By Greig Taylor

With celebrations of the previous days’ triumphs running late into that evening, Clackmannan 3rd XI assembled in a haphazard fashion with the more delicate members of the team turning up with only 10 minutes to go!  However, this turned out not to be a problem, as half of the Kirrie’ team were still navigating their way through the central belt.
After winning the toss, Tippu Sultan decided to bat.  Opening proceedings were Noor Jhangir and Alan Oliver, and soon both men found their stride stroking the ball to all parts of the grounds.  Noor was lucky on a number of occasions as catches were dropped and others dropped agonisingly short of the fielders.  After his 5th life, he was eventually caught at cover point for 19.  After losing the inaugural “2-run sprint” challenge the night before to Buna, Rich Passe entered the fray and rotated the strike well, taking a number of quick singles. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move his feet quick enough when Hewitson bowled a beauty of an in-swinger to trap him in front of the sticks.  Captain Courageous came to the crease to join Oliver; however the latter didn’t stay long as he was run out attempting a somewhat ludicrous single for a gallant 12.  G.D Taylor waltzed to the crease and was comfortable as he tried to restore some stability in the innings.  Tippu was now limping, so Noor came on to act as a runner for Tippu, however it wasn’t to matter too much as he was caught and bowled by the impressive Hewitson, a catch that he had to cover a lot of ground to take!  Youngster Ralph Watson came to the crease, and instantly looked at ease, driving the bowlers straight and through the cover point region.  Watson and Taylor took Clackmannan to the drinks break, with the score on 82 for 4.  Some sensible batting, coupled with late hitting should have seen Clackmannan up to a reasonable score of 160/170, but this wasn’t to be the case.  Straight after drinks, Taylor was caught in two minds and as a result spooned a catch to mid-on for 9.  Ross Archibald now at the wicket, continued to accumulate runs with Watson, but soon the latter was out, attempting a shot that maybe wasn’t there, but enough evidence was shown to conclude that he is going to be a great prospect for the future!!  Kash Ali joined Archibald at the crease, but not for long as Archibald tried an old fashioned hoik to leg and was well in truly bowled for 2.  Morven Ross came in, and went without troubling the scorers.  Once Ali was out, Clackmannan were getting ready for teas, but Will Kay and Calum Ross had other ideas.  They stuck around for over 6 overs, adding as many runs as possible.  Kay was last out going for an agricultural shot for 2.  A disappointing effort by the home side, and someone in the top six should have put his hand up and taken responsibility in anchoring the innings with a 40 or 50.
After teas, Clackmannan opened the attack with Ross Archibald and Calum Ross, and both bowlers got into their rhythm quickly, bowling tightly, with Archibald in particular finding a nice spot on the pitch that made it uncomfortable for the batsman. Ross was to get the one and only breakthrough of the day, have Pawley caught nicely by Buna (Greig Taylor) at mid-on.  The openers were taken off and replaced by Tippu and Will.  The experience of both players showed, as the run rate dropped dramatically as both batsman found it difficult to score any runs.  A couple of chances dropped shy of the fielders, and with the batsman playing and missing with such regularity, all Clackmannan players knew the luck wasn’t going to be with them.  However, our prayers were answered as the rain got more and more heavy, and eventually it got to a stage where it was dangerous for all on the field.  As it so happened, the heavens opened just as the game was called off by the captains.  If this were monopoly, Clackmannan were just handed a get-out-of-jail free card, as a strong Kirriemuir side looked likely to win the game after being in such a strong position, but that is cricket.  A warm thanks to Kirriemuir, who travelled all the way down here, and decided to stay and join us for a drink after the game.  The last game of the Clackmannan season is next weekend, with the 3rd XI heading up to Glendelvine in what should be a very good game.
Lastly, I think massive congratulations should go out to all the players at the club this year.  There have been some fantastic efforts, both individually and as a team.  With Graham Oliver scoring two tons and 470 runs for the season; Craig Black scoring 3 tons (top score 174*) and leading ESCA Div 4 runs scorers; Rizwan Ashraf taking over 50 wickets in all form this year and leading the ESCA Div 4 bowlers; Rich Passe batting for 45 overs on two occasions and not getting a ton (just joking Rich, good effort); Tippu for hitting one over for 30 against Kirk Brae; Nick-Bryant Nicholls getting his first golden duck after playing cricket for over 25 years.  I do believe there are a number of other efforts that a pickled brain can’t remember at this moment in time.  Well done CCCC,  a fantastic season!!!!