MacLeod makes hay but Caley have final say

Caley, the reigning Regional Series champions, started firm favourites in their double header against a makeshift Warriors line-up. However, they played second fiddle to MacLeod in the opening fixture, which the Warriors won by 25 runs, before gaining thrilling revenge as the return match was settled from the last delivery of the day.

Former Warwickshire all-rounder MacLeod showed his class with a dominant batting display before two brilliant catches and two wickets completed a match-winning contribution from the Uddingston player. MacLeod, now attracting the interest of Kent, watched early wickets fall as Caley, having won the toss and elected to bowl in favourable conditions, reduced the visitors to 28-2.

But the in-form Aberdeenshire seamer Tyler Buchan was first to strike when he had Omer Hussain caught by Gordon Goudie while Majid Haq was run out by Goudie's throw. Safyaan Sharif also went cheaply before Richie Berrington's 17 helped MacLeod add 71 for the fourth wicket.However, it was MacLeod who dominated the innings, reaching his 50 from just 25 deliveries and going on to strike 13 fours and three maximums before falling ten runs short of a century as Warriors posted 180-9.

.Fraser Burnett's counter- attacking 49 gave Caley hope but they fell well short in the end. The return fixture was a much lower-scoring affair as the Warriors, again batting first, had to settle for a total of just 112.

If Caley thought revenge would be a foregone conclusion they quickly discovered otherwise when the Warriors reduced them to 14-4 in the fifth over of the reply. Elton Willemse steadied the ship with 34 before being run out in the penultimate over, leaving his side needing five runs from the last six deliveries.

And it was Umair Mohammed who hit the final ball of the match for a winning boundary.