By James Cox

Clackmannan County’s second team travelled through the hustle of Edinburgh to the Meadows this week to play championship chasing Morton. Morton have 3 batsmen in the ESCA highest runs stats and a bowler leading the wicket taking charts too so it was always going to be a difficult game especially without captain and vice captain Bryant-Nichols (wedding) and Malcolmson (not wedding) to keep the team together. In came Ken Hutchinson to the helm and Watkins, Mahboob and Cox filled the other vacancies from the last match played.

Hutchinson lost his first toss of the season and Morton decided to bat and were hoping to put the away team to the sword. It was overcast at the start of the game and a relatively cold breeze was blowing in from over the castle mound and these conditions seemed to work in Clackmannan’s favour from the off.

Booth and Kay opened the bowling for CCCC and were accurate from ball one, Booth getting some interesting away swing and making life difficult for the openers. He had 2 edges to slip in his first 2 overs, but due to Meadows parking problems Kash Ali was delayed and there were no spare fielders there to take the catches. He probed on and in his second over he removed Cunningham for 4, caught by Tippu Sultan. Will Kay was next to strike removing Lancashire for 3 caught and bowled as a shortish ball popped up on the batsman and surprised him.

Booth, now in full swing but coming to the end of his spell then took the next two wickets in two balls. Kash Ali may have turned up late for the game but he was anything but delayed in taking an international class diving catch low to his right to remove the exceptionally dangerous Jones for 12, and the next ball to Vicki caught and edge and was snapped up expertly by Greig ‘sure hands’ Taylor while standing up to the stumps. Both fielding efforts could well push for catch of the season and saw the Morton top order crumble. Mehboob removed Senthiel bowling him straight through the door and Ali was there to take another catch from Sultan’s bowling to send Vinai packing for 6 and 5 respectively.

I don’t think Morton have been teetering on such a score since the last time CCCC 2’s played them in 2008 when we removed their 2nd XI all out for 40 but some grit and determination as well as some iffy bowling allowed Forbes and Carnie to put together a decent partnership, both sticking around and scoring steadily. When Hutchinson removed Forbes run out for 13 CCCC were right in to the tail and looking to wrap the innings up quickly. Kash Ali, he of super fielder status, produced some fabulous deliveries that Carnie and Malam but it was opener Will Kay that was to take the wicket of Malam for 16. Solomon smashed 8 but Ali finally got a deserved wicket when he skied one to Taylor behind the stumps. The final pair took the score from 97 for 9 to 135 all out by the time Will Kay caught Carnie for a well crafted, and at times lucky, 24. Kinghorn posted 19 not out and notched up his 1000th run for Morton in doing so. Best figures were for Booth finishing with 3 for 19 but Kash Ali deserves special mention for the best spell of spin bowling I have seen from a CCCC player in a long time.

Clackmannan County have always been a positive side when chasing a score and today was no exception. Watched by Hen parties and quite a few wandering spectators Hutchinson and Booth set about getting 136 positively, but both of them, and Sultan fell early for 8, 1 and 5 leaving the team teetering at 15 for 3. Rory Dow joined Dave Watkins and took the Morton bowlers to the cleaners. He baffled the opposition with his unusual batting stance and smeared the best of the Morton bowling consistently racing to 24 before being cleaned up by the fast and skiddy Vicki. Tariq Mahboob was next in and instantly took a liking to what he was being bowled. His first ball cleared the massive cow corner boundary (surprising a few spectators and fielder alike) and his second ball was drilled for four. The rest of his 36 came in a similarly aggressive style with Watkins playing the perfect innings opposite him rotating his strike to allow the dangerous batsmen to hit out. With Morton running low on bowlers Mehboob was finally caught of Kinghorn with CCCC on 101 for 5. Watkins now came in to his own and continued to craft an exceptional 45 not out with some excellently placed shots behind square and rotating the strike like a professional. Taylor and Cox both surrendered their wickets cheaply (3 and 0 respectively) and when Ali fell for 2 given LBW by Kinghorn the watching players and crowds (now numbering at least 50) were nervously hoping for another simple 14 runs. Kay was obstinate and Watkins finished things off with a fine double to send CCCC in to raptures CCCC winning by 2 wickets.

This was a fine game and an excellent victory** for a depleted CCCC team. Both in the field and with the bat all players contributed well and joint Man of the Match has to go to Kash Ali and Dave Watkins for their excellent contributions to the game. Next week CCCC 2’s face relegation threatened Penicuik at the Arns knowing that if they play as well as they did this week then it will be a very good game.** This game was voided due to Clackmannan breaching clause 15.3 of the ESCA rules i.e. neither side gained any points.