Scorecard

Match Report Clackmannan County 1st XI played their first league game of the season at Largo, on a day when the forecast of rain all day proved inadequate. The weather report was unfortunately to be a predictor of the teams performance. Without team captain Mark Cunningham and vice captain Tom King and missing four of the regular first team players the game was always going to be a difficult task. Captain for the day Gordon Oliver, won the toss and decided to field. His decision paid dividends immediately, when, third ball of his first over Neil Ramsay bowled an inswinging yorker to remove C Walkers middle stump from the ground. Largo eight runs for one wicket after two overs. Three overs later Clackmannan struck again, this time through Matthew Booth, bowling A Duncan for 6. Largo 17 for two wickets in five overs. However, in a return to the ways of last season for Clackmannan, when R Mowat joined G Robinson at the crease the wheels came off the trolley. The Largo top order batsmen used their knowledge of the ground to hammer the inexperienced Clackmannan bowling attack. By the time Mowat was bowled by Ahmed for 80 the Largo score stood at 191 for three with 13 overs still to play. Gordon Oliver manipulated his bowling attack but to no avail by the time A Ali was bowled by Ramsay in the forty ninth over for 22, Largo had amassed 234 runs. Robinson in the meantime had carved his way to 101 not out and by the end of the fifty overs Largo had reached 257 for 4 wickets. A huge total for the young Clackmannanshire side. Best of the bowling for Clackmannan, Neil Ramsay with 13 overs 2 wickets for 34 runs. The Clackmannan innings opened with captain Gordon Oliver and Neil Ramsay. Ramsay proved how fickle cricket can be, turning hero into villain. On the fourth ball of the first over, attempting to guide the ball "through" the slips, he ran himself out without scoring. Zahid Hussain steadied the ship for a while but was bowled by Mowat in the 8th over for 12. Clackmannan were 20 for 2 wickets after eight overs. Alan Oliver joined his father and batted sensibly, the filial combination taking the score along to 59 in the 24th over when Alan was caught by Rintoul off Smith for 13. Matthew Booth(9) and Scott Malcolmson(8) both started well but could not maintain their position. Greig Taylor came to the crease to accompany Gordon Oliver, the youngster having done well in his first wicketkeeping outing for the first team. Taylor batted long enough to see Oliver dismissed for 40 in the second run out in the innings. Taylor was joined by twelve year old Graham Oliver, but it was the fifteen year old who succumbed to the Largo attack, caught Smith bowled Mattews for two. Graham Oliver was batting well, mindful of his instructions to occupy the crease and not give his wicket away. The young batsman survived both Ronnie Stokes(1) and a spirited effort by Gordon McNee(8) to remain undefeated at the end of the Clackmannan innings. Final total, Clackmannan County 109 all out in 39 overs. A lot to be learned for the young Clackmannan side who suffered both from a lack of experience and from the lack of practice facilities at the Arns in the run up to the season. Next weeks game is against Glenrothes at home, in Doune, when hopefully more of the regular first team squad will be available.