RYAN Watson turned back the clock yesterday with a scintillating century as Forfarshire kept Corstorphine waiting for their first win in the CS Eastern Premier.
Batting first at Inverleith, Corstorphine managed to post a respectable total of 174. Jake Marnie (62) and Robert Thompson (33) were the main run scorers though Liam Sweeney's six-wicket haul kept Shire firmly in contention. They were soon in complete command as former Scotland captain Watson launched a one-man demolition job on the Corstorphine attack, romping to three figures amidst a flurry of boundaries. He finished the match with a four followed by a six to remain unbeaten on 116 in a seven-wicket success.
Elsewhere, the title race was blown wide open by Falkland who inflicted a shock first defeat of the season on leaders Grange at Raeburn Place.
All seemed well for Grange when John Blain's four wickets helped restrict the Fifers to 189.
However, Bruce Ditchmen and Carel Buitendag took three wickets each as the leaders were dismissed for 153. Grange's misfortune has offered renewed hope to a clutch of clubs including Carlton for whom Fraser Watts again top-scored, this time with an unbeaten 78 in their victory over Edinburgh rivals Watsonians at Myreside.
Arbroath, too, maintained their title challenge with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Stoneywood-Dyce at Lochlands.
Craig Ramsay claimed five wickets as the visitors were bundled out for 139 before Arbroath took just 18.1 overs to rattle off the runs, Brendan Ford hitting 54.
Defending champions Aberdeenshire may also be back in the title race after an 84-run win over Heriot's at Goldenacre where 15-year-old Findlay Anderson was one of the Dons' stars with three wickets.
The battle to be main challengers to Western Union leaders Clydesdale was a hard-fought affair as Kelburne and East Kilbride squared up at Whitehaugh.
It eventually went in favour of the hosts who, not for the first time this season, proved adept at defending a relatively modest total. They would have hoped for more than the 173 for which they were bowled out with five overs of their allocation remaining.
However, a similar total proved enough when the sides met in the Scottish Cup earlier in the month and it did so again as all the home bowlers got in the act while tight fielding increased the pressure on the EK batsmen.
Only opener Craig Smith with 36 and Moneeb Iqbal (26) made it into double figures for the visitors who were all out for a disappointing 108.
Scott Hamilton continued a prolific season with the ball to claim 4-24 while Dougie Wylie took 3-24.
Earlier Kelburne crucially managed a couple of meaningful partnerships of the sort which eluded their opponents. They were struggling when Fred Klaassen removed both Ryan Morrow and Qasim Sheikh for ducks.
Fraser MacDonald staved off further damage with a dogged knock of 46 from 87 deliveries, the opener sharing stands of 45 with Brad Williams and 55 with Omer Hussain as Kelburne claimed the initiative.
However, East Kilbride were never out of it and the departure of MacDonald sparked a collapse that saw the Paisley side lose their final seven wickets for 63 runs.
Muhammad Ramzan did the bulk of the damage with 3-59 while Moneeb Iqbal and Klaassen had two apiece.
Hussain was left unbeaten at the end, having top-scored with 62 from 99 balls with six boundaries and one maximum.
Clydesdale flexed their muscles against bottom-of-the-table Renfrew, the Titwood side rattling-up the highest team total of the season, an impressive 322-7 of which Con de Lange made 111 and Majid Haq 77 to set up victory.
Ferguslie enjoyed a seven-wicket success at Drumpellier while Dumfries were too strong for West of Scotland at Hamilton Crescent.
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