Heriot's go top after Arbroath falter on a day of surprise results

IT was a day of shocks in Division 1 as Arbroath relinquished the leadership back to battling Heriot's after only one week, and toiling Penicuik hauled themselves off the bottom rung by defeating cup finalists Stirling County.

Yet another century from Kiwi pro Michael Papps (106 not out) in tandem with evergreen Dougie Johnstone (54 not out) saw Ayr safely home at Alloway against faltering front-runners Arbroath United with eight wickets and three overs to spare. Phenomenal Papps is now just 84 runs short of the coveted 1,000-run milestone.

Earlier an insipid batting performance from the Lichties produced a merely moderate 186 for 6, with only South African pro Craig Williams to the fore as he carried his bat for an undefeated 85. Arbroath now slip down to third place.

Heriot's took immediate advantage of the Angus side's demise by accounting for dangerous Drumpellier in a rain-reduced match at Langloan. Pro Khatib Shahabuddin's quick-fire 38 enabled the Coatbridge men to post 116 for 8 in their 35 overs, before they grabbed the two crucial early wickets of Matthew Thomas and Adam Lockhart-Krause.

But skipper Steve Knox steadied the Goldenacre ship, and his defiant unbeaten 62 in partnership with Gavin McIntyre (21 not out) saw Heriot's scamper home with eight wickets and ten balls to spare.

Rampant Stoneywood-Dyce maintained their momentum against Stenhousemuir to record their tenth successive win and advance into second place, a mere 1.54% behind Heriot's. All-rounder Elton Willemse was the Aberdeen hero, grabbing the three top-five wickets of Tom Rutherford, Graeme Gardner and Ross Jones for just 21 as Stenny subsided to a lowly 127 all out.

Willemse then led the reply, blasting an unbeaten 73 with vital assistance from number seven Jared Walters (21 not out) as the People's Park side strode home with five wickets and eight overs in hand. This latest reverse consigns Stenhousemuir, with only one win in 14 starts, to bottom slot.

Skipper Keith Morton was the Penicuik hero as the Midlothian side shocked Stirling County at Kirkhill. Morton, carrying his bat for a fine, fighting 55 to enable his team to squeeze home by two wickets with just three balls to spare, despite another sterling bowling performance from Josh Edwards, who took 3 for 24.

Earlier the New Williamfield men had posted a disappointing 145 all out, thanks mainly to 41 from Iain McGhee at number three. Greg Ruthven was the home bowling star, blasting out the Stirling middle order with 4 for 22.

Poloc brought some joy to a mediocre campaign with a narrow six-run eclipse of Falkland at Shawholm. Consistent Carl Huyser (34), and 27 from Dani Chaudry at number 8 enabled the Glasgow side to post a modest 140 all out, with young Fife bowlers Alan Hamilton (Jnr) and Jack Henderson sharing seven wickets. Openers Nick de Silva and Michael Cachia gave Falkland a solid start, before Poloc pro Fraser Quarterman snapped up the key scalp of opposite number Harsha Cooray, caught behind for 26, as the Scroggie Park men collapsed from 104 for 2 to 134 all out.