By Craig Black

Clackmannan County 1st X1 kicked off the 2010 season at the Arns on Saturday with a 40 over friendly against the experienced Strathmore X1 and they continued on their winning ways with a hard fought victory, thanks largely to a fantastic 7th wicket partnership by Davie Watkins and Noor Jhangir.
The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first on the artificial surface. Rizwan Ashraf and Matty Booth gladly accepted the new ball and settled into their rhythms immediately. Ashraf was the first to draw blood in the 5th over as he trapped M Simpson on the crease with a plumb LBW. The visitors consolidated and started to build what looked to be a potentially dangerous partnership, however Booth had different ideas and in his penultimate over he too trapped M Stewart LBW with the score on 47 in the 14th. Craig Black and Graeme Anderson were the change bowlers and it did not take long for Black to remove the remaining opener S Blackies' off stump. The dangerous Strathmore batting line up continued to pick up runs despite the regular fall of wickets and it wasn’t until the introduction of Richard Passe’s slow left arm bowling, together with Anderson’s disciplined accuracy that the wickets started to tumble, firstly Passe trapped G D Hewitson LBW, before tempting the opposing captain into an ill-judged sweep shot which was skied and comfortably caught by Taylor behind the stumps, leaving Strathmore on 91 for 5 after 27 overs. Ashraf and Black took the ball to finish off the the last 10 overs. Ashraf picked up another scalp in the 35th over when he bowled the number 7 and a run out a couple of overs later saw the scoreboard start grinding to a halt on 137 for 7. Black picked up a couple quick wickets before the Strathmore innings closed on 150 for 9 after 40 overs which was a competitive score on a slow outfield.  Pick of the bowlers was Black with 3-25, Ashraf with 2-27 and Passe with 2-39.
Clackmannan opened their account with Ash Rasul and Dan Smith knowing that 150 was a gettable total provided some decent partnerships could be built. Smith edged a wide ball through to gully for 2 and when Anderson trudged back to the dressing room for 1 after tickling a ball through to the keeper, Clackmannan were in a spot of bother on 33 for 2. However Black and Rasul steadied the sinking ship and started imposing themselves on the Strathmore attack, finding the boundary ropes on a regular basis. Black departed in the 19th over with the score on 82 after lofting a low full toss to mid-off and he was followed to the changing rooms by Graham Oliver shortly afterwards when he drove to cover without troubling the scoreboard. The collapse continued a few overs later when Rasul was caught at cover for a solid 31 and Taylor was caught behind for 1 to leave the home side stuttering on 95 for 6. In previous seasons this collapse would have seen Clackmannan throw in the towel and admit defeat, but the new look Cougar outfit have developed a fighting mentality and this was clearly evident as the 2 new batsmen, Davie Watkins and Noor Jhangir, set about chasing down the total. A fantastic 7th wicket partnership began to unfold, with Jhangir opting for the lusty boundary hitting that he has trademarked and Watkins placing the ball with ease. Excellent running ensured the scoreboard continued ticking over nicely and in the 37th over their patience was rewarded, as Watkins late cut took the Cougars past the Strathmore total and gave the home side a hard fought 4 wicket victory. Watkins finished unbeaten on 23* and Noor Jhangir on 28* to earn themselves a joint man-of-the-match performance.
Clackmannan begin their hunt for silverware in Division 3 this season on 1st May with a home game against league favourites West Lothian.