Clackmannan County Cricket Club

By Scott Malcolmson

On what turned out to be a lovely day at the Arns, Clackmannan looked to consolidate their place at the top of Division 7 against West Lothian 3. West Lothian won the toss and elected to bat.
With Blair Campbell sidelined with a foot injury, Alison Ramsay opened the bowling and almost struck gold quickly with chances being dropped by Rich Passe and Greig Taylor in consecutive overs. It became clear early on that Clackmannan would rue these missed chances as West Lothian’s openers Whitton and Miller put the Clackmannan bowling to the sword.
At the drinks break, all was not going well for Clackmannan, West Lothian were sitting pretty at 100 for 0 wickets after 23 overs. The only highlight up to this point was an appealed for lbw by Richard Passe, which after the ball passed the stumps, hit keeper Taylor’s pads. Mr. Dependable, Nick Bryant-Nichols and Kash Ali who had begun their bowling spell before drinks started the fight back on the re-start.
Ali struck early bowling Miller for 38 with a quicker ball, an excellent innings by the young lad. Bryant-Nichols in his next over bowled Whitton for 60. Clackmannan were in shock for a second since Bryant-Nichols hitting the stumps is a rare sight, but a joy to behold.
Captain Scott Malcolmson was next into the attack and he struck in his first over getting Smith caught at cow corner, a good catch by Passe, after the ball seemed to take an eternity to come down. Malcolmson struck again in the 36th over getting Snedden caught at mid off by Neil Ramsay. The score was now 133 for 4. The first 13 overs after drinks had only gone for 33 runs.
On a fantastic wicket and with plenty of wickets in hand Wet Lothian attacked the last 9 overs and progressed the score onto 191 for the loss of one wicket, McNab bowled by Neil Ramsay. There were chances put down, most notably by Ali, who dropped a dolly from his own bowling.
After a nice tea Clackmannan opened with Richard Passe and Rik Odendal. Carver who opened the bowling for West didn’t get the innings off to a good start. The first 3 balls were signaled as wides. There could be no complaints as these were called by the West Lothian umpire, how unusual is a non-playing umpire in a division 7 match!
Odendal was taking the game to West but was out for 17 to a good catch by Whitton at slip. Neil Ramay was next in and next out, LBW for 12. Clackmannan were on 56 for 2 after 17 overs when Auranzeb Alamgir joined Passe at the crease. Passe was playing his usual patient game.
Alamgir after 7 balls was on 4 runs. This strike rate didn’t last long as he quickly took a liking to the bowling. Brown’s first 3 over went for ten runs. Miller who had replaced Carver at the road end struck with the first ball of his second over. Passe chased a wide ball and was stumped for a battling 20; Clackmannan were now 77 for 3 after 21 overs.
Greig Taylor joined Alamgir at the crease. Brown bowling from the railway end in his first 3 overs was bowling tight only conceding 10 runs. Taylor got off the mark quickly with 2 boundaries and he and Alamgir took the game to West Lothian. Brown paid the price for this with his next 3 overs going for 37 runs.
Alamgir was playing his usual game, hitting some big sixes to cow corner and mid on. Taylor not be outdone was playing well and this pair put on 53 before Taylor was out bowled by McNab for 33 off 27 balls. Dave Watkins was next in for Clackmannan. He was the perfect foil for Alamgir as he kept Alamgir on strike. Alamgir progressed to his 50 after only 29 balls with a six over cow corner. His onslaught didn’t stop there as his next 7 balls went for 18 runs before he was bowled for 73. When Scott Malcolmson joined Watkins, Clackmannan only needed 26 to win.
Malcolmson got off the mark quickly moving to 8 off 3 balls. Watkins and Malcolmson quickly took the score to 191 after 34 overs. After Malcolmson turned down a quick single. Clackmannan after Watkins on one leg flicked the ball over his shoulder and fine leg for a single.
This was a fantastic result for Clackmannan who amassed their biggest score of the season. Best for Clackmannan were Bryant-Nichols and Ali with the ball and Odendal in the field was excellent. Although everyone chipped in, Man of the Match goes to Auranzeb Alamgir as it was his innings that allowed Clackmannan to win the game with ten overs to spare.
Next for Clackmannan is an away trip to Dalgety Bay.

Match Report
Clackmannan County 2nd XI v West Lothian 3rd XI
Click here to view scorecard
Date 13/6/2009	Venue The Arns	Result Win	Weather Sunny'ish
By Scott Malcolmson On what turned out to be a lovely day at the Arns, Clackmannan looked to consolidate their place at the top of Division 7 against West Lothian 3. West Lothian won the toss and elected to bat. With Blair Campbell sidelined with a foot injury, Alison Ramsay opened the bowling and almost struck gold quickly with chances being dropped by Rich Passe and Greig Taylor in consecutive overs. It became clear early on that Clackmannan would rue these missed chances as West Lothian’s openers Whitton and Miller put the Clackmannan bowling to the sword. At the drinks break, all was not going well for Clackmannan, West Lothian were sitting pretty at 100 for 0 wickets after 23 overs. The only highlight up to this point was an appealed for lbw by Richard Passe, which after the ball passed the stumps, hit keeper Taylor’s pads. Mr. Dependable, Nick Bryant-Nichols and Kash Ali who had begun their bowling spell before drinks started the fight back on the re-start. Ali struck early bowling Miller for 38 with a quicker ball, an excellent innings by the young lad. Bryant-Nichols in his next over bowled Whitton for 60. Clackmannan were in shock for a second since Bryant-Nichols hitting the stumps is a rare sight, but a joy to behold. Captain Scott Malcolmson was next into the attack and he struck in his first over getting Smith caught at cow corner, a good catch by Passe, after the ball seemed to take an eternity to come down. Malcolmson struck again in the 36th over getting Snedden caught at mid off by Neil Ramsay. The score was now 133 for 4. The first 13 overs after drinks had only gone for 33 runs. On a fantastic wicket and with plenty of wickets in hand Wet Lothian attacked the last 9 overs and progressed the score onto 191 for the loss of one wicket, McNab bowled by Neil Ramsay. There were chances put down, most notably by Ali, who dropped a dolly from his own bowling. After a nice tea Clackmannan opened with Richard Passe and Rik Odendal. Carver who opened the bowling for West didn’t get the innings off to a good start. The first 3 balls were signaled as wides. There could be no complaints as these were called by the West Lothian umpire, how unusual is a non-playing umpire in a division 7 match! Odendal was taking the game to West but was out for 17 to a good catch by Whitton at slip. Neil Ramay was next in and next out, LBW for 12. Clackmannan were on 56 for 2 after 17 overs when Auranzeb Alamgir joined Passe at the crease. Passe was playing his usual patient game. Alamgir after 7 balls was on 4 runs. This strike rate didn’t last long as he quickly took a liking to the bowling. Brown’s first 3 over went for ten runs. Miller who had replaced Carver at the road end struck with the first ball of his second over. Passe chased a wide ball and was stumped for a battling 20; Clackmannan were now 77 for 3 after 21 overs. Greig Taylor joined Alamgir at the crease. Brown bowling from the railway end in his first 3 overs was bowling tight only conceding 10 runs. Taylor got off the mark quickly with 2 boundaries and he and Alamgir took the game to West Lothian. Brown paid the price for this with his next 3 overs going for 37 runs. Alamgir was playing his usual game, hitting some big sixes to cow corner and mid on. Taylor not be outdone was playing well and this pair put on 53 before Taylor was out bowled by McNab for 33 off 27 balls. Dave Watkins was next in for Clackmannan. He was the perfect foil for Alamgir as he kept Alamgir on strike. Alamgir progressed to his 50 after only 29 balls with a six over cow corner. His onslaught didn’t stop there as his next 7 balls went for 18 runs before he was bowled for 73. When Scott Malcolmson joined Watkins, Clackmannan only needed 26 to win. Malcolmson got off the mark quickly moving to 8 off 3 balls. Watkins and Malcolmson quickly took the score to 191 after 34 overs. After Malcolmson turned down a quick single. Clackmannan after Watkins on one leg flicked the ball over his shoulder and fine leg for a single. This was a fantastic result for Clackmannan who amassed their biggest score of the season. Best for Clackmannan were Bryant-Nichols and Ali with the ball and Odendal in the field was excellent. Although everyone chipped in, Man of the Match goes to Auranzeb Alamgir as it was his innings that allowed Clackmannan to win the game with ten overs to spare. Next for Clackmannan is an away trip to Dalgety Bay.