This Saturday, 17th September Clackmannan County Cricket Club are hosts to Warwickshire County Cricket Club at the Arns in Alloa. Dougie Brown for the last fourteen years, a stalwart of the Warwickshire side, is returning in his benefit year to the club where he began his cricketing career as a junior player. The Warwickshire game is a milestone in the clubs history highlighting the level of importance of the opposition in crickets scheme of things and as a celebration of the re-opening of the ground after extensive drainage works. The drainage scheme, funded by a substantial sportscotland grant aided by money raised by club members and friends should allow cricket to be played at the Arns for the foreseeable future. We are indebted to Dougie for brings this game to the Arns both for the opportunity it gives for the local community to see quality cricket being played locally but also to allow us to use the day as a thank you to all of the people who have helped provide the finance to make the much needed drainage scheme a reality.
The day begins at 12.30 when local clubs junior players will take part in a Kwik cricket festival as a warm up to the main event. A Clackmannan County Presidents select will take on The Warwickshire Bears in a Twenty/20 game beginning at 3pm. Twenty/20 is the short form of cricket, beloved of television, in which each side bats for 20 overs and each innings takes about 95 minutes. With an interval of 10 minutes between innings, the game, barring weather problems, will be done and dusted before 6pm. The twenty/20 version of the game is a fast paced, noisy, colourful, big hitting event in which there is no hiding place for any of the players, all aspects of their game are on trial.
The Clackmannan County select is made up of players who have played for Scotland either as Scottish Saltires or at under 21 or 23 level. It’s their opportunity to show the Warwickshire Bears side, who took part in the Cheltenham & Gloucester cup final at Lords two weeks ago, what they are made of.
For Clackmannan, captain Bryn Lockie is an ex Clackmannan junior and some of the other players have links with the local area. Warwickshire are bringing their first team squad. As well as our own Dougie Brown, this will include some players with international experience and some for whom an England call up should be only a matter of time. For example England stars Ian Bell, Nick Knight and Trevor Penney will hopefully be there although unfortunately Ashley Giles is unavailable due to ECB business and Makhaya Ntini will have returned to South Africa.
If you have an interest in cricket or are curious to find out what all the fuss is about, the club would like to invite you to come and check it out for yourself. The junior Kwik cricket starts at 12.30, the twenty/20 at 3pm, there is no entry charge but donations would be welcome and there is limited space for parking cars so first come first served.

The team confirmed on Thursday evening is as shown below. This might not necessarily be the team that plays if the mid week shambles, created by our betters, which decimated the original team, is anything to go by. But hey - the guys are much better practicing than playing against Warwickshire!!!

*Bryn Lockie (Carlton & CCCC) ................ ........
Steve Crawley ( Grange ) ....................... ........
Ian Stanger(Greenock) ....................... ........
Graham Gardiner(Stenhousemuir) ........... ........
Stuart Davidson (Grange) ....................... ........
Sanjay Patel (Grange & CCCC) ............... ........
Glen Rodgers (Grange) ....................... ........
Uhmar Mohammed (Forfarshire).................. ........
Graeme Garden.(Forfarshire) ...................... ........
Jamie Kerr (Grange) ....................... ........
+Simon Smith (Grange) .......................