On a fine day, skipper Bob McAra lost the toss and was asked to bat.

Openers Peter Cunningham and Douglas Smith made steady progress against tight bowling which also contained a number of wides.

The score had progressed on to 35 in the sixteenth over when Smith attempted an ambitious second run and was run out for 13.

Tim Summers joined Cunnigham who departed in the next over, caught, also for an unlucky 13.

David Smith came in at number 4, and he and Summers carried the score from 35 to 78 in eleven overs against very accurate bowling.

In the 29th over Smith chipped a catch to mid on from the bowling of Miller and departed for 11 and Rhod McEwan came to the crease.

Two overs later Summers, having looked settled, sliced a catch into the covers, again off the bowling of Miller and departed for 29.

Justin Thomas joined McEwan for a quick 30 run partnership before he was bowled by Theron for 10. Barry Geddes kept McEwan company for a short while before the latter played all around a straight ball and became Theron's second victim, departing for 30.

After McEwan's departure there was little resistance and the score progressed to 150 all out with Bestwick adding 1 run and Bob McAra falling victim to a poor umpiring decision, adjudged lbw for 0. Bill Slee was bowled for 0 and Renwick Elder added three runs before Geddes became Theron's fifth victim.

It was felt that 150 was going to be a tough total to defend especially with a batting line-up which was more used to the bowling in Grade 1, but Justin Thomas struck with the last ball of the first over when Peter Cunningham took a fine sharp chance behind the stumps to give his team some real hope.

At the other end Mick Bestwick had an awful day, not for the quality of his bowling but for the dreadful quality of the Crathie catching. Bestwick had the St Ronald top order tied in knots but the fielders contrived to drop every chance that came their way.

Thomas struggled to find his line and after four overs was replaced by McAra who fell victim to some audacious hitting and the skipper immediately handed the ball to Renwick Elder, returning to the team after nearly a year.

Elder and Bestwick did an excellent job of stemming the flow of runs bowling in tandem for 14 overs. Elder struck in his third over , removing the dangerous Vai for 29, Douglas Smith taking a good chance at fine leg.

He then accounted for Abhinay, caught by Bestwick for 7 and an excellent ball removed Theron, lbw for 20.

Bestwick was replaced by David Smith who also posed a number of problems for the batsmen, turning the ball prodigiously. He eventually managed to get rid of the skipper, Mudie, caught and bowled for a turgid 34.

Bill Slee replaced Elder and, although he collected a caught and bowled, was quite expensive.

With St Ronald sitting on 132 for 7, Crathie felt that they were within a whisker of a big upset but David Miller, the St Ronald No. 6 batsman managed to steer his team home with only three overs to spare.

Crathie threw this match away with some poor catching in the early part of the innings, and frustratingly, if their batsmen had managed possibly another 20 runs then the result might have been different.

Three Crathie bowlers had a bad day and three had a good day. Thomas, McAra and Slee were not as economical as they could have been but David Smith (8 overs, 2 for 15), Elder (11 overs, 3 for 37) and the unlucky Bestwick, who finished the day with figures of twelve overs, no wickets for 20 runs, all kept Crathie in the chase. But the age old refrain of "catches win matches" came to the fore many times in the post match discussions.

This weekend Crathie will be visited by Fraserburgh who finished runners-up to the Deesiders in League 3 last year.