chance.

Roland Knudson and MacDonald were now in the attack but were having little luck, with MacDonald particularly unlucky with numerous deliveries flying in the air into space and when a fielder was found the chance was dropped.

With the 50 stand brought up and FPs growing increasingly frustrated, Youles was introduced into the attack and eventually broke the stand with a top edge being well claimed by Muthu behind the stumps. FPs hoped this was the opening they had craved, however there was about be another stand to frustrate FPs further.

FPs were trying everything now and Moir, barely able to move due to injury bravely took the ball in an effort to win the game. This was yet another example of Moir going above and beyond the call of duty for the club he has shown such loyalty to as he bowled in great pain for 5 overs, conceding only 1 run, but unable to claim the vital breakthrough needed.

Sam Knudson was brought back and thought he had Thom only for MacDonald to drop the chance, however, MacDonald’s quick thinking did seem to have Petrie short of his ground but the umpire ruled otherwise. Morrison then failed to cling onto a one handed chance going to his left and it really looked like it was not going to be FPs day.

The game then take an odd twist as the home umpires made a catalogue of decisions which left the FP players confused and disappointed. After a number of extremely close LBW appeals, both Moir and Knudson were convinced they had West LBW, twice hit when right back on his stumps only for the umpire to give the batsman the benefit of the doubt. Aware that to get the wicket, Sam Knudson would need to hit the stumps, he duly obliged castling West, only for the umpire to call no ball, fully 5 seconds after the wicket had been broken. The FPs players although extremely unhappy with this incorrect call, showed remarkable restraint to get on with the game with minimal fuss.

Another few surprising wides and no balls were called as matters descended into farce as the game came to a close. To complete the late farce, Kemnay scorers attempted to insist on an extra over despite the game being completed, eventually relenting as both sides shook hands and headed for the dressing room to contemplate differing emotions. Sam Knudson was once again FPs hero ending with 5 for 51.

Although there had been a number of tight and unfortunate umpiring calls towards the end of the game, FPs inability to take simple catches was what had cost them victory and the FP players will be keen to remedy matters next week. Credit must also go to the Kemnay lower order as Petrie batted for a long time to make 63 not out and he was well supported by his fellow tail enders. The number of young players in Kemnay’s line up also boded well for their future. FPs now go to Fraserburgh looking to get their promotion campaign back on track next week.

John Lord
M. Budd
J. Youles
J. Moir
James Lord
A. Macdonald
G. Miller
Muthu
G. Morrison
C. Fraser
R. Knudson

Meeting time is 11.45 at the Club.

Skipper Knudson, won the toss and had no hesitation in asking Academy to bat first. With Clelland unavailable, it was Fraser who kept wicket and a new opening attack of Sam Knudson and Youles who took the new ball. There was early excitement in Sam Knudson’s opening over as Kessell’s flashing drive flew quickly to John Lord at slip but he could not hang on to what would have been a stunning catch. However, Kessell failed to take advantage of the reprieve, playing all round a Youles delivery to be bowled for 3.

Academy’s centurion of last week Sunny came to the crease and unleashed some fine shots, particularly severe on anything remotely short. Liptrott and Sunny were adding quick runs and Knudson elected to replace Youles at the start of the 10th over with Stuart as the score had already reached 48 for 1. Initially the change made little difference as Academy stormed on to 63 for 1 until Stuart got one to lift from a good length which Sunny (32) could only edge through to the gleeful Fraser behind the stumps.

With this wicket, the brakes were firmly applied to Academy and Roland Knudson brought himself into the attack to bowl his off spin. He struck in only his second over with a high full toss which Liptrott could only help out to Morrison on the deep mid-wicket boundary and he made no mistake running in 10 yards to gather. Knudson struck again in his next over with Roshan playing on. Stuart then quickly added to Academy’s woes knocking back Afai’s leg stump for a duck leaving Academy on 81 for 5.

Davinder then blasted Knudson for his second six, but Knudson soon had his man as Davinder, trying for another maximum, could only top edge a delivery out to Sam Knudson at mid off who took a composed catch. Things were going from bad to worse for Academy by this stage and Stuart soon had Sintec gloving a lifting delivery to the keeper for 1. Stuart then struck again two balls later, pinning Derrett plumb LBW for 2, leaving Academy on 93 for 8. Knudson then struck once again in the next over, clean bowling Singh before Stuart picked up a well deserved 5 wicket haul, bowling Clark.

This left Academy all out for 97 off only 25.5 overs, having at one point been 63 for 1. Stuart was superb, controlling the swing well and ended up with 8.5-1-27-5. He was ably assisted by Roland Knudson 7-1-15-4 and it was their bowling which transformed the contest. Sam Knudson ended wicketless 6-0-31-0 and Youles finished with figures of 4-0-18-1.

Lord and Fryer opening the innings for FPs and were initially watchful, taking the score to 7 for 0 in 5 overs. However, Fryer soon fell bowled by Singh for 3. This brought Youles to the crease and he look to mix quick singles with lusty hitting. When beginning to look well set, however, he was bowled by Derrett for 15 leaving FPs on 32 for 2. The newly slimline Govil came to the crease and after being dropped a sitter on 1 by Roshan, he added some real impetous striking some fine cover drives and hitting a big six over long off. Govil dominated a stand of 32 with Lord but was well caught by Liptrott at cover off the bowling of Sintel, departing for a well made 23 from 24 balls.

This brought Fraser to the crease and he was unlucky when the 5th ball he faced kept low and he was correctly adjudged LBW for a duck. FPs were beginning to struggle now and were really up against it when first Lord was bowled by Sintel for 19 after a stay of 64 balls and then Roland Knudson edged a good ball from Singh to Sunny for a 5th ball duck.

This left FPs on 75 for 6 still requiring 22 for victory and both batsman Morrison and Sam Knudson were yet to score. They seemed to have things in hand as both Morrison and Knudson recorded boundaries, but the game was soon back in the balance as Morrison was bowled for 7 by the impressive Sintel. Sam Gill came out at number 9 and Academy were by now sensing an unlikely victory. However, there hopes were quickly snuffed out as young Knudson stamped his mark on the game taking 11 off Sid Singh’s next over to record a victory by 3 wickets. It was a highly composed effort from the 16 year old and his teammates were certainly indebted to his mature and composed innings of 16 not out.

For Academy, Derrett and Sintel were the pick of the bowlers with Derrett unfortunate to end up with only one wicket in an impressive spell of 12 overs for 23. Sintel ended up with 4 for 12 in just 6 overs and if he had been introduced earlier the result could have been very different.

FPs hope to have a number of senior players available next week for the tricky trip to Kemnay, but Govil and Sam Knudson have showed they are both more than able to stand in as needed and are sure to be pushing to keep their first team places.

The Crathie batsmen continued to play some attacking strokes but wickets were falling at regular intervals with no-one really looking likely to stay at the crease for long. Change bowlers Macdonald and Youles were happy to take 5 wickets between them with Youles taking a wicket with the first ball of his season. A run out and one wicket for the skipper accounted for the Crathie batting lineup for a total of 95.

After an excellent al fresco tea John Lord and Budd opened the batting for the home side. With only 10 runs on the board Grammar suffered a setback when Lord departed, playing back and becoe an lbw victim of the famous Rubislaw shooter. Clelland joined Budd at the crease and together they began to get on top of the bowling. Having seen off Thomas and Bestwick they plundered runs from the change bowlers and kept the scoreboard ticking over. With the total on 74 Clelland contrived to toe end a ball to mid-wicket which brought Moir to the middle. This did not affect the scoring rate as the required runs were quickly acquired. Moir scored the winning runs with a flourish by despatching a six into the pavilion enclosure.

Don’t forget that the last indoor nets sessions is also on Saturday 12th April. After this last session at the Grammar School we’ll be outside to brave the snow on Tuesday evening!