3rd Gordonians 224-8 (40 overs): Kumar 122, Amirtharaj 26; Matthews 4-47, Brown 2-55
Banchory 2nd XI 156-9 (40 overs): Redpath 42, Matthews 21*; Patel-Par 2-9, Somasundaram 2-19

3rd Gordonians won by 67 runs

Bowling first, Matthews 'no pace' bowling got Banchory 2s off to a flying start. Following on from a 5-fer last week he sent Nair (2) and Patel-PRJ's (5) stumps flying across the trimly cut Counteswells grass to reduce the hosts to 40-2.

Opening quick Abbott was also on it from the off, finding Kumar's edge with a snorter that flew through Mike Scotting's fingers at slip. The old adage 'catches win matches' would ring true...as Kumar settled in and began dispatching regular boundaries.

At the other end Banchory made consistent breakthroughs. Brown, impressively bowling slower than Matthews, tempted Amirtharaj (26) down the track and young Joe Scotting, who had been demolishing the wickets at every opportunity, took the stumping.

M Scotting bowled an impressive 9-over spell (I hope you can move today Mike!) and eventually took a deserved wicket, bowling Patel (4). Brown bamboozled Ahmadzai (9) and Matthews held onto a Shankar (22) rocket at midwicket on the second attempt.

Unfortunately, while this was happening Kumar was busy teeing off at the other end, keeping Nixon (whose incessant chirping kept Banchory's heads up in the field) busy rummaging for the ball in the Counteswells undergrowth. Matthews, now the joint second wicket taker in Grade 3, took it upon himself to give the visitors a strong finish - bowling Patel-Par (8) and finally Kumar for a really impressive 122.

Chasing 222 to win was always going to be tough for a Banchory side who have only scored over 200 once this season and wickets tumbled from the off.

J Scotting (1) picked out the square-leg fielder, Anderson (2) was excellently caught low down at cover, Nixon (6) was out shouldering arms to a ragging Kumar googly - a delivery that is not particularly common in Grade 3...

Shakir (6) and M Scotting (6) made it a trio of batters who hit a boundary and then got out. Redpath (42) kept things ticking over at the other end but couldn't build a sustained partnership and finally spooned a drive to third man.

As hopes of victory faded there was still time for some memorable moments. Juniors Crozier (4) and Stutter (9) hit their first boundaries in a senior game before the sidelines looked on in awe as Matthews (21*) and Brown (17*) slashed their way to a 40-run partnership which seriously improved their respective batting averages and the Banchory total.

All in all it proved to be another fun day out for the 2s who continue to push for a top-half finish. Next up is a challenging trip to Inverdee to face 2nd Grampian.