Falkland’s long wait for an Eastern Premier win came to an end on Saturday when they overcame a dogged Edinburgh South team at Scroggie Park.

Reaching the halfway stage of the campaign, the Fifers only had a creditable tie against champions Heriot’s to show for their efforts. However, that all changed when they managed to defend a modest total of 207 to win by 31 runs.

They were forced to dig deep when, having reduced their opponents to 62-6, their victory charge was stalled by a century stand between Adnan Mufti and Danial Khan. However, both batters fell in quick succession to Kyle Jacobs, who finished with 3-45 while Taha Khan delivered an excellent 10-over spell that yielded 3-22.

Jacobs had earlier top-scored with 42, Stuart Campbell (33) Julien de Jager (32) and Steven Meikle (30) also making useful contributions though the home side were rather wastefully all out in 47.4 overs.

Skipper Dan Styer said: “It was a good win and it’s come at a time when the club needed it. We always knew it was coming - we had been playing good cricket all the way through. We had some bad luck with weather at times but we won some big moments.”

Styer refused to panic when Mufti and Khan were threatening to seize control, adding: “We knew a breakthrough was coming - we had been in the situation before so we knew what was needed. 

“They bowled well at the back end of the innings and, although we’d rather have batted our 50 overs, we knew the pitch was getting slower and more difficult to score freely on, and we used that to our advantage. This is the moment we needed and we’re confident that the tide is turning.”

Falkland have leapfrogged Meigle at the foot of the table after the villagers suffered a heavy 106-run defeat against Stewarts Melville at Inverleith. They were up against it from the moment the home team won the toss and saw the league’s most consistent opening pair, Oliver Pillinger and Harry Armstrong, put on 161 runs.

Youngster Pillinger fell just three short of a first league century. He was given a lifeline on 94 when Meigle were convinced they had him run-out, backing-up at the non-striker’s end. The umpire disagreed but Pillinger failed to take advantage, bowled when attempting to sweep a full delivery from Raju Gayashan.  

Armstrong, though, did go on to score exactly 100, facing 124 deliveries and stroking twelve boundaries and a maximum. 

There was reward for the visiting bowlers, Charles Clark claiming 4-48 and Sami Ejaz 3-57 but by then StewMel were well on their way to a winning tally of 300-9. 

Adam Ferguson notched a consolation half-century for the visitors who never threatened a successful chase.

Individual and team performance of the season came at Royal High School where Scotland star Liam Naylor’s superb 192 propelled RH Corstorphine to 380-5 against Arbroath. Naylor and Johnathan van Zyl, who stroked a composed 134, put on a record 290 for the first wicket after the visitors had won the toss and elected to bowl. 

Naylor faced just 122 balls, striking nineteen boundaries and seven maximums while van Zyl, playing second fiddle with a more modest strike-rate, still managed to contribute eleven fours and three sixes.

Arbroath were always up against it in reply, Keegan Crawford top-scoring with 49 while Calum Clarkson claimed 3-49 before George West mopped-up the tail, conceding just a single while also bagging three wickets.    

There was also disappointment for Forfarshire who lost their last five wickets for just 22 runs in going down by 53 to Grange at Forthill. 

All of which played into the hands of Heriot’s who continued their relentless pursuit of a successful title defence with a comfortable 85-run win over Carlton at Grange Loan. Fresh from some heavy scoring for Scotland A against the touring Emu Club in midweek, Heriot’s skipper Lloyd Brown continued in similar vein after winning the toss and electing to bat.

He was initially outscored by Peter Ross, who made 45 at almost a run-a-ball with five boundaries and two sixes, but Brown warmed to his task as the home bowlers toiled. A likely full cap of the future, Brown opened out in the closing stages of his innings to make 146 from 132 deliveries before falling to the final delivery of the innings.

By then, though, his eleven boundaries and seven clearances had carried the champions to a winning 312-4.

Carlton’s hopes of mounting a challenge were rocked when Charlie Cassell claimed two wickets in as many balls with the total on 23. Cassell went on to take 3-54 while James Dickinson boasted 3-38 as the home side were restricted to 227-8, Dan de Costa top-scoring with 65.

Meanwhile Ferguslie have joined Heriot’s, Carlton and Clydesdale in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup after winning their rain-delayed clash with Prestwick at the Henry Thow Oval. Taimoor Ahmad’s half-century helped the Paisley team post 204, though they were bowled out in the 47th over thanks largely to 4-13 from Sachin Chaudhary.

Despite a brisk opening stand of 51, Prestwick’s batting proved brittle as it has done in failing to chase Ayr’s 107 in Western Premiership One twenty-four hours earlier. They made it to 148 in 42.1 overs but Declan Botes’ 34 was the best they had to offer while Haroon Tahir and Qasim Khan had three wickets apiece for Ferguslie.