Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 8:35am

Dunfermline Knights top the league and win a final

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DUNFERMLINE Knights stay top of the league after they overwhelmed SMRH at Inverleith.

In a match reduced by rain to 48 overs per side, the Knights posted a mammoth score thanks to a brilliant maiden century from club professional Colin Ingram with an unbeaten 126 off 123 balls.

Supporting knocks of 55 from Vasu Reddy and 33 from Gowtham Rai helped the Knights amass 267 - 6.

Bowling spells from Ingram with 3-13, captain Steve Fryer with 1-11, Ram Boyapati 2-10 and Yasar Arfat 3-37 reduced SMRH to 137 all out.

Dunfermline maintain a slender two point lead at the top of the table over Stoneywood-Dyce. This Saturday the Knights travel west to face Renfrew.

With the travelling logistics involved with the Caledonian section of the Murgitroyd 20/20 Cup, it was decided that the semi-final between Dunfermline and Stoneywood-Dyce would be played at neutral Lochside Park, Forfar, with the winners then meeting Forfarshire in the final.

The Knights were quickly in the match when opener Reid lobbed a simple catch to Boyapati. They quickly put on 54 for the second wicket before Coetzer was caught behind by Jones. Fryer was the stand out bowler for the Knights, taking 4 for 17 and Reddy with 3 for 15.

Dunfermline found early trouble with the dismissal of Matt Jones but Fryer and Rai steadied the ship. Stuart Campbell then came to the crease and set about the Stoneywood attack. He scored 40 from 33 deliveries, including two sixes and three fours. In the end Reddy and Campbell saw the Knights home to a comfortable seven wicket victory.

Next up were Forfarshire in the final. Knights captain Fryer won the toss and elected to bat. Overseas amateur Jones made up for his failure in the semi as he hit 55 quick runs. Fryer contributed a useful 33 as Dunfermline closed on 152-5 in their 20 overs.

In reply Forfarshire, with Saltires captain Ryan Watson opening the batting, took the score to 99 before Watson was caught by Fryer with six overs remaining. Forfarshire were still confident of victory and Fryer came on to bowl the last over of the match with Forfarshire needing 11 to win. He kept his cool and only conceded four runs, leading to joyous celebrations by the Fife side.

The Knights now travel to Poloc CC"s ground, Shawholm in Glasgow, on 3rd August to take part in the finals against the winners of East, West and South.

Dunfermline 2nd XI defeated Carlton at McKane Park in a closely contested match. David Hinds held the innings together with a masterful 78 and at the half way stage, 163 seemed to be a winning score but a late rally enabled Carlton to reach the final over needing 14 to win. Jordan Davidson held his nerve and enabled the home side to win by six runs.

l DUNFERMLINE Carnegie bounced back to form with a comfortable victory over Edinburgh University Staff in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Heavy rain threatened the match but the weather cleared and captain David Mitchell (pictured right) won the toss.

He asked EUS to bowl and was rewarded with fine opening spells from Matt Wauchop and Gary Stewart, who reduced EUS to 22-5 off 20 overs.

A good partnership brought EUS up to 76-5 before Mitchell struck twice in quick succession. At the other end, Graham Lindsay enjoyed a fine spell of 3-17 from five overs as EUS slumped to 113 all out.

In reply, Neil Harris and Lindsay gave Carnegie a fine start with a partnership of 53 for the first wicket, the highlight being a huge straight six from Lindsay. Both openers fell in the 20s and Carnegie wobbled as they fell to 95-5.

As the weather closed in, it was left to Mitchell and Matt Lafferty to guide Carnegie to a deserved victory with 15 overs to spare.

Mitchell said afterwards, 'Everyone contributed to that victory. There was some excellent fielding and bowling while the batsman showed the necessary concentration to get the job done.'

Man of the match for Carnegie, who host Kismet next weekend, was Lindsay.

l TOWNHILL secured a comfortable victory over Kirkbrae in Edinburgh on Saturday in Division 4 of the East League.

Kirkbrae elected to bat and, although they scored quickly, they lost vital wickets as Townhill made the most of the chances given.

Townhill scored at a slower rate but retained wickets, which ensured victory.

Kirkbrae 132 all out; Campbell Spowart 4 for 42, Drew Smith 2 for 15, Andy Pringle 2 for 16.

Townhill 133 for 5; John Hynd 21, Jeremy Murray 43, Kevin Pringle 35 not out.

Townhill play Musselburgh at home on Saturday and continue to look for new players. Anyone interested should contact Drew Smith (tel. 839608) or Andy Pringle (735656). Alternatively, look up Townhill Cricket Club"s new website, www.townhillcricketclub.com.

l BROOMHALL strengthened their chances of promotion with a convincing victory in the capital, beating Heriots 3rd XI. In Division 5 of the east League all the Broomhall batters contributed and the bowlers" accuracy and pace proved too much for Heriots.

Broomhall 306-4, 20 pts; J Bell 64, J Grant 76, R Grant 75 not out.

Heriots 71 all out, 3 pts.

Broomhall 2nd XI lost to Drummond Trinity on Saturday in an East League Division 8 encounter.