Cricket: Stubbs hands Watsonians perfect cure to drop fears

Published on Monday 10 August 2009 09:59

EUAN STUBBS laid claim to being the most effective wicket-keeper in Scottish Premiership cricket as Watsonians comprehensively accounted for Heriot's by eight wickets at Goldenacre.

Four catches took the Edinburgh-based doctor to 19 dismissals for the season, putting him at the top of the individual charts alongside West's Dougie Lockhart, who has played four more matches.

And Stubbs was by no means content with ensuring Heriot's were rolled over for 132 in just 41.5 overs – starting the visitors reply he powered to 21 runs off just 11 balls (including five boundaries) in laying strong claim to any man-of-the-match award.

Little wonder 'Sonian skipper Steve Paige, speaking within minutes of the winning runs coming off just 23.3 overs, heaped praise on his vice captain, Stubbs, all of whose catches came off seam bowlers, saying: "Stubbsy's catches were awesome and all involved diving low to take the ball one handed.

"His hospital duties mean he can't play in every match but when he is able to turn out he is a tower of strength. As well as always encouraging our bowlers he has a great pair of hands, while as an opener he whacked it so hard that if wickets did fall we always had plenty in hand."

Heriot's skipper Steve Knox, whose side have dropped to second bottom and into the play-off spot, sportingly acknowledged his opponents' superiority on the day.

"Things just didn't fall into place for us, partly because we batted poorly and partly because Watsonians played well. 132 was always going to be extremely difficult to defend on a wicket like that," he said.

"Euan Stubbs had a strong game but he wasn't the only one. Mike Legget (3-27) was pretty effective, too."

Added Paige: "Legs (Legget] just kept hitting the deck hard in doing everything we asked of him."

Despite winning the toss for first use of what looked an even-paced pitch Heriot's struggled early on. Typically, Knox hung around to make 38 off 70 balls including seven boundaries but Qasim Ashraf, Chris Goddard and Cammie Farrell all went cheaply so that at 16-3 it took a 58 run partnership between Knox and Gavin McIntyre (18) to wave the smelling salts.

When McIntyre departed at 84-4 Heriot's were in trouble, which intensified when Ross Paxton claimed wickets with successive balls to stand on the brink of a hat-trick, only to be denied by Paul McCraw.

First, Jamie Innes fell to a brilliant caught and bowled by the spinner before Ali Farooq was immediately caught by James Easton giving Paxton figures of 2-14 off just seven overs.

"A hat-trick for Ross would have been the icing on the cake for us but he still bowled superbly, whether looping the ball in the air a bit or spinning it. Overall just one chance went begging between the 'keeper and first slip and we had to be satisfied with the improvement from our performance in the field a week earlier" said Paige.

Indeed, Heriot's could have been routed even more convincingly had Andre van Niekiek (4 not out) and McCraw (11), in his final match before moving to a teaching job in China, not held out to put on 18 for the final wicket, helped by a few extras.

"If I was to nit-pick then it would be the number of extras (27) we conceded" admitted Paige, adding: "I developed a bit of a no-ball problem myself but I recognised the need to get (pro) Andy Delmont into the attack quickly and he and Legs did a lot of damage."

Delmont wasn't finished there and after Stubbs and George Cairns (28) had launched the 'Sonian reply in spectacular style with 16 runs coming off the first couple of overs it was he and Euan Chalmers who confidently saw Watsonians home.

Initially, though, Stubbs took the home attack by the scruff of the neck and his knock required just six scoring shots before holing out to Ali Farooq at mid on to become Anthony Edington's 21st victim of the season.

From 54 balls Delmont cracked a half-century (53 not out) to take his seasonal aggregate to 753 and boost his average to more than 75, while Chalmers' unbeaten 21 set the seal on a rare Watsonian victory over their Capital rivals.

Although still fourth bottom, they have a run-in comprising struggling Greenock and Ayr as well as leaders Aberdeenshire.

Paige insisted: "That performance approached the form we showed when bowling out Grange for 51 this season and now it is all about who we can overtake at this stage rather than who is behind."

As for Heriot's, they welcome new leaders Aberdeenshire on Saturday and finish with trips to Carlton and Greenock.