Cricket: Sikander Butt makes most of dropped catch

THE old adage about catches winning matches was borne out again as Prestwick outgunned Poloc in their Western First Division tussle at Shawholm.

Having surrendered their first four wickets for only 22, the crucial moment came when pro Sikander Butt was dropped before he had reached 20.

And he made the most of his let-off by proceeding to a fine century which took the Ayrshire side’s tally to 205 – beyond the reach of the hosts.

While Butt’s effort was crucial, Poloc spokesman Keith Young admitted the sloppiness of his side’s fielding was also a major factor in their demise.

He said: “All too often there were easy singles run by the Prestwick batters, despite the fact they had hit straight to our guys. In addition, we gifted them 19 wides.

“Then, when we batted, we paid the price for failing to rotate the strike and the three lads who got solid starts will feel they could have gone on.”

Elsewhere, Ferguslie made it two derby wins on the trot when they saw off Renfrew at Meikleriggs. Mohammed Ramzan hit 64 to propel Renfrew to 157, but Jamie Carruthers (37) and Martin McAllister (30 not out) held their nerve in the face of fine bowling by Sajeed Majeed (four for 28) to guide their team to success by three wickets.

Scotland spinner Moneeb Iqbal dictated affairs at Whitehaugh, where Weirs got the better of Kelburne.

Iqbal made a gritty 45 in tricky conditions to guide Weirs to 136 and then snapped up seven for 28 to send the Paisley men sliding to 89 all out.

And at the Tryst, former Clydesdale pair Craig Smith (62) and Ross Lyons (40) were the mainstays of the East Kilbride innings of 202, which proved enough to beat Stenhousemuir by 73 runs.

The Eastern First Division programme was washed out.