Rain a pain but Blain is best for West

Sunday 13 May 2012

SCOTTISH cricket's new domestic structure yesterday ran up against a familiar old problem when rain played havoc with the opening day card.

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Games in the Eastern Conference were hardest hit with only one Premier Division fixture beating the elements.

They fared slightly better on the other side of the country where two top-flight matches went ahead and former Scotland World Cup bowler John Blain was the headline act as West of Scotland made light work of Ayr at Cambusdoon.

Blain, who moved north from Yorkshire during the close-season to take up a coaching role at Hamilton Crescent, proved he still has plenty to offer on the park with a devastating display of new-ball bowling. He claimed five wickets for just 11 runs as an inexperienced Ayr batting line-up struggled from the start.Blain had excellent support from Ian Cran who helped himself to four wickets and was even more miserly in conceding only nine runs. The pair allowed West to dismiss their hosts for just 75 in less than 26 overs.Ayr grabbed a couple of consolation wickets at the outset of West's reply but a mixture of the younger and older generation guided the Glasgow side to a morale-boosting success.Elsewhere, Greenock suffered a dispiriting defeat to top-flight newcomers Dumfries at Glenpark. Half-centuries from Joe Clarke and Josh Geary hoisted the visitors' tally to 199 before Pat Druce and Alan Davidson combined with four wickets apiece to dismiss Greenock for just 88.In the first division, Ferguslie came out on top in the Paisley derby with a decisive six-wicket win at neighbours Kelburne.With the three scheduled games in the capital washed-out, Arbroath and Aberdeenshire had the chance to make the early running in what is expected to be a highly competitive Eastern Premier Division. And it was the men from the Granite City who edged home by 10 runs in a tense affair at Lochlands.Neil MacRae and Sri Lankan professional Harsha Cooray both scored half-centuries for the visitors before the former was caught in the deep off Peter Clarke, on the way to a total score 195-9.Arbroath had good contributions from skipper Fraser Burnett, who made 60, and the veteran Kevin Ritchie. However, the 'Shire bowlers took wickets at crucial stages, skipper Tyler Buchan claiming 3-34 and managed to restrict their hosts to 185-8 from their 50 overs.

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Rain a pain but Blain is best for West

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