Win Slips Away for Largo

Largo 1^st XI entertained Leith on Saturday in their first home game since the middle of May and after last weeks abandoned game away at Edinburgh the Fife men were keen to get a win under their belts.

Largo won the toss and elected to bat on a firm track, the best that they had played on since the very beginning of the season and were keen to get a good score that they would be confident in defending.  In blustery but dry conditions the Largo openers started at a steady pace but a piece of bad luck struck the Largo men early doors when Sharif  was expertly run out by a piece of footballing skills that Ronaldino would have been proud of! Sharif set off for the quick single and with only 1 stump to aim at the Leith fieldsman side footed the ball first time and struck the stumps with Sharif short of his ground.  After that Robinson and Walker set about the Leith attack with great confidence.  Robinson in particular was in great touch and was dispatching the Leith attack to all parts of the ground including some massive sixes.   Walker was enjoying batting on his favourite ground including an intriguing dual with Leith star man Wahid which was good to see as it was in the best of spirits and it added to the enjoyment of the match.  Largo were cruising along nicely but right after the drinks break Leith got the breakthrough as Walker called for a quick single and was run out 4 short of his 50 for 46.  After that Largo started to lose wickets on a regular basis as poor shot selection and yet more run outs cost the Fife men with their push up towards the 200 mark.  Only vice captain Asman with an aggressive 16 and skipper Duncan with 14 at the end were the scores of any real note.  Robinson was eventually stumped for an excellent 74 but it was the tailenders, who have provided the late fireworks before who didn’t manage to push the home side total up to the 200,which is a par score at East Drive .  At the end of their 50 overs Largo were 189 for 9 ruing their run outs and other missed opportunities.

After the tea interval the weather conditions changed dramatically as heavy showers fell at regular intervals.   Leith ’s bastmen started well and even with the rain interruptions their concentration never wavered.   Largo on the other hand were struggling, the bowlers were finding it hard to control the ball in the damp conditions and the fielders were toiling in the now slippery outfield.  3 dropped catches didn’t help the home side either and Leith were making excellent progress towards the total.   Duncan had to ring the bowling changes to try and take wickets and with the change bowlers toiling he turned to his openers again, the two Sharifs to try and provide them with the breakthroughs.  They duly obliged as Safiyaan removed 3 Leith batsman very quickly including the dangerman, skipper Allanson for an excellent 70 and Tanveer for 22. Largo now started to put the Leith men under pressure for the first time in the match and when Sharif removed another couple it was definitely game on.  However with the Sharifs bowling their allotted overs you sensed that Leith were gaining more confidence and with a couple of half chances just dropping short of the Largo fielders it was not going to be the home sides day.

Largo removed one more Leith batsman, Dicks LBW to Mowat, but by the 45^th over the capital side had done enough to pass the total and go home with the points, Wahid hitting the winning runs with an emphatic boundary to leave Leith 192 for 7.   Largo will need to find their form again quickly as there are only 4 games left in the season and they will want to try and finish a frustrating and wet season on a high.  This week they travel the short distance to local rivals Falkland .  The match was sponsored by Boyack Homes.