Forfarshire Cricket Club

The beautiful summer continued and it was a lovely sunny evening as Forthill 2^nd XI took on Cliftonbank in the 1980 Two Counties Cup Final at neutral Lochside Park. 

In their centenary season, the Forthill side were keen to gain some silverware, but the current kings of Lochee Park cricket had other ideas.

Forthill skipper Brian Wilson won the toss and chose to bat first, but the Ferry side were soon in trouble when young Bruce Ferrier was run out early on. He was quickly followed back in the hutch by John McCulloch, Duncan Heap and Ian Lindsay and at 16 for 4 things were looking grim.

A rescue act began when 18 year old Stevie Reid and more experienced opener Grant Carnegie took the score to 81 before Carnegie was bowled for 26. Grant has often been kept in the shadows by his allegedly more talented younger brother but this innings showed his undoubted class. This brought another teenager to the crease in the shape of Clark McConnachie who slogged a few quick runs and both he and Reid ( 39 not out) took the score to a respectable 124 before McConnachie was bowled off the last ball of the innings for 31.

This was thought to be a decent total and the Ferry side made a good start in the field when they reduced Cliftonbank to 24 for 3 with Duncan Heap ( 3 for 17) the main destroyer of the Lochee Park side’s top order.

Regular wickets continued to fall and when danger man McMahon was dismissed by McConnachie ( 3 for 19) the game was all but over. Chris Schofield wrapped things up when he bowled Moulds to spark great celebrations as the silverware headed to Broughty Ferry. The fielding side’s innings was especially notable for Stevie Reid’s remarkable feat of taking five catches in the outfield.

Skipper Brian Wilson collected the trophy to great applause from the sizeable crowd and the team retired to the Lochside bar to celebrate.

Wilson deserves great praise for taking this young team full of teenagers to a great win. Brian celebrated long into the night and was forced to continue his partying when experienced all rounder Chris Schofield announced he was having a party back at his house. Mine host Schofield dispensed alchohol in large quantities to such an extent that not only did Brian take the trophy home, but he also took home a puppy in the shape of the newly named Sula – courtesy of Chris’ dog who had given birth a few days earlier.

The players enjoyed a special rendition of current number one Xanadu by Olivia Newton John. We also chatted about the upcoming Britsh Open and whether Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson would prevail, whether John McEnroe or Bjorn Borg would win Wimbledon and of course we were still talking about this year’s Scottish Cup Final riot at Hampden when 210 supporters were arrested following fights on the pitch between Celtic and Rangers fans.

One can only hope that this young side can go on to greater things and a look in the crystal ball might suggest the following for some of the teenagers.

Bruce Ferrier looks like an opening bat of some promise and if he continues to improve he should be pushing for a first team place before long.

If Clark McConnachie can learn to play any shots on the off side he could become a decent player with a bit of practice, although he is definitely a better bowler than a batter.

John McCulloch is a hard hitting player but he often seems more interested in the state of the wicket rather than the state of the game. One wonders if his interest in wickets will continue in the coming years.

David Sim is a pound or two overweight and if he concentrates on his fitness and his cricket as opposed to eating kebabs and his other sporting interest of pedalo racing then he could go far in the game. He also seems an astute tactician and he could even become a trophy winning skipper himself in the future.

So a great victory for Forthill 2^nd XI, Brian Wilson and his young side.