Injury-hit Forres cricketers exit T20 tourney

Forres St Lawrence crashed out of the senior T20 competition in Elgin on Saturday but not without putting up a fight against the hosts and Highland.

The first fixture in Cooper Park was against Elgin, with Forres opting to bat first. Al Farr was in form with the bat, blasting four huge sixes in his opening 42, setting Forres up for a good total.

Things were going well, Russell Ellwood was striking the ball well, until on 25 he pulled up with a bicep strain which ruled him out of any further part in the game. Gus Farr had to carry the batting load from then, taking his team from 83 for 3 to a final 156 for 8 with an unbeaten 59, including 5 sixes.

With one of their main bowlers down, Forres found the Elgin innings tough. They made inroads but with opener Robin Quilliam unbeaten on 80 Elgin took the game in the 18th over and unfortunately Forres bowler Ram Pavan went to hospital with a broken thumb.

Next up for Saints was Highland, who looked a tough batting unit. Once again, luck was against Forres with Magnus McGhee pulling up in his second over with a side strain: a real shame as he was bowling with pace and control until then.

The Highland batsmen went on the front foot, scoring 246 against a depleted Forres side. Only two wickets down, with Gus Farr taking Ramesh Raja, bowled for 32, and Olivia McGhee taking the wicket of Adnan Ali, caught by Frankie Du Toit, for 57.

Al Farr once again stood his ground against some aggressive bowling from Kacy Clement for Highland, two fours and a six off his first over ramped up the bowlers ire. Eventually Clement came out on top but Farr had made his point with a belligerent 23.

Amit Chowdhary showed signs of being a decent batsman with some time at the crease before being run out by a direct hit for 14 but once again Gus Farr took middle order runs with a healthy 43. The Forres innings closed on 113 all out in the final over.

In the last game, Highland scored 254 against Elgin who managed 134 in reply, taking Highland to the finals later in the summer against Northern Counties, an all-Inverness final.