Issue 23

A time traveller from 1924 entering the gates of Grange Loan in the 1960s might not have noticed too much by way of change. But the same time traveller arriving today would struggle to recognise the ground. Since the 1960s the pace of change and development of the club and the ground has accelerated. Historically, the club lived on a hand to mouth basis - occasional fund raising efforts (see NL 10 ) complementing donations from members. This changed in the early 1960’s when Margaret Masterton offered financial help. She was taken by the way the club did things for themselves under the enthusiastic direction of newly-arrived 1st XI captain, Welshman Alun Davies. They formed a formidable partnership. In due course Mrs Masterton became Hon President of the club. It is hard to underestimate the contribution she made. With her assistance the original stone pavilion (seen in the frontpage photograph) was demolished in 1963 (before it fell down) and replaced by two post-war pre-fabs which were given a life of fifteen years – they survived for over forty years! Mrs Masterton donated the heavy roller, a Ferguson TE20 tractor and gang mowers for the outfield and a shed/score-box to store them which replaced the tiny score-box between the trees on the Grange Loan side. She also donated numerous wooden benches, many of which are still in use today, and met the cost of major repair work to the bottom wall when a section of it fell down in the winter of 1981-82. Modern improvements started in the mid 80’s with the garages replacing the old wooden shed (where the horse which used to pull the roller was once stabled!) And further works were made possible due to the generous legacy ‘Maggie’ left the club when she passed away in 1989. That legacy supported the club right through to, and including, building the new pavilion in 2005. She also endowed the Masterton Trophy in 1964. Carlton has won the competition a record 14 times. The winner now competes for the national T20 Murgatroyd trophy, which Carlton has won 4 times. Over the following next pages you can find a timeline of the development of the ground and club over the last 40 years. Want to know more about how Carlton came to Grange Loan? The club website tells the story (Carlton in the Grange). Mrs Masterton pictured alongside Alun Davies in the 1988 title winning side. The Masterton Effect

THE MAKING OF GRANGE LOAN A timeline summarising 30+ years of development Compiled with the assistance of Andy Macpherson, Hugh Parker, Alasdair McLeod and Brian Forrester Late 80’s Carlton Junior Section started by Peter Nettleton (rt). A small beginning to what has become such a key part of the club’s identity. 1990 Two artificial nets installed at the bottom end of the ground to replace the single concrete net at the top end. Early 90’s ● Artificial wicket installed. ● Drainage on three sides of the square installed, the bottom of the hill levelled and later developed into an extended square. October 1995 The opening of the Potty Place Nursery in the pavilion (rental income from nursery tenants over the next twenty years helped put the club on a sound financial footing). 1997 3rd XI established - in the early 1900s Carlton had occasionally fielded four XIs, but for many years only two teams plus a Sunday XI could be raised. 1998 After experimenting with tarpaulins for a season, wheeled covers were purchased thanks to a generous donation, which was 50% matched by the Sportsmatch Scheme. Covers have transformed the game in Scotland, especially for batsmen! Late 1990s The club finally gained outright ownership of the ground when our neighbour and past Hon Life Member, Mrs Jean Crabbie, generously gifted the Right of Preemption established when the ground was purchased. Early 2000’s ● First website launched. ● A custom built wheeled sight screen was built for the bottom end. There hadn’t been a screen in use there since the 1930’s. ● Stone buttresses were built to hold up the stone wall at the top end of the ground which was starting to lean over. This is a very old wall which was built without foundations. April 2005 After many years of toil, the new Masterton Pavilion was opened on 24 April 2005 with a game against the Scottish Saltires. The plans for a two-storey building had to be shelved when the club came up slightly short financially and the Lottery Grant of £108k had to be returned. Following a redesign, the present pavilion was funded by the remaining Masterton legacy, a grant from ENTRUST, a Landfill Tax grant from Viridor and fund-raising from members and local residents. This photo montage of the opening of the Masterton Pavilion and can be seen in the pavilion.

2007 Summer Cricket Camps introduced. 2008 4th XI established. 2009 The electronic scoreboard was installed, with the repeater box on the pavilion added in 2015. 2010 Hydraulic outfield cutter purchased, greatly improving the quality of the outfield. 2011 2013 2014 ● Refurbishment of the pavilion following end of the nursery tenancy. ● InsideOut PT established by Stevie Gilmour and now run by Marc Malone. 2015 After much debate, the fencing was installed along the Grange Loan wall after a ball had been hit through the window of a number 24 bus! 2016 5th XI established. 2018 ● All Stars programme introduced for children as young as 5 years old. ● Website Updated. ● Wheeled batting cage repaired. 2020 ● A new diesel engine and power steering were installed in our old heavy roller, hopefully enough to keep it rolling for many years yet. ● Carlton Beer Gardens introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak. ● The new gates were installed to mark the club’s 150th Anniversary. ● The clock was added to the score-box roof. ● Drainage was installed on the net runups. ● The second hydraulic outfield cutter was purchased which finally saw the end of ‘Fergie’ and the gang mowers. ● Women's team established - they played their first match the following season. ● The suite of four new nets was installed after a major fund raising effort by playing members. ● Twitter account launched. New nets under construction. Opening of new gates 18 May 2013.

I first came to Carlton in 2011. I’d not really played cricket – but I wanted to be like my heroes on TV. But it was tough – I got in the nets – now and then I connected – it felt good. But next ball I’d miss and the stumps would be all over the place. Same with bowling – I’d flick the ball with my fingers – if it landed near the batsman it would fizz past them – leg break, off break, anything. But I couldn’t get it there every time. I was desperate to play – I pestered Bob like anything to have me in the 4th XI. Every now and then I got a game, but I found it hard to make a contribution. I recognised I had to work hard. Matt Crowther came as coach. I had individual sessions with him and slowly it came together. I didn’t have to swing at every ball – I could wait for the right one – and then bang! Just keep my head still on the line of off stump. Matt was brilliant. Then Stevie Gilmour helped me too. It was all getting better. I just had to deliver in the middle. I got myself fit - well OK fitter. In 2017 it came together – I had a few good knocks and took wickets. Bob would ask me to open the bowling for the 4s and the batsman never knew what was coming. To be honest, I wasn’t all that sure either. What was nice was how everyone in the club was pleased for me. Could I play for a higher team? In 2018 I was asked to join the performance squad – that was brilliant! Working with Stevie and Fraggle and Drummo was a dream. Last year I had a couple of outings in the 2s – against Grange 2s at Grange Loan and I remember putting it over the bottom wall a couple of times. Sweet! Preparation was important, have you got all your kit with you? (Not pads, bat, helmet, this time - rather poobags, treats, harness, but always with water). In these strange times a match was about to start at 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning. The debutant didn’t get a bat or bowl, but enjoyed his first walk (wasn’t sure of the protocol of whether to go clockwise or anticlockwise so scampered back and forth to cover both options). He met a few new friends (human and canine) and saw more evidence of other canine visitors than you could shake a stick at (additional poobags deployed as necessary), Grover’s first innings concluded 1 lap not out. Following current guidance no cricket teas were available so home for a bit of rest and food and back mid afternoon for a secondd innings. The intervening rain had put paid to any cricket action so it was a quiet, but not deserted Grange Loan, Max is always at the nets! It also meant that a bit of “off leash” time was enjoyed, the scorebook will record this as another 1* but the variety of play contrasted with the discipline of the first innings. But it’s too early to assess his fielding. A great first day, there will be many more to come. Everyone loves Mo Nauman - he describes how his hard work is paying off I could not have come to a better club than Carlton. I have met some really great people and it is more than a club, it's like a family to me now. I love how everyone believes I can hit big shots (even if I fail much of the time). I see myself in a really different way to when I first came. This is just the beginning to what is going to be an exciting career at Carlton. But I still need to get consistent. If I keep working hard, maybe one day I’ll make that appearance for the 1s. Then my dream will be complete! Grover Richard reports on the recent Grange Loan debut of the latest Allardice - can he field like Fraser and Rory?