Heriot's have claimed their place in next month’s CS T20 Cup finals day after emerging victorious in Sunday’s Murgitroyd Final at Goldenacre. The short-game trophy was the one that eluded the double winners last year but they look in the mood to make amends for that omission this season.

An eight-wicket semi-final win over Carlton earlier in the day put them on course for a final showdown with RH Corstorphine who beat Stewarts Melville by the same margin.  In the event, it was relatively routine fare for Heriot’s who shrugged-off the absence of Scotland pair Matthew Cross and Mark Watt to win by 28 runs.

Opting to bat first, Heriot’s were given a brisk start by skipper Lloyd Brown who faced only eight deliveries for his 22 before being bowled by Brandon McMullen. However, the Goldenacre men had two major contributors in their tally of 159-7 – Peter Ross and Charlie Cassell.

Ross, one of the country’s most consistent openers, was in customary belligerent mood, striking four maximums in a 44-ball 57. He kept going while three middle order men departed cheaply and even outlasted the other significant scorer Cassell who matched Ross’s six-count in a 15-ball 35.   

Anthony Dunford, Kess Sajjad and Tyler Stagg each claimed two wickets as RH Corstorphine kept themselves in contention.

To have a realistic chance they would surely have been looking to the prolific Liam Naylor and/or Scotland star McMullen to score heavily. Naylor looked capable when he stroked four early boundaries, only to fall for 19 to Cassell while McMullen was still in single figures when he was dismissed by cap colleague Gavin Main.

The writing was already on the wall for RH Corstorphine, Cassell going on to claim 3-36 and Main 2-22 as Heriot’s turned the screw, Johnathan van Zyl top-scoring for RHC with 31.

In the west, finals day in the Rowan Cup was going swimmingly for Uddingston and Clydesdale after semi-final wins over Prestwick and Ferguslie. However, it might have been the ducks who were swimming on the outfield at Langloan by the time the final was scheduled to get underway.

The semi-finals, though, produced three individual performances of outstanding quality.bFirstly, Ross Lyons, the former Scotland left-arm spinner, claimed 5-11 in his side’s four-wicket win over Prestwick.

Now 40, Lyons turned back the clock with a brilliant display which saw him claim four wickets in the final over, ensuring that Prestwick lost their last five batters for only three runs.

Abdul Sabri’s 24-ball 36 did most to clinch Uddingston’s four-wicket win.

In a delayed final Uddingston will face Clydesdale for whom national skipper Richie Berrington was, as so often, a class apart. He may be 38 and nearing the end of a glorious club and international career but he still has much more in the tank.

Ferguslie’s bowlers discovered that to their cost as Berrington blasted 42 from only eighteen balls with three maximums as Dale raced to a 96-run target in 12.4 overs.

The third marquee performance of the semis had come in the first innings from Zeeshan Bashir. Undoubtedly one of the unluckiest Scots not to earn a full cap, Bashir was in typically ebullient mood, making a decisive mark with three wickets in his first over to wreck Ferguslie’s hopes of posting a challenging total.

Bashir finished with 4-11 while Berrington flexed his muscles in readiness for that onslaught!             

Cricket’s most familiar foe – the weather – was also to the fore on Saturday, once again wreaking havoc on the domestic card. For the second time this season the entire Eastern Premier card was washed-out though they did manage 22 overs at Forthill where Carlton had reached 98-1 against Forfarshire before the elements intervened.

They fared a little better in Western Premiership One where two matches produced results. With storm clouds looming around Paisley, Ferguslie left nothing to chance in racing to the most convincing of wins against Dumfries.

Having been sent in to bat, the visitors made a steady enough start, reaching 16 before Taimoor Ahmad made the breakthrough in the fourth over when he bowled Alan Davidson for 9. The stumps were hit again when Wahid Jabarkhil was dismissed by Mohammad Mayet.

Adam Malik and Andrew Dawson launched something of a recovery, doubling the tally to 38 following Jabarkhil’s departure. Their 19-run stand proved to be as good as it got for Dumfries. When Dawson’s 28-ball resistance was broken by Daoud Tahir, the end came quickly as the visitors lost their last eight wickets for just 32 runs to be 70 all out after just 24 overs, Malik top-scoring with 24 from 47 balls.

Daoud Tahir finished with 3-10 while Haroon Tahir boasted 2-2 but the bowling honours went to Etienne Jewell for his 4-20.

With rain beginning to fall Ferguslie’s batter were in a hurry in racing to the target in just 8.3 overs. They lost Taimoor Ahmad and top-scorer Dave Stafford for a 17-ball 27 featuring four boundaries and the game’s only maximum.

But Uzair Ahmad (21no) and Saif Sajjad (11no) carried their team safely to victory.

Meanwhile, Stenhousemuir’s fading title hopes received a potentially fatal blow when they fell to a 57-run DLS defeat against Prestwick at the Henry Thow Oval. In a rain-interrupted innings the home side had a series of modest contributions – the best of them skipper Tom Fleet’s unbeaten 25 - en route to a 38-over total of 143-7.

Set a revised target of 143 from 28 overs, Stenhousemuir recovered from the loss of Hamilton in the second over to reach 48-1. However, when Sachin Chaudhary picked-up the key wickets of Yaseen Valli (16) and Asad Izaz (24) in quick succession the visitors lost their way.