Grammar were able to just beat the weather as they gained a morale boosting win at Inverurie. Inverurie were inserted on a damp surface that offered early movement for seamers. Their innings never truly gained momentum, with wickets falling at regular intervals and partnerships failing to flourish. Only really Fraser Lawrance stood out with a composed 32 off 48 balls, anchoring the middle overs and finding gaps with six well-timed boundaries. Mausam Thapa contributed 19 from 39 balls, showing patience but struggled to rotate strike. John-Paul Marrow and Roger Ewen added a late unbeaten 23-run stand, pushing the total to 130.
However, Grammar’s bowlers were relentless, Muhammad Hassaan was the standout, claiming 4 wickets for 20 runs in 8 overs, including 2 maidens. His spell dismantled the top order and included the key wickets of Hadden, Norval, Morrison, and Suraj Thapa. His delivery to Hadden was perfect and he expertly bowled Morrison. Ironically he started with a long hop but Norval cracked it straight to point where skipper Haider took a smart catch.
Salman Bedaar chipped in with 3/23, exploiting the middle-order vulnerabilities. Agha Haider provided control and breakthroughs, finishing with 2/18.
Grammar approached the chase with intent and confidence but knowing rain that had arrived in the tea break was due to arrive again. Their top order played positively, capitalising on loose deliveries and punishing Inverurie’s unusually wayward bowling.
Rasib Bashir led the charge with a blistering 27 off 17 balls, including 4 boundaries and a six. His strike rate of 158.82 set the tone and Alex Keith supported well with 18 off 19, before falling to Lawrance. Sameer Bin Khalid and Rob Swiergon added useful runs before falling to George Hadden, who was the only bowler to pose a consistent threat. Swiergon falling straight after another rain break.
Agha Haider (16*) and Avash Upadhyaya (17*) batted calmly despite bad weather closing in and rotated strike efficiently and punished loose balls. With just 2 needed despite some differences of opinion on the matter, the game was stopped again as the rain got heavier. After a prolonged delay the weather briefly improved and it took Avash just one ball to finish things.
Overall, it was a much needed win with Grammar’s bowling disciplined and aggressive, with Hassaan and Bedaar exploiting early movement and maintaining pressure. Inverurie’s batting lacked partnerships and struggled to rotate strike, especially in the middle overs but this was in part to Grammar bowling in good areas.
Grammar were boosted by being aggressive and also the Extras were a major factor: Inverurie conceded 25 runs in extras, which accounted for nearly 20% of Grammar’s total. For once, the fielding was sharp from Grammar and this needs to be the standard going forward.
Player of the Match: Muhammad Hassaan
His spell of 4/20 broke the back of Inverurie’s batting and set up the win. He bowled with pace, accuracy, and control, earning him the match honours.
Inverurie Scorecard
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| G Hadden | lbw b M Hassaan | 3 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 15.00 |
| T Norval* | c AM Haider b M Hassaan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| S Morrison | b M Hassaan | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 38.10 |
| F Lawrance | c G Morrison b S Bedaar | 32 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 66.67 |
| S Thapa | c G Morrison b M Hassaan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| M Thapa | c R Bashir b S Bedaar | 19 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 48.72 |
| C Watson | c H Mapplebeck b S Bedaar | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| K Godbole | c AA Upadhyaya b AM Haider | 15 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 35.71 |
| S Murrison† | c & b AM Haider | 9 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 37.50 |
| J Marrow | not out | 15 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| R Ewen | not out | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Extras | (b 1, lb 2, nb 1, w 16) | |||||
| Total | 130/9 (40 Overs) |
Fall of Wickets: 2, 8, 24, 24, 72, 74, 79, 101, 114
Grammar Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD |
| R Bashir | 8 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| M Hassaan | 8 | 2 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| H Mapplebeck | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| S Bin Khalid | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| S Bedaar | 8 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| AM Haider | 8 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| H Javaid | 2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Grammar Scorecard
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| A Keith | b F Lawrance | 18 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 94.74 |
| R Bashir | c S Thapa b M Thapa | 27 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 158.82 |
| S Bin Khalid | lbw b G Hadden | 9 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 56.25 |
| R Swiergon | lbw b G Hadden | 21 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 80.77 |
| AM Haider* | not out | 16 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 94.12 |
| AA Upadhyaya | not out | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 121.43 |
| G Morrison† | DNB | |||||
| H Mapplebeck | DNB | |||||
| M Hassaan | DNB | |||||
| S Bedaar | DNB | |||||
| H Javaid | DNB | |||||
| Extras | (b 2, lb 1, w 22) | |||||
| Total | 133/4 (18.1 Overs) |
Fall of Wickets: 40, 62, 92, 105
Inverurie Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD |
| F Lawrance | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M Thapa | 4 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| K Godbole | 5.1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| G Hadden | 5 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 2 |