Issue 66

In Memoriam Susie Weir Everyone at Carlton is very sorry to learn of the recent passing of Susie Weir, always a welcome and cheerful presence at Grange Loan over many years. The club’s deepest condolences go to Russell and all his family.

These past few weeks, looking out on another wet, miserable and cold day, it has been hard to believe that before we know it the season will be starting. Grange Loan will look its best. The sun will shine, the cherry blossom will bloom, there will be the smell of new mown grass, the wickets will be set, the teas will be made and the bar open. (Well, we can always hope!) So let’s look forward to a season with lots of cricket and continuing success for Carlton’s seniors, women and juniors alike! Although playing cricket may seem unimaginable at the moment, behind the scenes there has been a lot of preparation for the coming season. Our new groundsman Regan has started work and the hybrid wickets have been installed. Some work has been done inside the pavilion and the bar will be getting stocked up over the next couple of weeks. And huge thanks to her Amelia for her perseverance sorting out the fixtures - finding venues when the number of grounds is reducing and the number of matches is increasing is a very demanding task. We are excited to welcome new players for the season and see the return of some who have been off wintering in hotter climates. We are also looking forward to seeing players in the 2s/3s/4s showing off the new coloured kit. Sponsors We are very grateful to all our existing sponsors, especially CALA Homes who are sponsoring the Carlton Juniors for the seventh year in succession. Pizza Geeks continue to be a great sponsor of the club and we are currently securing dates for them to come down to Grange Loan with the pizza oven. As soon as we know the dates, I’ll be letting you know. Remember, the more pizzas you buy, the more money comes into the club. We are always looking for sponsors - please get in touch if you would like to sponsor a player or put up a board at Grange Loan or sponsor an event or have your logo on the sparkling new kit. We are open to all ideas. If you are interested, please contact sponsorship@carltoncc.co.uk. Social Diary Last year we had some very successful social events at the club - thanks to each team taking a turn at organising. This is going to happen again this year as the 3s will be running a Sausage Sizzle on Saturday 20 April after the Watsonians friendly matches. Another date for the diary is the first Junior Social Event of the year on Friday 3 May. Please keep it free. Support for our social events is really important. It is a great source of income for the club but also a great way to catch up with other club members in a social environment. I think this is one of the aspects of the club that makes Carlton special. So please try to support the club events. And why not volunteer to help? Volunteers run Carlton and help is needed in all areas of the club. Please do whatever you can to help - you will be needed and it can very enjoyable! I look forward to seeing you you all at Grange Loan soon. Kerry’s recent trip to Vietnam and Cambodia has not interrupted preparations for season 2024

Welcome to the 2024 season! We are very much looking forward to the first junior training session of the year on Monday 15 April and seeing our young members and families return to Grange Loan to implement all those cricket skills that have been perfected in the winter nets. This year we are hoping for a repeat of the hugely successful 2023 season - lots of cricket, lots of fun, laughter and lots of opportunities for our members to meet people and make new friends. If we can do all of that in the Edinburgh sunshine then that would be an added bonus! The junior committee has been working hard in the recent months to make sure that everything is planned and in place for the coming year. We have a lot of fixtures lined up for all the squads and will be hosting our own girls and boys cricket festivals in June and July. We are very pleased to be continuing our partnership with Active Schools and hosting primary school fixtures for schools within Edinburgh council. We also will be playing our usual competitive fixtures in both the ECB and Scottish Cups and keeping our fingers crossed for a return to Lord’s! Junior Convenor Siobhan Fontenla is looking forward to a repeat of 2023 Carlton is operated as a club, run by volunteers, and we are hugely grateful for the help and support that we currently receive from parents and carers. We would also love more new and returning members to get involved. An easy way to do this is by helping with the weekly cake stall that has become a Carlton staple at junior training times for several years now. Please do get in touch if you can offer some help with this or would like to volunteer in any other way for the junior section of the club. Juniors@carltoncc.co.uk On that note, the first social event of the year will be Friday 3rd May when we’ll be bringing out the bbq to host our first u12 derby of the year. Please do join us at Grange Loan to watch the thrill of the u12 match and support the club - more details will follow soon. Thank you again to all of the junior committee (Charles, Euan, Kailas, Keith, Kelly C, Kelly F, Malcolm, Martin, Mary, Stevie, Val) for all of their efforts in preparing for the new season - we couldn't do it without you all! All the best for the season ahead and we look forward to seeing you all soon!

Carlton Women enter the 2024 season off the back of a successful 2023 league campaign which saw us clinch the WPL title once again. It was really nice to see different individuals step up with match winning performances at key moments. This time of the year is always exciting, even with the weather as it’s been! We are all looking forward to getting outdoors as most of us are not as fortunate as those who have been enjoying cricket out in Australia. Lewis O'Donnell is wrapping up his fantastic time down under, and should join us in time for the pre-season friendlies. I am also very thrilled to have a full season commitment from Angus Beattie, who assures me is excited to have a full season with Carlton following his own Australian summer and after academic commitments limited his availability over the last few years. A number of us have got together for winter-training but with April here outdoor sessions will hopefully lure the likes of Rory Allardice from their winter caves to Grange Loan. We'll miss a few players from last season as careers or other commitments force people away, but this also opens doors for others. I look forward to Will Hardie making regular appearances this year as injuries made him miss a good part of last season. Ruari Macpherson, another player who missed out last season because of injury, has been looking sharp this pre-season. Ruairidh Main, after his first regular season with the 1s and his maiden ton last year is itching to get more this year and he has been working hard. Charles Buchanan-Smith, Harry Simpson and Gavin Murray all impressed at various different times last season and I am sure each will have more to offer. Dan Da Costa's re-signing over the winter is fantastic news for the club. I am sure Dan is looking to repeat, if not better, his exploits from last season. With the signing of Chris McBride, I am looking forward to memorable batting partnerships between these two. Chris is also a more than handy seam bowler, and it will be fantastic for our young seamers - Ruaridh McIntyre, Rudy Adair, Ben Stronach and Jamie Beattie - to learn from international pedigree bowlers in Chris, Ali Evans and Dewald Nel! I am very happy to have Dewald coaching us for another season; hopefully we won’t require him (or Stevie Gilmour) to don the blues again. Reflecting on our performances last year, where we demonstrated resilience throughout the season, finishing second in the national T20s, fourth in the league, and reaching the quarter-finals of the cup, I am optimistic that with the same commitment to resilience, we can surpass these achievements in the upcoming season - that would be a good season. Let’s get to it! ALL SYSTEMS GO Arun and Sam look forward to season 2024 Looking ahead, we know that other teams have bolstered their ranks over the winter and so we anticipate a real battle to defend the title this season. We have a core group of players now and I'm really excited about the balance of our squad. We have an abundance of young talent and I'm eager to see what they can do this year, following a solid winter training block. It's also great that we can welcome back our Scotland internationalists Abbi and Charis after both missed part of last season due to injury. We also have a few new faces joining our squad this year and I look forward to getting our season off and running with some pre-season friendlies over the coming weeks. Win or lose, I hope that we can continue to ensure Carlton’s women's section thrives, being a fun, welcoming and inclusive environment for all. I want to ensure everyone in our section has a positive experience with ample opportunities to play, whether it's for our 1st XI, 2nd XI or in a development capacity in the 5th and 6th XI sides. It's a great group to be part of and I'm very much looking forward to the 2024 season unfolding.

Welcome to Chris McBride who is looking forward to his first season with Carlton Moving to Edinburgh from my much loved Dumfries Cricket Club, I am sure Carlton is the best place to join for the 2024 season. Being a Morningside local, the sense of community and club environment was one of the most appealing reasons to join for both on and off the field reasons. The chance to play with a good group of guys who play competitive cricket and have fun from it, is going to make it enjoyable. Hopefully I can contribute and progress the club forward after a relatively successful league and cup campaign in 2023 with the hope of some silverware this year. Also the chance to contribute to helping out a very strong junior and wider senior section is very exciting, where I can share my cricketing knowledge and experiences with the next generation of Scottish talent is exciting. I am happy to be a part of Carlton CC and looking forward to getting stuck in to the 2024 season. A product of Dumfries CC, Chris played age grade cricket for Cumbria before joining Durham’s academy He then studied at Oxford Brookes University where he captained the University side playing two first class matches against Hampshire and Middlesex. Chris has made 18 appearances for Scotland scoring 386 runs. He was player of the match against Nepal in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 in February 2023. He took 1-10, dismissing Rohit Paudel, the Nepal captain, for 47. He then hit 46* off 40 balls in Scotland’s successful reply.

Coming Home Carlton welcomes home two favourites who return to Grange Loan after successful seasons Down Under. Angus Beattie spent the winter in Western Australia where he helped Halls Head CC to a league and cup double. Angus won a number of awards for his performances through the season including Club Player of the Year and was recognised in the League’s Team of the Season. In 32 matches Angus took 68 wickets at 10.88 with a best of 8-11. He also contributed significantly with the bat with a high score of 55. At the other side of the country Lewis O’Donnell wintered in Melbourne and was a key member of Port Melbourne CC. In 17 matches Lewis took 40 wickets with a best of 6-69 (bowling a marathon 26 overs during a two day match). He was the club’s leading bowler and second overall in the SE Sub-District League Lewis also contributed well with the bat with a top score of 59. Lewis will be telling more about his experience in next month’s Arrow. Great stuff guys! We look forward to you maintaining that form through the Scottish season. CAN YOU SCORE FOR CARLTON WOMEN? Leigh Kasperek took a spell on the book last summer, but you don’t have to be a New Zealand internationalist to score for Carlton Women. If you can offer a hand at the scorer’s table this season, Sam would love to hear from you (the village of supporters are incredible home bakers, so she promises that you won't regret it.) Why not give Sam a call? Photo by David Potter

It was Twenty Years Ago Today…. Carlton First XI 2004 (BACK) Steve Elder, Stevie Gilmour, Fraser Watts , Craig Wright, Gary Hunter , Craig Marshall, Tom Clarke (SEATED) Bryn Lockie, Jamie Kerr, Cedric English (Capt, Prof), Hugh Parker (Pres), Craig Bulloch, (Inset) Rob Thornton Not quite to the day, but on 1 May 2004, Stevie Gilmour made a bright start to his Carlton career scoring 51 in his first innings for the club against Ayr at Cambusdoon. Unfortunately it was in a losing cause, as Carlton’s 166ao left them a long way behind the home side’s 274 for 4. Stevie’s innings was matched by 51 from Bryn Lockie. This was the first of Stevie’s 227 league cup and T20 appearances for Carlton. That season Carlton finished finished 7th in the Premier Division, with 5 wins out of 14 starts. Clydesdale won the league. Carlton Second XI, for whom 15 year old Ali Evans made 5 appearances, finished 3rd in ESCA Division 3. They were to gain promotion in each of the successive seasons. Carlton Third XI finished 5th in Division 7 (there were 8 Divisions). Fraser Watts was the season’s best batter, his highest score being 151 against Ferguslie, and Craig Wright (who had also joined the club that season) the best bowler. While Cedric English was the leading wicket taker with 29, Craig’s 18 wickets came at a cheaper rate of 15.78. This was his only season at Grange Loan, the next season saw him playing fro Greenock. Greenock won the Scottish Cup - Carlton’s cup run was ended in the rain at Poloc - and Grange won the Masterton. In September 2004, under the captaincy of Craig Wright, Scotland beat Bangladesh at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, their first ever victory against a test nation in a 50 over match. The innings of Fraser Watts (50) and Cedric English (49*) were significant contributions to Scotland’s victorious 263-6 run chase.

West of Scotland Cricket Club (now known as FS McCrea West of Scotland) was established in 1862, when the Clutha Cricket Club, founded in 1858, amalgamated with other local players and businessmen. It was an ambitious club seeking to become the MCC of Scotland. John Sands of Sussex was engaged as professional. Within weeks of the club’s founding, the players travelled to Edinburgh to pit themselves against Grange. They lost the two innings match and immediately journeyed to play three matches in Ireland. Later that season they travelled to play Manchester at Old Trafford. West of Scotland has won the Western District Championship on 10 occasions, most recently in 1997, and the Scottish Cup twice, in 1967 and 1989. West of Scotland Women are the current holders of the Beyond Boundaries Scottish Cup. CARLTON V WEST OF SCOTLAND CC The forthcoming cup tie between Carlton and West of Scotland will be the first time the clubs have faced each other since 2013, but it is the latest in a long relationship. Top: - The Glasgow Daily Herald, 9 July 1862; below The Morning Journal 26 April 1862

While West of Scotland CC played East Coast opposition from their earliest years - as mentioned above their first visit to Edinburgh was in July of their inaugural year, when they lost to Grange - it was not until 1881 that Carlton visited Hamilton Crescent in the first encounter between the clubs. This resulted in a win for the home team by 20 runs as Carlton were all out for 151 - the highlight being R Blackadder’s 71, which turned out to be the highest innings by a Carlton batter than year. Two years later Carlton were again on the receiving end and were bowled out for 66. Fixtures followed regularly with Carlton increasingly in the ascendant more often than not. West of Scotland were the first opposition at Grange Loan in 1905 when Carlton adopted the ground as their home. The match ended in a satisfying win for Carlton. In 1906 Carlton were again the victors at Grange Loan, although it was a bit of a one man effort. In Carlton’s innings George Jupp scored 88 out of their total of 146. He then took 8-27 and was catcher in the other two wickets as West were bowled out for 54 - see scorecard below. Carlton v West of Scotland In 1911 there was a very one sided match at Grange Loan when Carlton scored 335-9, with AS Cairns hitting 111, before dismissing West for 64 with NL Stevenson taking 7-27. There was another Carlton centurion in 1921 when A Walker made 102 at Hamilton Crescent in another convincing victory. In 1936 a benefit match for Carlton’s professional Tom Crosskey was less successful in that the late arrival of the visiting team and the poor weather limited the attendance. An unexciting draw followed. Above: George Jupp - Carlton captain 1904-5 and best bat on 11 occasions. Top right: AS (Sandy) Cairns - subsequently President SCU 1925 Bottom right: Tom Crosskey - pictured going in to bat against Don Bradman’s Australians at Mannofield 1948. He top scored for Scotland with 49*. He was Carlton Professional 1930-39, subsequently playing as an amateur.

Cedric English (below left) is the only Carlton player to have scored a century against West in this period, doing so in 2011 at GL in the final SNCL match between the teams. Internationalist Dougie Lockhart (top rt) also scored 107* in that match. The previous year he had scored 115 in a losing run chase at Hamilton Crescent. Prior to that Salahuddin’s 101* in 1971 had been the only three figure score by a West batter In the 1968 friendly at GL Alun Davies (bottom left) took 7-24, the best Carlton return against West. The visitors were dismissed for 108 but Carlton could only struggle to 77-9 grimly holding on for a draw. In that match Intikhab Alam took 6-24. More recently John Blain took 5-38 in West’s losing cause in 2013. In more recent years, Carlton and West of Scotland played regular friendlies through the 1960s and 70s. The clubs were then regular opponents in the SNCL, with West dominating the earlier years before Carlton became the stronger side. In 1998 in the first SNCL match Fraser Watts scored 71* of Carlton’s 102-9 as Carlton hung on for a losing draw. Of 19 SNCL matches between the clubs, Carlton won 7 and lost 9, 2 were drawn and 1 abandoned. Their final league meeting was at GL in 2011 when West of Scotland inflicted the only league loss of Carlton’s title winning season. In the Scottish Cup, Carlton lost at Hamilton Crescent in 1971, which featured 101* for West’s pro Salahuddin. Carlton also lost in the Cup at GL in 2000. In 2007 Carlton broke their cup duck against West winning a rain affected semi-final. They would go on to lose the final to Greenock. In 2013 the structure of the Scottish Cup competition meant that the clubs played twice. Carlton were victorious on both occasions. Carlton’s Women have also come up against West of Scotland following the entry of a team from Hamilton Crescent to the Women’s League in 2019. They started with a comprehensive 6 wicket home victory over a weakened Carlton side. But Carlton had their revenge later in the season when they won over West in the final of the Beyond Boundaries Scottish Cup - skipper Ruth Willis’ knock of 60 setting the base for victory (photo below). That innings remains the highest score on either side in the fixture. Carlton repeated the feat in 2021 when 3 wickets for each of Hannah Rainey and Charis Scott ensured that West could not amass enough runs to match Carlton’s total. Carlton v West of Scotland

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent has been home to West of Scotland since the club’s beginning and has a central place in Scotland’s sporting history. The present pavilion was erected in 1923, but unfortunately suffered extensive damage from flooding in 2021 and the club is working hard to restore it to former glories. The Indoor School was opened in February 1957 and was the first of its kind in Scotland. Hamilton Crescent hosted 20 first-class matches between 1911 and 1994. The first was Scotland against Ireland in 1911 (the photo below shows a large crowd inside and outside the ground). The weather interrupted match was drawn. Hamilton Crescent also has a place in football history, as the first ever Scotland v. England international took place there in 1872. The match resulted in a 0-0 draw. The Club received £1.10s for the hire of the ground. The following two internationals were also staged at Hamilton Crescent in 1874 and 1876. Scotland fared better in these two games, winning 2-1 and 3-0 respectively. The Scottish Cup Final of 1876-77 also took place at Hamilton Crescent, with Rangers losing 3-2 to Vale of Leven. In the club’s early years the All-England Eleven was a regular visitor to Hamilton Crescent and West also challenged MCC several times. In all, 61 Scotland cap matches have been played at the ground, the last in 2006 when Scotland beat Italy by 10 wickets with Fraser Watts scoring 75*. Current Carlton coach Dewald Nel took 2-23 and Umair Mohammed also played in that match but did not bat or take a wicket Hamilton Crescent was home to the Scottish Cup Final from 1966 until the 2000s. It last hosted the event in 2016, marking the 50th anniversary of the first Rothman’s Quaich Final. Carlton made one unsuccessful visit as finalists in 1977, losing to Clydesdale.

West of Scotland CC has been home to some eminent professional players. Intikhab Alam spent 3 seasons at Hamilton Crescent between 1966 and 68, subsequently playing for Surrey until 1981. He played 47 Tests for Pakistan captaining them in 17, amongst which was an unbeaten tour of England in 1974. He scored 1493 Test runs and took 125 wickets with his leg-spin. In August 1967, at the Oval, he joined Asif Iqbal for a record ninth-wicket stand of 190 runs which stood until 1998. In 3 friendly matches against Carlton he took 19 wickets for 120 runs, including 7-50 in 1967. Carlton were not the only Scottish batting line up he bamboozled - in 1968 he took 8-19 against Greenock. Intikhab was manager of the Pakistan team which won the Cricket World Cup in 1992 and the World T20 in 2009. He was succeeded at Hamilton Crescent by Salahuddin (see next page). Indian all-rounder Elknath Solkar came to Hamilton Crescent in 1977. Unfortunately he found the Scottish weather a trial and succumbed to pneumonia which limited his contribution. But he scored an unbeaten 64* to take West to victory in a friendly at Grange Loan. He played 27 Tests, with one century to his name. He was renowned as an exceptionally fearless close-to-the-wicket fielder and took 53 catches, possibly a record catch-to-match ratio for a non-wicketkeeper. Trevor Bayliss was a hugely popular and successful club professional and coach at West in 1989 and 1990 overseeing one of West's most successful periods in Scottish cricket. They won the Scottish Cup in 1989 and followed with the league championship in the next season. Subsequently Bayliss coached England to success in the 2019 World Cup During the 1980s Desmond Haynes and Clive Rice featured at Hamilton Crescent during their respective spells as Scotland’s overseas player. John Blain returned to Scotland following a spell at Yorkshire and spent 2 seasons at HC before moving to Grange. He played in the most recent match between Carlton and West in 2013. WEST OF SCOTLAND - PROFESSIONALS Photos from top - Intikhab, Solkar, Bayliss, Rice (rt) Haynes (l)

Salahuddin was pro at Hamilton Crescent from 1969 to 1975. While his international career may have disappointed - he played only 5 Tests after having debuted at the age of 18 - there was no doubting his popularity and effectiveness at Hamilton Crescent. Salahuddin played a number of friendlies against Carlton, scoring 101* in 1971, the first player to score a century in the fixture in modern times. After his spell at West Salahuddin moved to become pro at Ayr. Following his playing career he was a selector for Pakistan until stepping down in 2008. One of the most celebrated events in the long history of Hamilton Crescent took place in August 1975 when Salahuddin’s benefit match involved no fewer than 17 Test players, including 6 skippers - shown below: Colin Cowdrey, Intikhab Alam, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal, Mike Denness and Gary Sobers. The match attracted significant press attention. The match was sponsored by the Shish Mahal restaurant whose owner, Ali Ahmed, lays claim to be the originator of Chicken Tikka Masala. MC for the day was none other than Alasdair McLeod. SALAHUDDIN

In 1878, Hamilton Crescent was the host to the first ever visit of an Australian team to Scotland. The tourists inflicted a heavy defeat on the club side with ‘the demon bowler’ Fred Spofforth (below) taking 11 wickets for 87 in the match. In 1882 the Australians, fresh from the victory over England at the Oval which instituted the Ashes, again visited Hamilton Crescent. This time they faced a Scotland XI who fared no better than West four years previously. Spofforth dominated again, taking 8-11 and 6-47 as Scotland were thrashed by an innings and 23 runs. The Australians visited again in 1930 when Bradman, maintaining his form from scoring 334 at Headingley the previous week, blasted 140 in a rain shortened draw with a Scotland XI. In 1938 Australia came again, and Bill O’Reilly’s 7-39 was too much for the Scottish batting as Australia ran out easy victors. In 1956 the Australians were again in Partick with Richie Benaud in the side. In another drawn match, Carlton’s James Aitchison scored 100. Big Names at Hamilton Crescent July 1989 saw the Australians’ final visit with 3,500 spectators packing the ground. Scotland were captained by Carlton’s Richard Swan. Centuries by Mike Valeta and Tom Moody took Australia to 307-7 off their 55 overs. Scotland got to 210-9 when their innings closed. Swan was out for 8 - perhaps one of his most illustrious dismissals, caught by Dean Jones off the bowling of Allan Border. Also in the Scotland side that day was David Haggo, uncle to Carlton women’s skipper Sam. In 1998 an Australia A side demolished Scotland - future stars Mike Hussey (136*) and Damien Martin (155) both making hay. The New Zealanders also visited several times with Bert Sutcliffe liking the ground - he scored 183 in 1949 and 127 in 1958 but in 1965 was content to leave things to Bev Congdon who scored 176. Hamilton Crescent’s last full international was in 2003 when Scotland (with that season’s overseas professional, Rahul Dravid, above) met Pakistan. This was Dravid’s first outing for Scotland and the big crowd he attracted was disappointed to see him caught behind off his first ball. Scotland put up a fight, eventually going down by only 1 wicket. Also making his Scotland debut that day was the teenage Kyle Coetzer. Present Carlton scorer Ken Nisbet (then with Dunfermline CC) was honorary scorer for Pakistan. L to r: Aitchison. Bradman, Benaud, O’Reilly

Some of Scotland’s leading cricketers have associations with West of Scotland. Perhaps the greatest of the early days was Stewart Carrick who in 1885 scored 419* for West against Chichester Priory Park, then a record for an individual innings, He also scored 112 for Scotland against Nottinghamshire at a time when they were the all conquering force in English cricket. He was also capped for Scotland at rugby. More recently, Craig Wright came through West’s junior set-up to become club captain in 2000 and 2001. He moved east to Carlton in 2004 before going west again to Greenock. Craig played 194 times for Scotland, including the 2007 Cricket World Cup and 20/20 World Cup in 2007 & 2009. In 2002 Wright was appointed captain of the national side, a role he kept until stepping down at the end of the 2007 World Cup. He led Scotland to victory in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup, the 2005 ICC Trophy. In total he captained Scotland 107 times (a record only exceeded by Kyle Coetzer) and took 256 wickets. West of Scotland - Scotland Players Wicketkeeper-batsman Dougie Lockhart (below left) played 178 cap matches for Scotland between 1995 and 2010. In 2008 he scored 151 against Canada. Gregor Maiden, (below rt) capped 108 times by Scotland, played at West of Scotland between 1999 and 2004 before moving to Grange. Abtaha Maqsood (above rt) started her cricket with Poloc but she has more recently been associated with West of Scotland Women as well as featuring the Women’s Hundred. She is Scotland’s leading T20I wicket taker with 45 scalps. Current Scotland team mates Nayma Sheikh (above left) and Ellen Watson (below) have also played for West of Scotland Women.

HUGH PARKER Hon Life President President 1995-2005, 2013 Captain 1987-8 I was a member of West of Scotland as a Minor for a couple of seasons but I was too young to remember much about it! However I remember clear as day entering the gate for the first time on leaving school and being met by the Captain at the time, Tom Anderson. Tom is a legend at West who went on to serve two terms as President of the Scottish Cricket Union, so I was a bit overawed! One practice session later and I was opening the batting on a green top at Uddingston facing the very experienced pair of ex-county pro, Tom Atkinson, and John Young. I barely put bat on ball, a bit of an eye opener for a youngster..... Another early memory was when we played Clydesdale at Titwood. I was about to walk out to face the giant Aussie pro, Mark Clews. At the last moment, I asked our pro, Salahuddin if he had any advice?! In literally thirty seconds, he gave me a lesson on how to play fast bowling which held me in good stead that day and in future contests against quick bowling. Clews was among the quickest I faced in my time, along with Derek Stirling of New Zealand who was at Stenhousemuir for a time. However my overriding memory of West is the ground itself. Hamilton Crescent has an aura befitting the venue for the first ever Scotland v England football international. It gave me a buzz every time I walked down the steps and through the gate to bat – although not if I had to quickly come back in! It hosted many historic matches but in 1975 it hosted Scotland v Yorkshire and my hero, Sir Geoffrey, was playing.* I sneaked into the changing room one evening and picked up one of his three bats. It was incredibly thin and light even compared to my bat at the time, never mind modern day bats. It was like batting with a pencil, although the great man claims to be able to bat with a stick of rhubarb! As the 1982 First XI photo shows, even in his first full season at Carlton, Hugh found it difficult to give up his West of Scotland sweater. Hugh played once for West against Carlton - a drawn friendly at GL in 1977. He may not have enjoyed his first visit to Grange Loan - he was out for 0 - caught by Richard Dickinson to become one of Alun Davies’ 1000+ victims for Carlton. In Hugh’s playing years at Carlton there were no fixtures between the clubs. I may be biased but in my view, Hamilton Crescent was far and away the best international ground in the country. Unfortunately the ground doesn't meet modern ICC regulations as the boundary at the top end is slightly too short. Even more unfortunate was the flooding of the grand old pavilion in January 2021. I wish the current Board every success in their battle to raise the funds required to repair/upgrade the old pavilion and return the ground to its former glories. *Although Boycott was skipper for the 3-day match, he was listed at No 11 on the scorecard and did not bat. Yorkshire cruised to an easy 10 wkt win on the back of 124 from Test batsman Jackie Hampshire and 88 from Jim Love (subsequently Scotland coach). FROM WEST OF SCOTLAND TO CARLTON

As I seem to have come to the end of my time playing an active part in the management of Grange Loan, the theme of this issue of the Arrow gives the opportunity to look back at the start of my years of helping out at cricket grounds. I grew up in a tenement flat in Peel Street, Glasgow adjacent to the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Peculiarly the ground is named Hamilton Crescent though there is no street of that name in the vicinity, or, indeed, as far as I know, anywhere in Glasgow. The northern part of Fortrose Street which runs round the north and east of the ground was originally called Hamilton Crescent, but this was changed by the Glasgow authorities some time after the city absorbed the Burgh of Partick in 1912. The cricket ground and the neighbouring school retained the old name, until the school became Hyndland Primary in 1972. The cricket ground is therefore the only remaining link to the original name. I joined the club around 1956 and, in time, started to help the groundsman, starting with simple tasks but graduating to more complex jobs. This developed further and, at times, I deputised for the groundsman as necessary. In that capacity I prepared the pitch for Carlton’s first appearance in the Cup Final (then the Shish Mahal Trophy) in 1977. It had been wet and you might think that explains Carlton’s poor performance with the bat but I remember Allan Swan remarking to me after the game that not a single ball had moved off the pitch! Clydesdale didn't seem to find any problem as they won by 8 wickets. Thus when I arrived at Carlton in 1982 I was fairly experienced in ground management. Indeed, on my very first evening at Grange Loan I ended up rolling the square! I have been involved ever since though I had to ration my time at the club in some years because of work commitments. I was at West at the same time as the great but short lived side which won the Rothman's Quaich, as the Scottish Cup was known, in 1967 and the Western Union in 1968. FROM WEST OF SCOTLAND TO CARLTON Alasdair also found it hard to give up his West of Scotland sweater - as the team photo of the 1987 Carlton Second XI shows. That side included 3 players who had been in the Junior side I inexplicably captained a few years before. The side broke up in the next couple of years as Intikhab went to Surrey, three of the others emigrated to South Africa, one to London and another to Liverpool. Sic transit gloria. I played fairly often in Sunday friendlies alongside West’s great pro players. I remember one such match with Intikhab; I fielded at silly mid on — to a leg spinner - but I was in no danger, such was his control. Meanwhile, my late brother, Norrie, continued to be was also deeply involved at West both as Board Member and in undertaking tasks, some of them quite major, on the ground. For example he rebuilt the sight screens after the Boxing Day storm in 1998. This led to him being made an Honorary Life Member of the Club. I was similarly made an Honorary Life Member at Carlton from 2017. I believe that it is unique for siblings to have been given this honour at separate clubs. Between these two clubs, I have thus given over 60 years voluntary service although that cut no ice with Cricket Scotland when they were handing out gongs to volunteers! Where it all started for former Head Groundsman Alasdair McLeod

STEVIE GILMOUR Recalling 14 great years at West of Scotland FROM WEST OF SCOTLAND TO CARLTON I first entered Hamilton Crescent as a 7 year old, following my older brother to the club. There was no KwikCricket in those days so I was immediately pitched into the net to face gangling 12 year-olds trying to take my head off. I managed to get some bat on ball and I remember Colin Mair, West stalwart and skipper between 1979 and 82, saying to me ‘You’ll do alright, son.’ Soon after I made it to the under-12 team. Since my experience was largely batting in the garden when any shot reaching the flower beds would count as four, I had not quite got the hang of running. In my first match I creamed one through the covers and to the consternation of non-striker, team-mates and Dad on the boundary wholly forget to run. In a later game, I recall pulling the ball out of the ground and through the dining room window of one Alasdair McLeod’s neighbours in Peel Street! Not long after, at the age of 15, I debuted in West of Scotland’s First XI under Mark Townson’s captaincy. My opening batting partner was Australian pro Corey Richards. In my third match against Poloc, I got my first half-century. I was out-scoring the prodigious Richards and on 59 ‘he ran me out’, and went on to 100. Two weeks later I visited Grange Loan for the first time - LBW to Cedric English without troubling the scorers! Richards played for NSW and Australia A and it was an education to play with him. Similarly with another Australian pro Jason Arnberger, of NSW and Victoria, who subsequently moved to Aberdeenshire. On his return visit to Hamilton Crescent he scored 100* (I scored 50* in a losing draw). For me, as a cricket mad youngster, a highlight of the West of Scotland club was the indoor school which allowed us to practice all year around. Even now it is one of only 2 such club facilities in Scotland. I spent 14 great years at West of Scotland before agonisingly deciding that the commute from Edinburgh, where I was at University, was too much and I joined Carlton. A great decision and the rest is history. In my final match for West of Scotland, against Heriot’s at Hamilton Crescent, I had scored 57 when, in remarkable symmetry with my debut, I was run out. Hamilton Crescent painted by former England wicketkeeper Jack Russell. Nineteen year old Russell played at Hamilton Crescent for Gloucestershire against Scotland in a Benson and Hedges match in 1983. He was awarded Man of the Match, top scoring with 36* as Gloucester struggled to overtake Scotland’s lowly total of 90, eventually winning by 3 wickets. Jack Russell Gallery