Invited to bat on an uneven and wet track, Hamad Mumtaz and Robert Sutton played cautiously, negotiating the early overs.

Yet it was the first bowling change that changed the game for the home side, with Waqas Rana being introduced into the attack. He bowled to the conditions well and removed both Westquarter openers in quick succession.

Umar Aslam then got off to a good start but also fell to the bowling of Rana, and was quickly followed by Stephen Sutton – another victim of the Leith pace man.

Sharath Ganesan and Adam Jeremiah showed some resistance though, yet runs were hard to come by in such unfavourable conditions and Jeremiah was soon out, caught in an attempt to increase the run-rate.

Westquarter, now in a precarious position at 61 for six, managed to see off the in-form Rana – who finished with figures of 6-21 – through Ganesan and Colin Fox.

And they were finding things easier against the Leith second string, putting on 19 before Ganesan holed out in the deep.

So Colin Fox was left to work with the tail, and had no option but to take some risks and attack the Leith bowling.

That he did, once again smashing boundaries – including three sixes – in an over against Leith spinner Heinitz.

Mohammad Raza provided excellent support on his debut, followed by some sensible batting from Stuart Fox to help his brother record his second 50 of the season, and his career.

The score progressed to 140 before Colin was bowled trying one big shot too many, and the remaining wickets fell without reply.

Leith then got off to a solid start with the bat, with Heinitz looking particularly dangerous. But Peter Hamilton got the first breakthrough for the visitors, trapping McCord LBW.

Leith, however, were still scoring runs freely, until the introduction of Mumtaz and Stuart Fox, who each took a wicket before the match was delayed due to rain.

Initially that benefited Westquarter, with Mumtaz and Fox combining again to reduce the home side to 75 for five, with an excellent catch from the former being the highlight of the game.

Yet the wet conditions still made it difficult for the Westquarter bowlers, and they failed to restrict the run-rate as Rana smashed a few boundaries before falling to Sutton.

Some sensible batting from the tail allowed Leith to crawl along to 139 for seven when Colin Fox took the eighth wicket, but it was too little too late with the winning runs coming off the next over.
Westquarter now take on Murrayfield DAFS this Saturday at home, with a 1 p.m. start.

Details:
Westquarter & Redding 140 all out (C. Fox 59, W. Rana 6-21)
Leith FAB 141-8 (T. Heinitz 25, S. Fox 3-21)

- WESTQUARTER were knocked out of the President's Trophy on Sunday by a strong Holy Cross side. Some excellent bowling from Mohammad Sajid and Zeeshan Ikram restricted the home side to 175, but Shoeb Farooqui was the only batsman of note, scoring 45 of Westquarter's 83 runs in reply.

Details:
Westquarter & Redding 83 all out (S. Farooqui 45*, R. Bainbridge 4-26)

Holy Cross 175 all out (C. Ellis 64, S. Farooqui 4-38, M. Sajid 2-25, Z. Ikram 2-30, S. Fox 2-32)

- THE club will be holding its centenary celebration dinner on August 29 at The Three Kings in Shieldhill and all current and former members are most welcome to attend. To book tickets please contact club secretary Jim Sharp on (01324) 715530, or visit the club website at www.wrcc.org.uk