Match Report - Dev XI vs Milngavie 09/05/21

A mixed West of Scotland Dev XI lost out to Milngavie on a Sunday where getting a game was an achievement in itself after the rain the previous day.

The West batting card.

Skipper Jesse Mills won the toss and elected to bat without hesitation, eyeing a total of 200 in the 35 over match. This seemed likely as openers Ben Cole and Tony Lewis put on 91 for the first wicket, only parting ways when Cole retired upon reaching his 50. Unfortunately rather than setting a platform his departure caused a loss of momentum in the West camp, with wickets falling at regular intervals across the last 18 overs. No batter bar the openers passed 14 as West looked to increase the scoring rate. Prabhjot Singh bowled well for Milngavie with figures of 3-0-7-3. A final over flurry of 13 from Mills took West up to 181 – a competitive but not exceptional total.

In the field West started well, Graeme Etheridge causing problems for all batters with his prodigious swing. He bowled his 7 overs straight through ending with figures of 7-2-18-3. Unbeaten at one end was the dangerous McMillin, who latched onto anything loose and hit some superb shots. At 72-4 the game stood in the balance, with only McMillin into double figures, but he found a willing ally in Amardeep Singh to nearly double the Milngavie total as both played sensibly. Singh was run out for 33 with the total at 143, as Mills turned to veteran seamer McNulty to find a breakthrough. However McMillin survived a testing spell and reached his hundred, reportedly a first for Milngavie CC. This was enough to see them through to 183-5, completing the chase in 32.1 overs.

The game was played in excellent spirits and surprisingly dry weather and players from both sides seemed to get a lot out of it; we look forward to the next fixture.