Stoneywood-Dyce pushed defending Eastern Premier champions Heriots all the way in an absorbing but low-scoring game.
They slumped to a three-wicket defeat at Goldenacre but captain Lennard Bester believes they can take positives from the display.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, the Aberdeen side looked dead and buried, slumping to 72 for the loss of nine wickets.
But they made an astonishing recovery thanks to a last wicket stand of 77 between Hywel Nicholls, who stroked a superb unbeaten 52 in the company of last man David Kidd, who hit a defiant, gutsy 25 in one of his last innings before he leaves to work in London.
Bester was proud of his two late order batsmen who took the visiting total to 149.
He said: “Had we scored another 20 or 30 runs, I have no doubt we would have won.
“The defiance of Hywel and Kiddo gave us a real chance of winning which we almost took due to our opening bowling attack of Shaun Wolmarans and Du Preez Stander who took all seven wickets that fell in amazing spells of bowling.
“They were backed by some first class fielding, including a tidy performance behind the stumps from stand-in wicketkeeper Alisa Lister, Scotland women’s keeper.
“I was so proud of them all.
“It puts us in good heart for the visit of league leaders Grange next week.”
The Aberdeen side made the worst of starts when they lost their first five wickets for 36 before their lower order batsmen came to the rescue, but it was Stander’s four for 38 and Wolmarans three for 42 that took them to within touching distance of victory.
But it was not to be, leaving Stoneywood-Dyce in bottom place, although with Meigle failing to win just above them in the league, this performance will serve as a boost to morale, especially as Grange surprisingly lost by one wicket to Stewarts Melville.
‘The most terrying moment of my life’
In the NE Championship, the two matches involving north-east sides were called off due to early afternoon downpours, including the derby game at Countesswells where Gordonians were scheduled to meet Huntly.
But the drama of the day was at Mannofield where during the pitch inspection before the meeting between Aberdeenshire and 2nd Forfarshire, umpire Kim Neill from Nairn, and the mother of Scotland star Adrian Neill, narrowly escaped death from a lightning strike by inches.
The umpire, who was born in South Africa, admitted to being shocked by the near miss.
She said: “It was the most terrifying moment of my life.
“I have never seen anything like it ether here or in South Africa.
“This flash came racing towards me, just missing me but doing considerable damage to the Aberdeenshire flag pole.
“I tried to warn my fellow umpire John Campbell who was standing on the boundary.
“I came off the field with my hair standing up straight, I suppose due to the static in the air.
“It was a truly scary experience. I was glad to be able to reunite with my husband Magnus who was due to umpire the game at Countesswells.”
Aberdeenshire captain David Gamblen did not witness the incident but said: “I heard a huge bang. I am just glad Kim is OK.”
Nairn umpire escaped death by ‘a few inches’ after Aberdeen lightning strike
Less dramatically in a rain-affected day in the Aberdeenshire Grades, the only game in Grade 1 was at Kellands Park where despite another fine knock of 53 from Inveurie’s George Hadden, the home side’s 150 for eight was hunted down for the loss of eight wickets by Crescent whose opening stand of 52 between Ankush Sharma and Shubham was crucial to the win.
In Grade 2, Huntly fell five runs short of shocking leaders at Castle Park, just failing to chase down the 88 set by the league leaders, while Ellon Gordon were comfortable eight-wicket winners away to 2nd Grampian in which Jonathan Barrett contributed an unbeaten 80.
AberGreen 2nds were four wicket victors at home to Banchory.
This weekend’s results…
EASTERN PREMIER LEAGUE
Stoneywood Dyce 149 (6 points) (H Nicholls 52, D Kidd 27, R Martin 3-17, N Alexander 3-34) Heriot’s 152 for 7 (25 points) (P Ross 58, J Dickinson 40, D Stander 4-38, S Wolmarans 3-42)
Carlton 225 for 8 (25 points) (S Khan 103, H Simpson 23, I Stewart 2-21, R Gayashan 2-50) Meigle 191 for 9 (6 points) (R Gayashan 75, T Brits 65, L O’Donnell 3-36, A Pillai 2-24)
Forfarshire 334 for 9 (25 points) (R Johnston 124, J O’Neill 90, G Weatherall 4-66, J Davidson 2-62) Watsonian 298 (6 points) (O Hairs 137, M Carson 50, L Robinson 2-31, J Hogarth 2-48)
Stewart’s Melville 225 for 9 (25 points) (S Pillay 49, S Parker 49, C Peet 3-30, B Davidson 3-64) Grange 224 for 9 (8 points) (F McCreath 96, R Flannigan 47, R Henry 3-31, M Miller 2-14)
BREEDON SPCU NORTH EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Aberdeenshire v 2nd Forfarshire – Match Abandoned
Gordonians v Huntly – Match Abandoned
Arbroath United 261 for 7 (25 points) (R Plomer 77, J Meiring 54, R Wright 2-45, G Birrell 2-49) Freuchie 37 (4 points) (C Robb 3-3, J Meiring 2-7)
Kinloch 124 (6 points) Perth Doocot 128 for 7 (25 points)
Strathmore 219 (25 points) (L Trueman 104, H Evans 22, G Langlands 4-26, G Cutler 3-29) 2nd Falkland 199 for 8 (12 points) (G Gallagher 35, G Cutler 28, M McColl 2-25, C Milne 2-32)
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND CRICKET GRADES
GRADE 1
Knight Riders v Mannofield – Match Abandoned
Inverurie 150 for 8 (16 points) (G Hadden 53, M Strachan 22, S Sharma 3-41, K Quraishi 2-8) IDI Services Crescent 153 for 8 (30 points) (A Sharma 37, S Sharma 36, C Watson 4-27, G Hadden 4-33)
Grampian v AberGreen – Match Abandoned
GRADE 2
AGSFPs 88 (30 points) (M Tandon 4-25, M Myron-Petrie 3-13) Huntly 83 (13 points) (G Gill 4-11, R Swiergon 4-27)
Methlick v 2nd Knight Riders – Match Abandoned
2nd Grampian 167 for 8 (points) (A Mahbub 31, B Jacob 27no, J Barrett 4-22, R Fraser 2-32) Quilter Cheviot Ellon Gordon 168 for 2 (30 points) (J Barrett 80no, R Fraser 42no, S Joseph 2-25)
Banchory 209 for 7 (16 points) (S Rotheram 87, B Wiles 52, N Ul-Hassnan 3-39, W Khan 2-45) 2nd AberGreen 210 for 6 (30 points) (S Bedaar 64, H Masood 51, C Matthews 3-24)
GRADE 3
2nd Mannofield 39 (1 point) (R Chouksey 5-10, P Gollakota 3-7) 3rd Gordonians 40 for 1 (30 points)
3rd Gordonians v Dunecht – Match Abandoned
Stonehaven Thistle 72 (4 points) Crathie 74 for 1 (30 points)
2nd Master Blasters Aberdeen 144 (30 points) (J Gajjar 31, B Yalamanchili 23, A Rayner 5-31, S Reid 3-36) Stoneywood Dyce 90 (14 points) (J Gajjar 4-11, A Deshmukh 3-28)
