By Dave Watkins

Clackmannan made one change for the visit of Drummond Trinity as Ross Archibald replaced Dan Smith. Craig Black again won the toss and this week was happy to bat first on a wicket that promised both pace and bounce .
With Smith absent, Alan Oliver moved up to open the batting alongside Graeme Anderson and there was a huge roar as Anderson tucked his fourth delivery into the leg side to finally open his account for the season .
The pair moved the score on to 16 when Oliver called for a sharp single to mid-off. Anderson didn’t respond and Drummond had all day to run out the "unfortunate" left-hander for 9. Black, fresh from a hundred against West Lothian, joined Anderson at the crease and between them they saw off the new ball pair of Nasir and Ahmed.
Drummond opted for the leg-spinner, Nagi, as their first change and he struck in his first over as Anderson prodded forward and was trapped LBW. Dave Watkins joined Black at the crease but there was to be no repeat of the previous week’s 97-stand as Watkins tried to get off the mark by cutting the medium pace of Weatherstone but he could only edge it into the gloves of wicketkeeper McLellan.
Steam began to exit from the captain’s ears when Keith Hefer missed a half-volley from Nagi and also departed for a duck and then Neil Ramsay edged Weatherstone to slip for 1. 38/1 had become 49/5.
Gordon Oliver was the next man in to try and stem the tide and he dug in, sometimes literally, alongside the captain as slowly but surely they re-built the innings against the slower bowlers. mThe pair stayed together for 20 overs with Oliver starring with some ferocious pulls and sweeps until Nagi bowled him out for 38. But the partnership had put on 115 and had taken the team to a defensible score. Wicketkeeper Noor Jhangir was next in and he had made four when Nagi removed him lbw as he tried to sweep. Ross Archibald stayed with Black for 10 deliveries before Nagi bowled him out to grab a well-deserved five wicket haul.
Black was still there and he brought up his second ton in two weeks before he was bowled by Nasir for 101. Rizwan Ashraf was the last man to go as Clackmannan again failed to bat out the fifty overs. Final total 188 all out.
Captain Craig Black appears to have been catching up on his American sports films in the offseason and he again led the side on to the field after a huddle and a roar of ‘Cougars’.The roar appeared to have the desired effect in the opening over.
Coulson defended an Ashraf delivery to gully and set off for a suicidal single. Realistically, Hefer could have recited War and Peace before walking up to the stumps and removing the bails but he instead threw down the stumps to send the crowd into raptures and give the Cougars the perfect start.
Hefer and Ashraf again gave the batsmen nothing to hit and Hefer got his reward as he unleashed a sharp in swinger to remove Jays, lbw.
Nasir joined Coulson at the crease and when he flicked his first ball through midwicket for four it was clear that this was the man who stood between the Cougars and their second straight win. Black’s extra pace was too much for Coulson as a full delivery blew away his defences . Nagi came in next but he edged Black behind to give him his second wicket of the over to leave Drummond floundering on 31/4. Neil Ramsay came on second change and he blasted through the Drummond lower-order with 4 for 8 in six very tight overs, including two in two balls. When Nasir scooped a catch to Archibald at square leg it was it was all over for the visitors and it was left to Alan Oliver to remove number-11 Weatherstone LBW in front of middle stump to seal a comfortable victory for the Cougars"