Gihan Koralage stars again as hosts Scarborough Cricket Club 1sts lose to Driffield
Despite some Gihan Koralage all round brilliance, Scarborough CC 1sts were outdone at North Marine Road by a superb Alec Drury innings, steering his Driffield side to the win in an outstanding YPLN encounter.
Driffield opted to bowl first but Scarborough opening duo Rob Pinder and Jack Redshaw (24) saw off some hostile James Anson bowling to reach 47, before three wickets in 18 balls changed the complexion of the innings, writes Simon Dobson.
Koralage showed his quality from the off, looking to find gaps in the field as Scarborough reached the halfway mark on 90-4.
The young Sri Lankan was fighting a lone battle as the host side’s middle order slumped against the spin of Methushan Thilina (4-53) and Scarborough found themselves nine wickets down on 157.
Hayden Williamson came in at number 11 and batted with great poise to aid his established partner.
The pair took the score past 200 before Koralage agonisingly fell two runs short of a deserved century (98 from 122 balls) as the home side were 215 all out.
Alec Drury opened up and, alongside his skipper Noah Kelly (41), raced to 98-2 in 15 overs.
Clark Doughney (2-40) struck twice in quick succession but Drury was in fine form, passing his 50 in 46 balls.
Enter Koralage the bowler, who reaped immediate rewards.
The spinner claimed 4-53 including an incredible hat-trick to have the visitors sweating on 193-7 but Drury reached a brilliant century in 98 balls and was there at the end on 126 not out to ensure his side got home with two wickets to spare.
Dan O’Conner halted a positive start by Middleton & North Dalton as Scarborough 2nds returned to action.
The young seamer claimed 3-15 in a fine spell and Aminda Weerasooriya (4-14) mopped up the tail as the hosts were shot out for 139.
The seconds wasted no time in responding as left-handed opener Ben Squires played all around the wicket and with David Snowball (41) added 108 for the third wicket. Squires remained unbeaten at the end with 74 as they cemented their top six position with a seven-wicket win.