Clackmannan enjoy their title success

Jamie MacDonald • Published 8 Sep 2010 09:30 0 Comments

THE East of Scotland Cricket Association Division Three champions were given the chance to take their well-earned bow at The Arns on Saturday.

Table topping Clackmannan County Cricket Club 1st XI had their final match of the season, a friendly against Grange III, a week after clinching the title.

After losing only two matches during the campaign the firsts finally sealed top spot without having to play when their opponents, Haddington, were unable to field a side.

With consecutive championship trophies and promotions now in the bag, Clackmannan are looking forward to a return to Division Two after the winter break.

As the side continues to improve hopes are high they can maintain their upwards trajectory next season.

Team captain Craig Black told the Advertiser, “We are effectively going into the new league blind as we have no idea on how much of a step up Division Two will be.

“The current strength of the team would certainly see us easily into the top half of the table, but whether we are strong enough to make a push for Division One is hard to say at the moment.

“Provided we can retain the nucleus of players we have had available to us this season then the world’s our oyster.”

Having made the step up from Division Four, the team were not sure what to expect from the 2010 season as they had not played against several of the teams for quite some time.

Craig added, “Our first three games of the season were against teams we thought would be in with a reasonable shout of winning the league. In turn, we realised that if we could be competitive in these games then we might be in with a chance of competing for the title ourselves.

“Having won the vital first three games, our goal then became consistency for the rest of the season, aware that performing at this level could lead to back to back promotions.”

From then on Clackmannan were always the team to beat and they didn’t make it easy for the opposition as their stand-out players had fantastic seasons, ably supported by the rest of the team who stood up to be counted on numerous occasions.

Craig topped the league’s batting statistics with a total of 851 runs and bowler Rizwan Ashraf took most wickets with 27.

“Clackmannan were quite blessed in the fact that the league’s leading wicket taker and the leading run scorer both play for the squad,” added Craig.

“However, this season the stand-out players had to be the rest of the guys that took to the field each Saturday as they backed up their key players brilliantly.

“One of the highlights of the season had to be the victory over Falkland at the Arns, when chasing a total of 151, we found ourselves at 20 for 4, only to be rescued thanks to some excellent lower order batting by the likes of Keith Hefer, Davie Watkins, Greig Taylor and Alan Oliver.

“Our strong bowling attack also provided some memorable performances as we skittled teams out for paltry scores of 47, 56, 68 and 70.”

He went on, “The main driving force behind the recent success of the club is due to the hard efforts of our junior coaches over the last few years, as we are now starting to see the quality youngsters making the transition to senior cricket successfully.

“The likes of Graham Oliver, Dan Smith, Blair Campbell and Jamie McCann being prime examples of players coming through the ranks.”

As Clackmannan County Cricket Club’s resurgence gathers momentum they are continuing to grow in popularity with aspiring players.

Craig said, “Back to back promotions for the club has certainly lifted the spirits of all involved and, as a result, we are seeing a significant rise in the number of players keen to get into cricket coming down to the club, and large numbers of old players returning to the Arns.

“The kit bags have been packed away for the season but if anyone is eager to get back into cricket, or perhaps try a new sport, they would be happily welcomed down at the club next season.”

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