GRANGE were indebted to Giles Holmes and Andy Wilson as they moved to the top of the SNCL Premier Division table with a hard-fought win at Ayr on Saturday.
The victory – their third in the west this season – sets the men from Raeburn Place up for a huge week to come. They are due to take on Carlton at Grange Loan in the final of the Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy on Thursday night, before welcoming second-
place Greenock to their own patch in the league on Saturday.
Further good news for them is that opening batsman Gregor Maiden will be available for the two matches after pulling out of Scotland duty due to other commitments.
On Saturday, while rain scuppered the rest of the top-flight matches, Ayr and Grange managed to get in a 30-over-a-side match at New Cambusdoon.
Grange batted first and scored 190-5, all-rounder Holmes hitting 67 not out on his return from illness. Captain Sanjay Patel scored 47 not out.
Maiden said: "Giles batted really well. He has had a frustrating season with injury and illness, but he has been hitting a lot of balls in the nets and he played well with Sanj."
Holmes was then the star with the ball too, taking the key wicket of Ayr pro Matt Horne. The Kiwi had smashed 87 off just 56 balls before being caught brilliantly by 17-year-old Ollie Hairs off Holmes.
"Ayr were coasting when Horne was blasting the ball to all parts and it was massive when we got him out. Andy Wilson then bowled really well and took three wickets. He is having an awesome season," Maiden added.
Wilson's 3-24 takes the spinner to 21 league wickets for the season, leaving him in the top five wicket-takers list.
Grange won by 12 runs when the match was concluded around 9.30pm and, if they do win the title, they will surely look back on this match as a crucial one.
Most matches in the First and Second Divisions were also rained off – though Penicuik must have wished it had been raining in Aberdeen, where the Midlothian men were thumped by 117 runs by the leaders Aberdeenshire.
The visitors had bowled the hosts out for 211, with ex-Grange man Neil Macrae hitting 76 and Stuart Chalmers and Willie Morton taking four wickets each – but Penicuik were all out for 94.
The full article contains 416 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
