Cricket: Cracker of a match as Grange claim bonus

The Edinburgh side will be glad to see the back of the men from Titwood for another season given that they have lost to them twice in 2010.

Despite defeat, though, Grange did enough on the day to collect two bonus points, so they are back to the top of the SNCL Premier Division table with three matches to go.

The home side batted first and got off to a good start thanks to a typically quickfire 45 from 49 balls from Scotland cap Oli Hairs. The teenager now has more than 500 league runs for the summer and the left hander is likely to earn a recall to the national side at some point before the end of the summer.

Once Hairs fell, bowled by Sajid, Ian Worth came and went quickly for a duck and captain Sanjay Patel and Mike Powell went about moving the innings on.

Both experienced campaigners batted sensibly and, from 100-2 off 25 overs, they had a good platform on which to build. Patel had notched up his fourth 50 of the season and moved to more than 450 league runs for the summer, before he was bowled by Mohammed Ali in the 35th over.

At that stage, it was 148-3 and Stuart Moffat came in and quickly moved to 11 before he was bowled. Powell was then joined by Giles Holmes at the crease and the latter hit a decent 20 as they moved up over the 200-mark in the 45th over.

Holmes was soon out, caught by Ali off the bowling of Afzal, and wicketkeeper Simon Smith joined Powell - who had reached his first 50 of the league season - for the final few overs.

Some enthusiastic running from Smith allowed his side to get up to 234-5 from their 50 overs with former England A man Powell finishing 66 not out. The total was a bit lower than it looked like it might be at one stage, but the ball was hard to get away and all runs had been worked hard for. Defending such a total was going to be tricky for Grange given that they were without seamers Stuart Davidson and Micky Thomas as well as the spin option of Gregor Maiden.

They knew they had to try and get Sajid, who had 640 league runs to his name at the start of the innings, out early, but it did not happen. Indeed Jonny Gray was taken out of the attack after bowling just two overs because pro Sajid and Shahid had hit a number of boundaries off him.

Roy Adams and Holmes managed to settle things down, but the duo batted with caution and never looked in any real danger. By the half way point they were 94-0 and well set.

The match continued in a similar vein, Grange's bowlers trying their best and the Clydesdale batsmen giving no chances, until the 38th over when a smart catch by Smith off the bowling of Powell's medium pace accounted for Shahid for 71.

The wicket gave Grange hope and Clydesdale still needed 65 from the last 60 balls.

Qasim Sheikh obviously wanted to get things done quickly, hitting two nice fours off the bowling of Andy Wilson in the 44th over, and when he was out for a quick 32 in the next over the win seemed to heading the away team's way again.

It seemed even more so that way when Omer Hussain smashed a six over Wilson's head in the 46th over, but the wickets of Sajid (90) and skipper Harmanjit Singh from Adams and Gray respectively still meant that three runs were required off the final over.

Hussain and Craig Smith managed to get there with a ball to spare though in a cracking match.