December 2014

ECB NatWest and Scottish cups, 2015 [posted 31/12/14] The club’s entered all five national age-group cup competitions open to it in season 2015.  These are the ECB NatWest Under 13 and Under 15 qualifying cups, and Cricket Scotland’s Under 13, 15 and 18 Scottish Cups.  Both competitions see the early rounds being played locally, and the draws will be made in early February.

Under 15s and 19s both miss out on Finals Day [posted 30/12/14]

The Indoor Super 8s tournament has long been a case of “so near, yet so far” for the club, and 2014 has proved to be no different!  After making it to Finals Day in both the Under 15 and Under 19 age-groups [Ed: and the Under 12s only losing to eventual winners Ayr], the tournament finale turned out to be a case of déjà vu,…..all over again. The 15s lost by 17 runs to the Dark Side after having had them 3 for 3 in the first innings!  However they’d eventually end up having to chase 101 for the win, only to fall short having been well placed, at 44 for 1, at the halfway stage in their run-chase.  But a retirement and a wicket in quick succession saw momentum lost, and the target proved too big.

The Under 19s, without their four most senior players in Stiffy, Willowbobby, Rosco and Hollywood, would fare a little better in their finale, the young side beating the Dark Side to set up a “winner-takes-all” clash with Ferguslie who’d also beaten Clydesdale.  Our reader might remember that the 19s had beaten Ferguslie in the group stages, however it wouldn’t be a case of history repeating itself [Ed: except, of course, that history always does repeat itself in the Super 8s for the ‘Loc!] as the Paisley side ran out winners after they chased 88 for the win, securing victory with four balls and four wickets in hand.  Another case of “what might have been”, both losses on the day being avoidable with a bit of luck, but more importantly some better execution of skills.  Never mind, there’s always next year.

Under 12s miss out [posted 29/12/14]

The Under 12s missed out on qualification for the Finals Day of this year’s Indoor Super 8s this afternoon, after a win (over Kelburne) and a loss (to Ayr) in the group stage matches wasn’t enough to see the youngsters join the Under 15s and 19s in tomorrow’s finale.  The side performed admirably, notwithstanding not getting through, with two good bowling displays being put in.  With the bat, the target of 55 set by Kelburne in game one was easily chased down in just six overs, whereas game two’s run-chase against Ayr never really threatened to see the second target reached.  The scorecards are online here.

Under 15s Finals Day [posted 29/12/14]

In a change of plan, and after West of Scotland pulled out of tomorrow’s Under 15 Indoor Super 8s’ Finals Day, the day will now see just the one match, a winner-takes-all game against Clydesdale, starting at 3.30pm.

Under 15s join the 19s on Finals Day [posted 28/12/14]

The Under 15s won their qualifying group in today’s Indoor Super 8s group stage matches.  Two convincing wins, over Stenhousemuir and West of Scotland respectively, saw the 15s top the group and go through to Tuesday’s Finals Day.  In game one, the side restricted Stenhousemuir to 42 for 3 in their ten overs before then taking just two overs to chase down the target!  CJ (15*) and Amaan (26*) were the unbeaten batters.  Then, after West had also beaten the Larbert youngsters a winner-takes-all city derby was set up.  Again the opposition batted first, and again the bowlers did the needful.  Aliyan led the way with a “5-for” (3-0-8-5) as West were bundled out for 53.  Then, in the run-chase, Uzzair (24*) and Amaan again (21*) saw the 15s home in 6.2 overs.

Well done to the 15s, and with the 19s having made it to Tuesday’s Finals Day already, this leaves only the Under 12s to see if they can make it a trio when they play in their group stages tomorrow.  The scorecards are online here.

Under 19s through to Finals Day [posted 27/12/14]

The Under 19s were in Indoor Super 8s action today, winning through to Finals Day on Tuesday with back-to-back group stage wins over Victoria and Ferguslie.  In the first match Victoria were restricted to 58 all out, with Ithy taking 3 for 3 to break the back of the opposition top order.  Bits-and-pieces contributions from the batters then saw the side home inside seven overs.  Game two was then set up as a decider, Ferguslie having already defeated Victoria in the section’s first match.  Batting first this time, an unbeaten 39 from Stouty and 26 not out from Ihty were the main contributions as 93 for 5 was posted.  The Ferguslie reply started poorly, with Ihty and Aliyan limiting the Paisley side to just 19 for 1 after five overs meaning that 75 were needed from five.

Odds very much on a ‘Loc win at this stage then, maybe, but in a great finish Ferguslie would end up losing by just 8 runs as Tahir (26*) and Preston-Jones (20) made good contributions.  Two wins it was though, and so the 19s go to Finals Day on Tuesday where they’ll have to up their game again to be in with a shout.  Tomorrow sees the Under 15 group stages.  The scorecards are online here.

Rowan Cup draw [posted 23/12/14]

The first round draw for next season’s Rowan Cup has been made, and sees the ‘Loc host Irvine at Shawholm on May the 14th.  The full draw, which can be watched online by clicking on the YouTube link on the left-hand side of the page, is: Ayr v Kilmarnock; East Kilbride v Stenhousemuir; Drumpellier v Ferguslie; Prestwick v Greenock; Kelburne v West of Scotland, NVT Poloc v Irvine; Clydesdale v Glasgow Accies; and Renfrew v Uddingston.

Indoor sessions, Sunday the 21st of December [posted 18/12/14]

Please note that this Sunday’s indoor sessions at Hutchesons’ Grammar School are different from the regular weekly junior practices, as we are using them as practice sessions for the upcoming Indoor Super 8s tournaments.  Teams are being selected for the three age-group events, and these can be seen – as players confirm – online.

Golf cancellation [posted 10/12/14] This weekend’s Sandy Duncanson Invitational golf event’s been cancelled, not least due to the “weather bomb” that’s been detonating [Ed: pun intended!] over the west and north-west of the country today, and is expected to continue in to tomorrow.  “Watch this space” for news of its re-scheduling.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 10/12/14]

The eighth indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 15 and 18, and Academy players.  The session is between 1pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

WDJCU indoor Super 8s tournament draws [posted 09/12/14] The draws were made for this winter’s Indoor Super 8s tournaments today.  The Under 12 draw sees the club in Group A alongside Ayr and Kelburne; the Under 15 draw resulted in us ending up with Stenhousemuir and West of Scotland in Group B; and in the Under 19 tournament the club’ll face Victoria and Ferguslie in Group B.  Saturday the 27th of December will see the Under 19 group stages, Sunday the 28th the Under 15 group stages and Monday the 29th the Under 12 group stages, with Sunday the 30th of December being Finals Day.  The various match start times are online.

Golf report [posted 06/12/14]

David James reports on the first golf challenge match of the winter season.  “Saturday, November the 29th, saw the first team match of the ‘Wee Poloc’ golf season on a pleasantly mild and calm day at the policies. In the absence of some regulars the home team ranks were boosted by rookies David Armour and Paul Johnston, while Flanners also made his competitive Wee ‘Loc golf debut.  Matty Coyle’s eight were the formidable opposition in a Ryder Cup-style format event, and safe to say the visitors avenged last year’s home win in convincing fashion.  So much so that despite double points on offer in the singles the anchor game became a dead rubber with Coyle & James Snrs. shaking hands after one halved hole in fading light!

Notable performances for the home team were singles wins for T-Mac and BRS, and a bookie-bashing foursomes win for Messrs. Cathcart and Spence!  However no doubt the best team won and perhaps a schoolboy error from the home captain to dispense with handicaps to simplify the scoring!  Special thanks to Matty for his post-match lentil soup and his mates who did their bit to boost bar takings!  Also thanks to Scott McCutcheon for his good work on the ground which ensured the greens were leaf and acorn free, and also thanks to Emily and KgY for manning the bar.  Next up on the Poloc golf calendar is the Sandy Duncanson Invitational on Saturday, December the 13th.  Please contact Sandy on 07941-949585 if you fancy taking part, or simply turn up at Shawholm at 12 noon on the day.”

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 05/12/14]

The seventh indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 11, and Under 13 and 15.  Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, followed by Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

“Talent Max” [posted 04/12/14]

The club was represented at the launch of Cricket Scotland’s “Talent Max” programme, held in Glasgow last night, by David James and Abhishek Bhatia.  Both David and Abi are involved with our winter indoor junior coaching programme, and joined with over 30 other west district club coaches and volunteers to listen to Andy Tennant, John Blain and Con de Lange outline the programme.

November 2014

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 28/11/14]

The sixth indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 15 and 18, and Academy players.  The session is between 1pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

League composition, season 2015 [posted 26/11/14]

The WDCU today published the composition of Saturday Leagues for season 2015.  In enlarged ten-team divisions, the club will play Glasgow Accies CC, Greenock CC, Irvine CC, Kilmarnock CC, Prestwick CC, St. Michael’s CC, Stenhousemuir CC, Stirling County CC and Weirs CC.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 21/11/14]

The fifth indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 11, and Under 13 and 15.  Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, followed by Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

Junior representative selections [posted 14/11/14]

The club’s pleased that a number of its junior players have been selected for winter development programmes and/or training squads.  Owais Shah, Ihtisham Malik and Aliyan Qureshi have been selected for fifteen-player Cricket Scotland’s Academy programme and will train twice-a-week under Coaches John Blain and Con de Lange as part of the academy’s winter programme.  Lewis James meanwhile has been selected in the Western Warriors Under 18 winter training squad, joining Owais and Ihtisham who train with this group in addition to their academy involvement.  Also in the Under 18 Western Warriors squad, but currently away at university in Edinburgh, are Ross Armour and Calum Stout.  The 2014-15 Cricket Scotland Regional Development Centre (“RDC”), meanwhile, includes Ahmed-Raza Hanif, Calum James and Uzzair Shah amongst its eight players, with Sohaib Shah being included in an RDC development group.  Ahmed-Raza, Calum and Uzzair are also included in the Western Warriors Under 15 winter training squad, Aliyan joining them there as he is still eligible for Under 15 cricket in 2015.  Lastly, no fewer than seven of the club’s Under 12s have been selected for the South Glasgow Under 12 winter training programme: James Cathcart, Nabeel Khan, Abdul Malik, Moiz Maqsood, Hassaan Mehmood, Samee Mehmood and Sohaib Shah.  Well done to all the players selected, and good luck over the winter.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 12/11/14]

The fourth indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 15 and 18, and Academy players.  The session is between 1pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 07/11/14]

The third indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 11, and Under 13 and 15.  Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, followed by Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

Golf fixtures [posted 03/11/14] Charlie McBride has passed on details of this season’s winter golf.  Have a look on the “Golf section” page to see what’s planned.

October 2014

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 29/10/14]

The second indoor winter coaching and practice session takes place this Sunday, and is for juniors aged Under 15 and 18, and Academy players.  The session is between 1pm and 3pm.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

First indoor sessions [posted 26/10/14]

This afternoon saw the club’s winter programme get started with two, one-hour junior coaching sessions.  The first hour saw twelve Under 11s attend, the youngsters enjoying a varied session in which they got to practice catching, fielding and bowling, as well as play an indoor game.  The second hour, from 2pm, saw fourteen Under 13s and 15s come along, and they, too, were put their paces, including a good net session.  Thanks to all the young players who came along on a shocker of a day weatherwise, and thanks, too, to the coaches and assistants who ran the sessions: David, Grant, Abi, Anjum and Keith.  Next week’s indoor sessions see the club’s older juniors start their winter programme.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 14/10/14]

The schedule for winter coaching and practice for juniors (up to and including Academy players), to be held at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall, is now agreed and can be found online.  The first session is for juniors aged Under 11, and Under 13 and 15, on Sunday the 26th of October.  Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, followed by Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm.  Players and their parents are asked to make a note of the planned sessions, and their timings, and players should only come on the dates, and at the times, appropriate for their age-group in 2015.  Anyone with any questions should get in touch with Keith Young (07802-951913).

New golf season [posted 13/10/14] The winter golf section’s activities are set to start again for another season, and as season 2014-15 looms, Charlie McBride writes, “Golf is about to return to the policies, with the first occasion to be the new Players Tournament on Saturday 25 October, teeing off at 12:45pm.   The club’s golf section is no longer organised along the lines of formal office bearers, instead a collective approach is underway to organise, administer and enjoy winter golf. Plans are in place to prepare the course for the Players Tournament which will be an individual stroke play tournament, and comprise the first leg of the Somerville Shield.  All are welcome including those have played before, new golfers, and friends that anyone might care to invite.

“A tentative schedule of further ‘match days’ has been pencilled in.   Ground preparation and administrative support re. handicaps, scorecards, record-keeping, etc. will be provided, however the success of the schedule will depend on a named individual taking responsibility for each particular match day.  The format will be decided by that individual, e.g. match versus another club, stableford tournament, scramble, invitational event, internal team match, etc.   A short meeting will be held in the clubhouse immediately after the event on 25 October at which individuals will be asked to step forward and accept responsibility for a given match day, then the schedule will be finalised and published on the club website.   Please support the tournament on 25 October and consider whether you will be willing to accept  responsibility for one of the future match days.”

September 2014

Revenge! [posted 14/09/14]

Dave James reports on a win for the lads, in today’s “Dads and lads” game.  “First of all, honorary dads for the day were Cammy and Haider.  The lads top four all fired and three of the top four: Rosco, Owais and Stouty were retired at 50.  Ross and Owais both punished wayward bowling but also rode their luck, Owais dropped twice to difficult chances to James’s ‘G’ and ‘D’.  All eleven dads turned their arm over with the most economical bowling coming from Imran Malik and Maqsood.  On the family duel front both James’s were dismissed via BRS/DJ combo and a smart bit of fielding by Anjum accounted for Uzzair’s run out.

“In reply the dads got off to a flier via Brian after the early dismissal of Davie Armour, clean bowled by Rosco but after being clubbed for 21 off his third over.  Not-so-frugal Joe took the key wicket of Anjum caught slicing the ball to backward point.  Imran Malik took the game to Ihty and maintained the run rate and after 20 overs the dads were on track to win.  However enter young James Cathcart making his debut in this fixture.  He cleaned up Imran first ball and repeated the feat to Cammy next ball who swung and missed at his ball one free hit.  Wickets fell at regular intervals including two direct-hit run outs, from Ihty and Rosco, the latter accounting for number eleven Gareth.  However this allowed Brian, who was retired, to join Haider who was batting well.  29 off three was the equation. Then 19 off two, and then 12 needed off the last over to be bowled by LWBJ.  Haider facing, having scored his first ever 50.  . W transpired: cleaned-bowled, game over!”  You can see the match scorecard online.

A season in numbers [posted 12/09/14]

As another season comes to an end, and there’s the usual statistical stuff to be collated, and then reported on, one stat’ that’s always of interest is just how many games we played.  Undernoted’s a summary of the games played, by team, and the result.  In addition to these Poloc matches we also hosted university and schools matches, Western Warriors and Area Squad games, as well as the Rowan Cup final and National Club T20 Finals Day.  And what of that all important “games off” percentage?  Well, despite the current “Indian summer” we’re enjoying and that sees us still playing our final games in mid-September, there were actually more matches cancelled this season that last.  Those with good memories will remember the wet start to the season, and then – after the Commonwealth Games break – more games were lost in August.  Overall 53 matches were recorded as off, six more than in 2013.  [Ed: remember 2011 though, when 91 matches never got started!]  Overall, the 185 games scheduled (or rescheduled) was seven up on 2013, this in a season with a “hole” in it because of the aforementioned Games.  Likely, without the Games, and had it been a full season, the club might well have had close to 200 matches scheduled.  Remarkable.  And this excludes our Under 10 Kwik Cricketers!  When we see the number of matches scheduled and played in such a stark way, it also reminds us of the work done by so many at the club to get games on.  In this regard special thanks should go to Scott McCutcheon who is completing his first season as Groundsman, and to those who helped him prepare for matchdays, Russell Lauder and Pierce Fletcher being deserving of special mentions in this regard.  And behind the scenes there are those who administer, score, officiate, transport players, prepare and serve teas, work in the bar, and clean and tidy the clubhouse.  Thank you to everyone involved – what is seen on the ground, inside the boundary rope, is but a fraction of what we do, and who is involved!

Dads and lads,…..and lasses game [posted 11/09/14] After the success of last year’s inaugural end-of-season’s dads versus lads match [Ed: won by the the former!] David James is organising another game this year.  With one important addition,…..girls!  Ideal!  So this Sunday will see the first annual (?) “Dads versus Lads & Lasses” match.  Start time 1pm, and the weather’s set fair.  Anyone looking for more information, or to get involved, can get in touch with Dave (07813-437920).

Finals Day pic’s [posted 10/09/14] We’ve got some great pictures – taken by Stuart Rousen – of Sunday’s Murgitroyd National T20 Club Championship Finals Day here at Shawholm.  We’ve uploaded the pic’s to the Gallery where you can scroll through them – thanks to Stuart for sending them on.

Outdoor junior practice finished [posted 07/09/14]

Juniors and their parents should please note that outdoor practice has finished for summer season 2014.  News about indoor practice and coaching sessions will be issued soon.

Junior season ends [posted 07/09/14]

On a cracking day of warm September sunshine, the club’s Under 11s lost out in the Under 11 Grand Final against Ayr.  Having beaten Stenhousemuir in the second semi-final, the 11s faced off with the Ayrshire youngsters to decide the champion Under 11 team.  In the field first the 11s took no fewer than ten Ayr wickets to restrict them to a chaseable net 83 (under the pairs scoring system), however a clatter of wickets in the second innings – after a solid start by the first pair – saw them slip a long way behind the run-rate.  And unlike in the first semi-final when, after taking fourteen Stenhousemuir wickets, net 53 had been enough, the final saw them lose fourteen wickets and finish 72 runs back.  A brave effort, but ultimately it was a game too far for this very young side, six of whom will be back again next season for more Under 11 cricket.  Congratulations to all the Under 11s who’ve played this season, another successful one, but more importantly one that’s been fun and has seen the development of players’ core skills.  The scorecards and updated stat’s are online.

Prestwick again! [posted 03/09/14]

Last night the Under 15s were playing a rescheduled league match at Prestwick.  Tonight the Under 13s were at home, in a rescheduled match against…..you guessed it: Prestwick.  In the last scheduled game of the 13s’ season twenty-overs-a-side were managed despite it being the 3rd of September, as the another pleasant evening was the backdrop for a competitive match.  In the end it was the Ayrshire youngsters who ran out winners, their 133 for 4 beating the 13s’ 98 for 3.

Uzzair top-scored with 32 not out in an ultimately unsuccessful run-chase, but there were still useful contributions from Sobo (15) and Frugal (13) too.  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Under 15s defeat Prestwick [posted 02/09/14]

The Under 15s played their rescheduled league match against Prestwick CC this evening at the Henry Thow Oval. Against a much younger and inexperienced home side, the Under 15s bowled out Prestwick for just 25 in 14.4 overs, after the Ayrshire side’s skipper had decided to bat first.  The 15s then – though losing three wickets in the process! – scored the required 26 runs to win inside five overs, Ihty ending up 15 not out.  In the first innings the Anwar brothers arguably claimed the headlines, Bilal returning 3-3-0-0 opening the bowling, and Hamaad taking 4 for 7.

Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

13s lose but 18s win [posted 01/09/14]

The Under 13s were playing down at New Cambusdoon this evening in a match was doubling up as a rescheduled league match as well as the Finals Day game with Ayr.  The game was a close one, and really turned on just a few moments.  Both sides’ scorecards saw two big individual scores, both sides conceded 34 runs in extras, but it was the home side who ended up getting home by 18 runs.  Their 114 for 4 beating the 13s’ 97 for 6.  Uzzair top-scored with 30 not out, with Sobo making 21.  Whilst with the ball, there was a wicket a-piece for Uzzair, Sobo, Jamesy and Nabeel.

Meanwhile at Shawholm, the Under 18s welcomed the Hillhead|Renfrew side, the combined team being unbeaten and having already secured the league title.  And so – as in the Under 15 League where the only team to beat the winners (Clydesdale) were the ‘Loc – this game would see the 18s romp to an easy win to inflict the first and only reversal on this season’s league champions.  Two cases of what might’ve been.  The 18s won by 20 runs after scoring 92 for 1 in fifteen overs and then restricting their visitors to 72 for 3 in their innings.  Stiffy top-scored with 30 not out, and with the ball it was Willowbobby who took the plaudits, returning figures of 3-1-7-2, his two including dismissing Renfrew’s “Overseas Amateur”, Khan, for just 8, CJ taking a smart catch.  Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

August 2014

Finals Day [posted 31/08/14] The Murgitroyd National Club T20 Finals Day has been rescheduled for Saturday the 6th of September – this coming Saturday – at the club.  As always there will be lots of work done over the coming week to get the policies in to tip-top shape.  If in any doubt what you can do to help, please ask!  From general tidy-up, through ground work, to cluhouse cleaning, there’s always something you can contribute.

End of season photo’s and players meeting [posted 31/08/14]

This Thursday, the 4th of September, there will be a players meeting after Under 18 and senior practice.  All players who’ve played senior cricket – junior and senior members – this season (whether Saturday, Sunday or Evening League cricket) are encouraged to come along.  Starting at 8pm, after practice, and lasting an hour or so, the meeting will be an open forum for players to air their views on the season, the cricket section, structures, facilities, etc.  The meeting will provide the Cricket Committee (Craig Young, David James, Euan Sheridan, Anjum Aslam and Keith Young) with important feedback to plan for the winter months and next season.  Keith will also, in his role as current Club President, be able to talk about, and answer questions on, the state of the club more generally, its financial position, future plans and challenges, and what it’s believed is needed to continue to move the club forwards.  The Cricket Committee will also explain what running the section entails and what roles are carried out and by whom, as well as making themselves available afterwards to talk to any player on a one-to-one basis.  Players are encouraged to come along and be prepared to contribute to the discussion, as well as listen to others’ views!

Also on Thursday will be a photo’ session where we’ll take team photo’s.  So please bring nice clean white kit for the pic’s, as well as your best smile!  We’ll take the photo’s before practice, from 6pm, before practice when we’ll have the light to take them outside, so please be on time or you’ll forever be missing from the clubhouse wall.

Panthers in big win against West of Scotland [posted 31/08/14]

The Panthers were in Sunday League action this afternoon over at Hamilton Crescent and returned back over the bridge having recorded a thumping win.  The margin was 170 runs and accrued mainly from the 278 for 9 posted batting first.  There were runs for Owais (115) and Abid (92) in a 207-run opening partnership!  That’s a second ton from a junior player in consecutive days after Rosco‘s big hundred yesterday.  Then in the second innings the bowlers did what was required, Hollywood grabbing a “3-for” and Ahmed-Raza and Rizwan a couple each.

The match scorecard’s online as are updated stat’s, and a brief report.

Cup run comes to an end [posted 31/08/14]

Not even 24 hours after securing a third consecutive league win, the ‘Holmboys were back in action today, hosting Irvine in the semi-final of the Western Cup.  Unfortunately it proved a hurdle too far for the side as the visitors ran out nine-wicket winners chasing the 81 they needed to secure a final berth inside twenty overs.  The target of just 81 came about as the Shawholm batting line-up failed to fire for only really the second time this season, the last time being – ironically – the quarter-final win over St. Michael’s.

And the trouble really started from the off, as both openers went with only 5 on the ‘board, this after DJ had elected to bat.  Some stability was then created by Muscles (20) and Stiffy (18), until both departed in the same over: Muscles nicking off to Alam, and Stiffy being inexplicably run out by Uzzi.  40 for 2 was suddenly 42 for 4.  Things then got little better as only Beast (14), batting at seven, managed to get into double figures.  And the end came in double-quick time as 80 for 7 became 80 all out.  The second innings was, in the final analysis, a stroll for the Ayrshire batters, albeit they took just about twenty overs to reach their target.  Alam mixed chaotic bat swings with some proper cricket shots to bat the 19.2 overs needed, for 30 not out, whilst opener Ingram (15) was the only batter to get out – bowled by Motassim.  81 for 1 then, and a nine-wicket win.  Good luck to Irvine in the final against Glasgow Accies, and well done, too, for DJ  and his troops on an exciting cup run to add to the season’s league victory.  The scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s and a match report.

Back to back…..to back! [posted 30/08/14]

The Shawholm boys secured the point they needed to secure their third consecutive league title this afternoon down at Glenpark,…..and some more!  Batting first they posted what many think must be a club record 402 for 7 in the first innings, with Rosco scoring not just a maiden hundred, but going on to score a whopping 173!  He was well supported in bumper second-wicket partnership of 168 by Stiffy who made 86.  Not content with one 100-run partnership however, Rosco then put on 119 for the third wicket with Willowbobby.  Great stuff!

And when Rusty struck the last ball of the 50th over for yet another 4, the 400 was up!  Then after the usual top-drawer Glenpark tea, the ‘Holmboys returned to the greensward and bowled out their hosts for under 100.  86 all out in fact.  Noaman had a “3-for”, and their were braces of wickets for Rusty, Aliyan and Willowbobby.  So, victory by a whopping 316 runs, and that third consecutive league title secured.  All that was left was for an end-of-season party to go to.  And you’ll never guess what was just getting started back in G43!  The scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s and a match report.

Season-ending big win! [posted 30/08/14]

Greenock were the visitors to Shawholm today on game day fourteen, and the last, of league season 2014.  Batting first after losing the toss and being invited by Pasty to have first use of the track, the Glenpark side were quickly in trouble, losing three quick wickets to see then slump to 36 for 3.  Ihty had all three of them as he nicked off Prabhu and Flack, and trapped Thomas LBW without scoring.  And things didn’t get much better from this point on as Nofs ripped through much of the rest of the line-up to finish with a “5-for”.  Greenock 73 all out.

Tea was postponed with the first innings using up just 23.2 overs, and the ‘Loc proceeded to rattle off the necessary 74 to win, losing just Anjum (8) along the way, in just 12.3 overs.  74 for 1, Nofs 33 not out, and Owais (11*) with a sheriff’s badge too.  A pleasing nine-wicket win to end the league campaign on a high. The match scorecard, is online, as are updated stat’s, and a match report.

Teams [posted 29/08/14]

Tonight sees two scheduled junior matches, the Under 18s hosting the Hillhead|Renfrew combined side at Shawholm, and the Under 11s travelling the short distance to Albert Park to take on Weirs.  Saturday then sees the last two Saturday League matches of season 2014, Greenock the opposition, home and away, the ‘Holmboys travelling to Glenpark in search of the 1 point they need to secure the league title.  Sunday’s action – another two games – featires the ‘Holmboys at home this time, with Irvine the visitors in the Western Cup semi-final, whilst the Panthers travel to Hamilton Crescent.  Teams online as players confirm their availabilities.

Twilight thriller! [posted 27/08/14]

Tonight saw another rescheduled Under 18 league match completed down at New Cambusdoon.  And in a thriller in near-darkness the 18s successfully chased down their target of 91 in eighteen overs with just three balls to spare.  In the field first, the 18s dramatically clawed back Ayr’s accelerating run-rate to see them collapse from 74 for 0 in the twelfth over to 90 all out just over six overs later.  Astonishing.  Willowbobby finished with a “3-for”, with both Ihty and Hollywood returning figures of 2 for 11.

Then in the second innings, the 18s were pretty much up with the required run-rate until Willowbobby decided that a strike-rate lower than his economy rate was a good idea.  Struggling to rotate the strike [Ed: too much time on the beach?], Dougie used up 25 deliveries in scratching around for his 9.  However – luckily for the 18s    he was cleaned up by Hendrikse and Beast came in and gave the innings a bit of momentum.  Stiffy was playing a skipper’s role too.  Having opened with Owais, and seeing him, Rosco, Willowbobby and then Beast depart, he carried his bat to see the side home with CJ, hitting the winning runs with three balls to spare.  Good effort.  And a win in the darkness!  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Good run continues [posted 25/08/14]

The clubs’ junior sides’ good run of form continued this evening as both the Under 13 and 18 teams recorded wins over Glasgow Accies.  The 13s sneaked home with an eight-run win at home, whilst the 18s enjoyed an altogether more straight-forward nine-wicket win at New Anniesland.  At Shawholm, the Under 13s recovered from 32 for 3 to post 99 for 4 thanks to a 45-run fourth-wicket partnershipe between Samee and Abdul, before Hamaad and Uzzair both took “3-fors” to bowl out Glasgow Accies for 91, the last wicket a direct-hit run out by Sobo.

The Under 18s win, by contrast, was much more “regulation”, the 18s chasing 76 to beat Accies over at New Anniesland, Owais top-scoring with 28 not out as a nine-wicket win was secured.  Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 24/08/14] Today’s Sunday League match between the Academy and Drumpellier, at Langloan, has been cancelled.  It’s conceded by Drumpellier as the Coatbridge club cannot raise a team.

Winners…..at least very nearly! [posted 23/08/14]

The Shawholm boys all-but wrapped up a third consecutive league win today, beating Meikleriggs by five wickets at home to secure the title with one game still to play.  Next week’s visit to Glenpark can, therefore, hopefully become a celebratory trip for a side crowned champions.  Meikleriggs were one of the ‘Holmboys‘ nearest challengers in the race for the title, and so it’s fitting that the “business end” of the season sees the need to beat tough opposition.  After restricting their visitors to 186 for 7 in their innings, the ‘Holmboys then chased the 187 needed for the win in just under 39 overs.

The wickets in the Meikleriggs’ innings were shared around, Uzzi getting a brace, and Abi, Motassim, Aliyan, Beast and Hollywood getting one each.  Then in the second innings, after Rosco went early, partnerships of 45, 50 and then 37 all but tied up the win.  It was left for the skipper to be at the crease – with Beast making it a family affair – when the finish line was reached.  Stiffy (45), Flanners (39) and Irfan (35) had all, also, made meaningful contributions.

Whilst the ‘Holmboys were progressing to their win, unfortunately over in Paisley the win points were being secured by Ferguslie.  Again the Paisley side batted first, being bowled out for 243.  There were three wickets for Ihty who got through almost fifteen overs, with Nofs returning the most economical figures (10-3-16-2).  There were also four catches for Abid behind the sticks.  However the ‘Loc‘s batting proved frail when it was their turn to bat, never really recovering from a poor start that saw the top four batters dismissed with just 34 on the ‘board.  81 all out, and a convincing home win, followed.  The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

Panthers beat Kelburne [posted 23/08/14]

The Panthers were up against Kelburne this afternoon as glorious late summer sunshine bathed the old ground in warmth – she looked a picture!  Also pleasing was the performance, and result!  The eventual 146-run win was set up by a big first innings total being posted: 256 for 4, with pretty much all the batters getting runs.  Top scorer was Owais with 84 not out (batting through the 40 overs), with Muscles making a half century in one of his all-too-rare appearances in a ‘Loc cap.

Defending 256 in 40 overs should happen more often than it doesn’t, and the Panthers‘ bowlers proceeded to do their jobs.  The Professor was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 18 in his eight overs, Usman Malik also getting a “3-for”, 3 for 34 in his seven overs.  Aliyan got through seven overs too, and got the all-important early breakthrough, claiming the wicket of O’Connell.  The Professor‘s three included the dangerous Naseer’s, the opener’s top-scoring 45 including seven 4s and a 6 as he and O’Connell got the Kelburne reply off to a fantastic start, racing to 50 in just six overs.  But control was brought back to proceedings as Yash rotated his bowlers and sensibly set a more defensive field to throttle the batters.  Wickets started to fall as the run-rate fell, and they fell at regular intervals.  The final wicket was taken in the 35th over, 50 for 1 after six having become 140 all out.  The match scorecard’s online as are updated stat’s.

League tables [posted 23/08/14]

As always, we’ve got up-to-date league tables online, but we’ve also posted a new addition to the archive section, and that’s some historic end-of-season league tables.  In this first upload, the tables go back to the start of the Scottish National Cricket League Conferences, in season 1998.

Another couple of wins [posted 22/08/14]

After an Under 13 and Under 18 double on Monday night it was the Under 11s’ and Under 15s’ turns to be in the spotlight tonight: the 11s travelling to Toytown, and the 15s also “on the road” over the river at Hughenden.  Both would record victories too, meaning it’s been four-from-four this week for the clubs’ juniors.  The 11s just sneaked past the Dark Side‘s littlest stormtroopers, whilst the 15s enjoyed a more comfortable win – by 38 runs – over their Hillhead counterparts.

Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 22/08/14]

It’s another busy, busy, busy, weekend of cricket, with no fewer than eight games coming up in the next four days!  Tonight sees the Under 11s got to Toytown, and the Under 15s travel to Hughenden, to take on the Dark Side and Hillhead respectively.  Saturday sees two senior league matches: both against Ferguslie, with the Poloc side going to Paisley and the Shawholm side at home.  Then Sunday sees two Sunday League matches, the Panthers entertaining Kelburne whilst the Academy goes to Langloan to take on Drumpellier.  And finally on Monday, there are two more junior league games, the Under 13s and 18s both taking on Glasgow Accies with the 18s being “on the road”.  Teams online as players confirm their availabilities.

Monday double [posted 18/08/14]

Both the Under 13s and 18s were in league action tonight, and on a chilly evening both recorded wins.  The Under 13s had home field advantage against Greenock, and ran out nine-wicket winners, chasing the 63 they needed to win batting second inside ten overs.  Meanwhile down at Glenpark the Kelburne|Greenock combined side were hosting the Under 18s, and in a much tighter affair the 18s sneaked home by just 9 runs, defending 119.  Two good wins therefore, and both sides remain up at the “business ends” of their respective leagues.

Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Fixtures and league tables – update [posted 17/08/14]

After today’s Murgitroyd T20 Finals Day was postponed for the second time, the club awaits a decision on a second reserve date.  The other Finals Day the club hosts, the Frank Smith Trophy, is also still to be rescheduled, the date for this to be determined after the date of National Club T20 Championship Finals Day is settled.  At present there are lots of junior matches being rescheduled as the usual attempts are made to complete as much of the original fixture list as possible.

The Shawholm XI’s Western Cup semi-final is also to be rescheduled by the WDCU as the quarter-final between Helensburgh and Irvine that will decide who the ‘Holmboys‘ opponents are has still to take place.  So there’s still lots to play for as we move in to the last four weeks of cricket: lots for the junior teams to play for, and for senior sides.  League titles and cups still being competed for.  Notwithstanding the two “no results” of yesterday, the league tables have been updated as usual.  Have a look.

Match off and match abandoned! [posted 16/08/14] Today’s home CSL match with Stenhousemuir has been called off, the umpires determining the ground was unfit for play because of the persistent rain.  Meanwhile at The Tryst play got underway but was eventually abandoned to see both games end as “no results”.

15s lose to West [posted 15/08/14]

The city’s second-best club’s Under 15s came-a-calling on league duty this evening, and returned back to the West End a few hours later with the win points.  In a relatively low-scoring, but closely-fought, game the bowlers likely took the plaudits as batters found the sticky wicket pretty tricky after the week’s wet weather.  Batting first the 15s scored at around 5-an-over all the way through their innings: 51 for 1 after ten becoming 102 for 8 at the end of over twenty.

However the West innings saw the millstone that’s hung around this season’s Under 15 losses make its usual appearance.  After restricting their opponents to just 16 for 2 in the first seven overs, the change bowlers were then expensive and the remaining twelve that were bowled went for 86, that’s over 7-an-over.  And so it was that West of Scotland reached their target with eight bals to spare.  Mention, too, of more buntalicious hitting from McCallum whose 51 was the top-score on the night, but saw him dropped more times than Torres at The Bridge!  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 15/08/14]

The Under 15s kick off the weekend’s cricket action with a home league match against West of Scotland.  Then Saturday sees home and away league matches with Stenhousemuir, the ‘Holmboys go to The Tryst, the ‘Loc host their Larbert counterparts.  Then on Sunday the club’s hosting the rescheduled National Club T20 Finals Day.  Teams online as players confirm their availabilities.

Back-to-back wins for the Under 18s [posted 14/08/14]

After their good win on Monday in the league at Uddingston, tonight saw the Under 18s back in action again, this time down at the Henry Thow Oval in a rescheduled Under 18 match against Prestwick.  As on Monday, the result was a convincing win, again over a younger and less experienced side.  The 18s’ hosts were without a few of their more established Under 18 performers, with Rao, Cairns and Pettigrew all unavailable, and so their eleven featured a number of the Ayrshire clubs’ talented Under 13s and 15s.

The 18s batted first, and as 185 for 1 was accumulated, skipper-on-the-night Rosco just missed out on a century, finishing 96 not out.  Opening partner Owais also carried his bat, he made an unbeaten 73.  Then in the second innings seven bowlers were used, and seven Prestwick wickets were taken.  There was a brace for The Enforcer that took him to the top of the bowling charts, and a another couple for Amaan.  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 14/08/14] This evening’s home rescheduled Under 13 league match against Prestwick has been cancelled because of the weather.

Representative selections [posted 12/08/14]

The club was again delighted that so many of its young players have gained representative selection.  This week has seen Abtaha Maqsood playing in Guernsey with a Scotland Women’s Development XI.  Ihtisham Malik and Owais Shah, having played in the European Under 15 Championship at Rugby School last week, have been selected for this national age-group side again this coming weekend, the Scotland Under 15 team travelling down to play Oxfordshire.  Owais and Ihtisham were also selected for both the Western Warriors Under 15s this week (for their game versus Caledonian Highlanders), and the Western Warriors Under 18s (playing Eastern Knights).  Also picked to play in the Western Warriors Under 18s versus Eastern Knights Under 18s match at Boghall were Ross Armour and Lewis James.  Selected for a Western Warriors Under 14 side to play the touring Belfast Under 14 side and Edinburgh Under 14s in Prestwick earlier this week were Ahmed-Raza Hanif, Calum James and Aliyan Qureshi too.  Well done to all these young players.

Matches off [posted 12/08/14] This evening’s home Evening League match for the Academy side, against East Kilbride, has been cancelled because of the torrential rain.  Also off for the same reason is the Panthers away match at West of Scotland.

Cold, damp and dark,…..and a win! [posted 11/08/14]

The last time the Under 18s were in league action they had the spotlight all to themselves the preface to their game was the Under 13s finding out their match had been cancelled after their opposition conceded.  And after Helensburgh conceded this afternoon, it was therefore a sense of deja vu that hung over the ground as the 18s gathered before heading east to Bothwell Castle Policies to take on Uddingston in a rescheduled match.  The good news is though that, unlike on that last occasion, the 18s took advantage of their being the centre of attention and recorded a win.

The result suggests the game was a formality – a win by 94 runs, with Owais top-scoring with 72 not out – but, in reality, the victory very nearly didn’t happen as two sharp showers drove the players and umpires from the ground and doubts grew as to whether a result could be achieved.  But credit to everyone involved, and the game was eventually completed.  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Finals Day cancelled [posted 10/08/14] Today’s hosting of the Murgitroyd National Club T20 Finals Day at the club has been cancelled because of the weather.  Details of a reserve date will be released as soon as possible by Cricket Scotland.

Two convincing wins [posted 09/08/14]

Today did, indeed, see two convincing wins, however – sadly – only one was for us!  The Shawholm boys continued on their merry way with a thumping win at home to Albert Park.  Posting 310 for 6 meant that they had lots to bowl at, and as it turned out they way more than they needed, skittling out their visitors for just 88.  Most of the batters made runs, with Stiffy top-scoring with 69, Willowbobby grafting 49, and Uzzi making 45.  Then in the second innings the wickets were shared around, with braces for Motassim, Noaman, Beast and Crazy Horse.

Meanwhile over in Newlands, it was also a convincing home win that was taking place, the ‘Loc‘s 163 for 7 not proving nearly enough as Weirs romped home with over eight overs in hand and the same number of wickets in hand.  On what looked a tricky wicket to score on, only Pasty (43), Nofs (38) and Brian (34*) really got it, with Blue Knee, who made 26, looking good until he was caught at backward point.  But though these four got in, none found scoring easy.  Unlike, that is, Weirs’ Murray whose 50 from just 58 balls was the difference between the sides.  Home pro’ Hafeez also got to 50, but – like the ‘Loc batters – found fluency evaded him.  He was also given a couple of lives along the way.  However the fact is that the ‘Loc‘s bowling was just too wayward to exert any real scoreboard pressure, Weirs’ 25 4s, compared to the ‘Loc‘s six 4s, being the most telling of the matchday stat’s, almost all being square of the wicket,…..on both sides!  The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

Matches off [posted 08/08/14] Tonight’s home Under 11 league match against Ayr has been cancelled because of the persistent rain.  Also off is the Under 15 match away to Greenock at Glenpark.

Teams [posted 07/08/14]

Things are back to normal this weekend with a full Saturday league programme.  But first there’s Friday night juniors action, the Under 11s taking on Ayr at home, and the Under 15s travelling to Glenpark to play Greenock.  Then Saturday’s resumption of CSL fixtures sees home and away derby clashes with Weirs.  The Shawholm side’s at home, the Poloc boys go to Albert Park.  Sunday’s two scheduled league matches have been postponed – note, not cancelled – because the club’s hosting the National Club T20 Finals Day, and – in the case of the Panthers match with Kilmarnock – because the opposition have a cup semi-final.  Teams online as players confirm their availabilities.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 06/08/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Russell Lauder after ball 28 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twentieth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

The Panthers lose at Toytown! [posted 06/08/14]

The Panthers were over at Toytown in Evening League action, and in a tight match just came out on the wrong side.  Chasing 137 to beat the BBC Scotland side, the Panthers came up 10 runs shy of their target despite a heroic 85 from Uzzi.  In the first innings the Toytown tenants had posted 136 for 5, thanks in the main to a brisk start from openers Mellis and Jose.  However the run-rate was begged back and 137 was certainly chasable given the usual boundary size over-by.  But it wasn’t to be despite Uzzi‘s best efforts.

The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Academy win in the Evening League [posted 05/08/14]

The Academy side were up against Prestwick this evening in the eponymous league of the same name.  On a fairly dreich night, the Academy won by eight wickets, chasing 121 to secure the win against an eight-player line-up that featured six of the Ayrshire club’s 1st XI regulars.  In the first innings, skipper Piercey used six bowlers, Ahmed-Raza taking the two wickets to fall.  Hollywood (4-0-16-0) and Beast (4-0-14-0) opened the bowling and returned the best figures.

Then in the second innings, Stiffy top-scored with an unbeaten 73 (54 balls), and got decent support from Willowbobby who got 23, and Beast who made 12 not out.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 02/08/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 25 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the nineteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Match off [posted 02/08/14] Today’s Eric Lane Memorial Trophy match against Uddingston at Bothwell Castle Policies is off, cancelled because of the persistent heavy rain.

Matches off [posted 02/08/14] Tomorrow’s Frank Smith Trophy Finals Day scheduled to be hosted at Shawholm, and featuring the Under 18s, and the Sunday League match away at Glasgow Accies, are off, cancelled because of the heavy rain.

11s win [posted 01/08/14]

The Under 11s were the only junior side in league tonight after Prestwick’s Under 15s conceded the “mirror” fixture in the older age-group.  This left the 11s entertaining the Ayrshire club at Shawholm.  And in the summer sunshine it turned out to be a nail-biter. The game went down to the wire, the last ball seeing the scores tied and Prestwick needed a run to win.  Mitchell, the on-strike batter managed to connect with Sobo‘s final delivery and, in doing so, the winning run was scuttled.  Win for the visitors.

Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

July 2014

Roy Kay [posted 31/07/14]

The club was saddened to hear of the passing of Roy Kay.  Remembering him, John Hardy writes, “Roy joined Poloc, from Weirs, around 1980 and played for the club throughout the ’80s.  He was a prominent member of the teams which won the 2nd XI championship in 1981 and 1983, and he also played a significant amount of 1st XI cricket.  He was a hard-hitting middle order batsman, a medium pace bowler and a very fine slip fielder.  I played a lot of cricket with him and together we organised a couple of tours to the north of England.  Roy subsequently moved to Perth and had lived there for the last twenty-plus years.”  Our condolences go to Roy’s immediate family at this time of bereavement.

Representative selections [posted 31/07/14]

It’s been another busy week for the club’s players selected for representative sides.  Abtaha Maqsood has been playing with Scotland Women’s Under 17 side, up against Shropshire and Cheshire yesterday and the day before, and Dorset today.  Owais Shah and Ihtisham Malik, meanwhile, were playing in the Scotland Under 15 side that was victorious over Cumbria in Glasgow yesterday, continuing that national age-group side’s great run of victories – seven and counting – over their English counterparts.  This evening Calum James was playing in a Western Warriors match over at Meikleriggs, and Ross Armour, Lewis James, Elliott Rousen and Douglas Willoughby are all included in the Western Warriors Under 18 side to take on Ulster Schools in Dumfries on Monday.  Also next week, Owais and Ihtisham travel with Scotland Under 15s to their European Championships, this year being in England. Well done to all the players.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 30/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Kenneth Robertson after ball 1 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Panthers win again, Academy lose narrowly [posted 29/07/14]

The Panthers were in home Evening League action this evening, hosting Hillhead.  Batting first the Panthers recovered from losing a couple of quick wickets to post 130 for 8 in their twenty overs, Uzzi continuing his good form with 51.  Motassim (24), Abid (18) and Noaman (14) chipped in too.  Then in their reply the visitors from the West End mustered Nelson with 73 from opener Ali.  With the ball for the Panthers, Abi‘s figures of 4-0-7-1, Motassim (4-0-17-0) and Noaman (4-0-18-1) were the standout performers.

The match scorecard is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s.  The Academy meanwhile were over at Whitehaugh taking on a strong Kelburne side.  This time it was the oppo’ who batted first, Kelburne posting 102 for 6.  There were a couple of wickets for Bilal, with Ahmed-Raza yet again bowling well in senior league cricket, his slow left arm bowling returning 4-0-11-1 bowling first change.  In the run-chase the Academy would finish – agonisingly – 4 runs short of their target, and 3 shy of getting a tie.  Beast top-scored with 33 at three, Piercey getting 22.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Match off [posted 27/07/14] Today’s Sunday League match between the Panthers and Prestwick is off, the square at Prestwick is unplayable because of the rain.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 26/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Matt Coyle after ball 11 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the seventeenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Match off [posted 25/07/14] This evening’s Under 11 league match against Uddingston has been cancelled.  Udingston have conceded the match as they can’t raise a team.

Cup defeat [posted 24/07/14]

The Under 13s lost out this evening to Prestwick in the Scottish Cup, failing to chase 151 to beat the Ayrshire club.   Batting first the visitors to Shawholm on another scorching day posted 150 for 5 thanks to three of the top four batters reaching 30 and retiring, assisted by some wayward bowling and a lightning-fast outfield.  The best of the 13s’ bowlers was Uzzair who returned figures of 4-0-17-1.  Then in the second innings the side would eventually muster 118 – losing four wickets along the way.

Uzzair top-scored with an unbeaten 24, Sobo making 23 not out.  Of the rest of the total, no fewer than 40 runs came in extras, a whopping 27 in wides.Uzzair top-scored with an unbeaten 24, Sobo making 23 not out.  Of the rest of the total, no fewer than 40 runs came in extras, a whopping 27 in wides.  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 23/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Gordon Kennedy after ball 35 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the sixteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

The Panthers win in dusk drama! [posted 22/07/14]

The Panthers were playing Helensburgh in a top-of-the-table clash in the Evening League this evening at Shawholm.  And it turned out to be a thriller.  Batting first, the Panthers managed to post 116 fgor 7, thanks in the main to Uzzi, whose good form continues.  Uzzi stroked an effortless 37 from just 34 deliveries, batting at three, to set up the defendable total.  Along the way there were also cameos from Irfan, Yash, Motassim and Zee, all of whom got in to double figures.

And Zee‘s 11 from just three or four balls at the end would prove invaluable.  Why invaluable?  Well, because the game came down to the last over.  Helensburgh skipper Arachchi had batted superbly, getting to his half century, and keeping his side in it when all around him were coming and going, and the equation was simple.  9 needed from the last over.  Six wickets down, Arachchi in charge.  But then, bizarrely, he opted for a quick single when nothing was on, and the single was needed.  And the single was him getting away from the striker’s end!?!    A needless and suicidal run out then ensued as Piercey calmy scooped the ball up and ran over to the stumps and removed the bailes.  Arachchi had done the hard bit, and then,…..a moment of madness.  But it wasn’t all over yet.  Lambert could still win it when ball #120 was to be bowled: 3 to win, 2 to tie, 1 or less and the Panthers are victorious.  The instruction is simple: bowl it full and straight, and fielders don’t panic.  In the event the ball was short and wide, and cut away,…..straight to point where Motassim clung on to the catch.  Panthers win!  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

The Invincibles trip up again [posted 21/07/14]

After the Under 13s were jilted this evening by the Drumpellier|Uddingston combined side, the Under 18s had the limelight to themselves.  Drumps were the visitors to Shawholm, on league business.  On another glorious night and in front of a decent crowd the 18s unfortunately came up short again, and for the second time on the same ground against the same opposition.  After limiting Drumps to just 105 for 5 batting first, there was then a collective top-order batting failure that would eventually see the side finish 13 runs short of their target.

The top four used up no fewer than 78 balls in accumulating just 34 runs, leaving the middle order way too much to do.  And though Ihty (33*, 28 balls) and Haider (16*, 11 balls) put in a late charge, they’d been left too much to do.  Ihty should feel he’d done as much as anyone to secure a win, having returned bowling figures of 4-1-9-0, he along with the Enforcer (4-0-15-1) bowling really tidily.  But in the end it didn’t matter as the side was beaten by the dreaded dots.  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Representative selections [posted 21/07/14]

The club’s again please to note that a number of its players have achieved representative selection.  Sunday past saw Amaan Ali, Calum James, Ahmed-Raza Hanif, Abtaha Maqsood and Uzzair Shah all selected for the South Glasgow Under 14 side for its game against the Western Warriors Under 15s.  Then today saw Ihtisham Malik and Owais Shah playing for the Western Warriors Under 15s in their match against Eastern Knights at West of Scotland CC’s Hamilton Crescent ground, this hot on the heels of both players playing for Scotland Under 15s in their win over Durham on Sunday.  And, finally, tomorrow sees Lewis James, Ihtisham Malik, Owais Shah, Calum Stout and Douglas Willoughby all play for Western Warriors Under 18s against Eastern Knights.

Match off [posted 21/07/14] This evening’s Under 13 league match against the Drumpellier|Uddingston combined team has been cancelled.  The combined has conceded the match as it can’t raise a team.

Road-trip win for Academy! [posted 20/07/14]

The Academy side were in Sunday League action today, travelling to The Tryst to take on Stenhousemuir.  On another warm and sunny day, where memories of yesterday’s horrendous weather seemed distant, the Academy ran out 108-run victors over a home side that include both Professional Rushdi Jappie and “Overseas Amateur” Soyisile Pono, as well as Stennie‘s 1st XI skipper Ian McDonald and fellow first teamers Halcrow, Bain and Rawal, who’d all played in the CSL match between the clubs back in June.

Batting first on a worn, but perfectly good track, after winning the toss, the Academy posted 184 all out, with four batters getting in to the 20s, but none to 30.  Then in the second innings, skipper Piercey started with two spinners, and his decision looked genius when Beast and Hollywood bowled the first sixteen overs and returned 3 for 53.  Change bowlers the Enforcer and Matty Stout then dealt with the rest, Matty adding a “3-for” to his top-scoring 29.  Stennie all out 76.  The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 20/07/14] Today’s Sunday League match with West of Scotland, at Shawholm, is off, the ground, and bowler’s run ups in particular, not drying out sufficiently after yesterday’s and last night’s heavy rain.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 19/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Carol Martin after ball 40 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fifteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Weather wins [posted 19/07/14]

Today’s league game at Shawholm against Prestwick never got started as persistent rain put paid to any chance of play.  There was a little more luck had down at Prestwick in the mirror fixture, though not much, the ‘Holmboys reducing St. Ninian’s to 106 for 6 before the rain intervened there too.  There’d been two wickets a-piece for Mushy, Haider and Abi.  Disappointing and frustrating all at the same time.

11s win [posted 18/07/14]

On a night when the Under 15s were frustrated by Stirling County’s late concession of their scheduled league match, the Under 11s had the limelight all to themselves.  And they didn’t disappoint, beating the Irvine|Kilmarnock combined side by no fewer than 160 runs.  In a good disciplined batting performance in the first innings, the 11s lost just the four wickets, before Jamesy‘s “5-for” inspired the rest of the bowlers, and no fewer than fifteen opposition wickets were taken.

Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 17/07/14]

Six games in three days is the fixture schedule over the coming weekend.  Friday night sees the Under 11s host the Irvine|Kilmarnock combined side, whilst the Under 15s go to New Williamfield to take on Stirling County.  Saturday’s two league games are against Prestwick, with the ‘Loc at home, the ‘Holmboys away.  Sunday’s two games then complete the weekend card: West of Scotland visiting the policies in the Sunday League, and the Academy side going to The Tryst in the same competition.  Teams online as players confirm their availabilities.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 16/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Wilma Duncanson after ball 33 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fourteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Queen’s Baton Relay [posted 16/07/14] Along with many other community sports clubs, we’ve been delighted that some of our members were selected as baton bearers in the Queen’s Baton Relay for this year’s Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow.  Pictured left are two of our own: Abtaha Maqsood (left) and Kenneth Robertson, (right) were snapped bearing the baton today, as it made its way through East Renfrewshire.  Well done to both!  A memorable day!

Win and a loss in two high-scoring T20s [posted 15/07/14]

It was another busy night of cricket action tonight, with two Evening League matches taking place,…..within a mile of each other.  The Panthers were at Toytown taking on the Dark Side, whilst the Academy were entertaining Active Life at Shawholm.  And to complete the activities, senior practice was on too.  And all on another cracking evening, weather-wise.  At home the Academy just fell short of chasing 143 to win, being dismissed in the last over of their run-chase for 132.  Some poor fielding in first half likely the real cause of the defeat however.

The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s.  But there was better news at Toytown where the Panthers‘ run-chase was a successful one, the side chasing 150 with an over to spare.  There were runs for Irfan (66) and Rizwan (39) at the top of the order, the first half having seen some expensive bowling, albeit with “3-fors” in the midst of this, for Abi and Noaman who returned figures of 4-2-10-3 and 3-0-22-3 respectively.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Match pic’s [posted 15/07/14] Stuart Rousen has passed on some more match photographs, this time from Sunday’s Western Cup win over St. Michael’s at Shawholm.  We’ve uploaded the pic’s, taken by Stuart, to our Gallery where you can scroll through them.

Practice OFF [posted 14/07/14] Tonight’s Under 11 junior coaching and practice is OFF due to the weather.

Match off [posted 14/07/14] Tonight’s Under 18 league match against the Hillhead|Renfrew combined team is off due to the weather.  Also off is the Under 13 league match against the same opposition, in Renfrew.

Match pic’s [posted 13/07/14] Stuart Rousen has passed on some great match photographs from yesterday’s CSL Western First Division Reserve match at Shawholm against Whitehaugh.  We’ve uploaded the pic’s, taken by Stuart, to our Gallery where you can scroll through them.

Derby win for the Academy [posted 13/07/14]

Toytown was the venue for latest good versus evil derby, the “good guys” this coming in the guise of the Academy side, who were over at the Death Star on Sunday League business.  Piercey continued his chaperoning of his young charges, and led from the front with a half century as the Academy, batting first, posted 221.  There was also 51 from Owais, and an unbeaten 45 from Ihty.  In reply the Dark Side got close, but not close enough, as in a close-fought match between two well-matched teams, they came up short, being bowled out for 184.

The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s.

Western Cup semi-final berth secured [posted 13/07/14]

The Shawholm XI secured a home semi-final tie by seeing off the challenge of St. Michael’s in a Western Cup quarter-final tie this afternoon at the policies, in what was a roller-coaster of a game.  Batting first after winning the toss, the visitors had made a half-decent start – reaching 36 for 1 – when the roof fell.  36 for 1 became “for 3”, and then 50 for 4 became 72 all out, as ten batters, including the Professional and “Overseas Amateur”, failed to score more than 6, and only opener Holmes (40) made any meaningful contribution.

But this wasn’t the end of the day’s drama as the ‘Holmboys slumped to 3 for 4 in the third over, St. Michael’s pro’, Thapar, tearing through the side’s top-order.  However the ship was steadied by Uzzi and Muscles who put on 31 for the fifth wicket, and then 23 was added by Uzzi and DJ.  Both batters would get out as the finish line neared however, and so it was left to Mushy and Zee to see the side home.  Phew.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a match report.

Kwik Cricket news [posted 13/07/14]

Shawholm was the venue for the latest WDJCU Under 10 “Kwik Cricket” festival this morning, and the club was delighted to host no fewer than eleven clubs.  The usual #bluebatbedlam ensued with orange balls flying to all parts as ever.  The ‘Loc Under 10s ended up playing three matches, winning all three.  Well, actually, as Grant Cathcart noted in his report, “It all gets a bit complicated…”!  Doesn’t it always!  What Grant means is that when Moiz and Momin arrived after the matches had started, instead of joining their Poloc club-mates, they actually helped boost the ranks of the opposition each time!  Confused?  So are we!  But great fun in the sun was had by all, and next up on the festival rota this season is Prestwick in seven days time.  Thanks as ever to Grant for his organisation of our Under 10s.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 12/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Elizabeth Brown after ball 34 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the thirteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Saturday honours even [posted 12/07/14]

Today’s home-and-away league matches saw the ‘Loc and ‘Holmboys up against Kelburne.  The CSL match was in Paisley, the Reserve League game at Shawholm.  On a day when the weather forecast was wildly out as regards the predicted afternoon monsoon, both games were played to a completion, the ‘Holmboys winning whilst the ‘Loc lost narrowly.  At Shawholm visitors Whitehaugh were dismissed for just 127, this after being 81 for 3 at one stage.

There were “3-fors” for Rusty and Beast.  Then in the run-chase three or four batters chipped in with twenty-somethings, with Stiffy top-scoring with 39.  Over at Whitehaugh, the ‘Loc bowled out hosts Kelburne for just 212, however in letting the home side get past 200 they’d leaked no fewer than 49 in extras!  And this’d ultimately come back to haunt the side as they, in turn, were bowled out for 200.  There’d been a “5-for” for Coya in the first innings, and he followed this up with 35 in the run-chase.  Blue Knee (31) also made it in to the 30s along with Owais (34), with Pasty top-scoring with 45.  But a defeat it was, and by a narrow margin, which brings to mind all those first innings extras.  The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

Representative selection [posted 12/07/14]

Congratulations to Owais Shah on his inclusion in the Scotland Under 17 squad for its two matches next week, away to Northumberland and Lincolnshire.

Under 15s in friendly win [posted 11/07/14]

Ferguslie’s Under 15s withdrew from the Under 15 League earlier this season, struggling for numbers.  However they have continued to play friendly matches against the sides they’d originally be slated to play.  So tonight, the 15s made the short trip over to Meikleriggs to take on nine-man Ferguslie, with an over-age player thrown in.  And on yet another cracking night – weather-wise – the 15s enjoyed a good run out in the sunshine, Meikleriggs looking a picture.  Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 11/07/14] Tonight’s Under 11 league match against East Kilbride has been cancelled as East Kilbride cannot raise a team.

Teams [posted 10/07/14]

There’s just one junior match tomorrow evening, the Under 11s’ match with East Kilbride at Shawholm taking centre-stage.  The 15s were due to play Ferguslie in the league, but the Paisley side withdrew their Under 15 side from the league and, as such, there will be a friendly played against the Paisley side.  Saturday thens sees home and away league clashes with Kelburne, the ‘Loc away, and the ‘Holmboys at home.  But the weekend action doesn’t stop there: On Sunday St. Michael’s visit in the Western Cup quarter-final, and the Academy travel to Toytown.  So it’s all go at the club, and with at least Sunday’s weather forecast looking good it’d be good to see a healthy support down for the Western Cup match in particular.  Teams online as players confirm their availabilities.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 09/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Stewart Allan after ball 18 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twelfth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Close but no cigar in West League Cup quarters [posted 09/07/14] Set 161 to beat Ayr in tonight’s West League Cup quarter-final clash at Shawholm, the ‘Loc came up short by just the 9 runs as they bowed out of the competition.  The first innings belonged to Scott McElnea who bunted 92, including twelve 4s and two 6s.  Aside McElnea’s big score, only Smith with 32 made another telling contribution.

The ‘Loc‘s run chase, too, centred on two main contributions, though neither was as telling as McElnea’s.  Nofs made 35 before holing out to Leck of Nel’s bowling, a knock that included three 4s and a 6, and Pasty finished 47 not out (also three 4s and a maximum).  But it wouldn’t be enough, and the 9-run defeat was recorded.  Some good signs as regards positivity with the bat, and really only McElnea’s assault on two or three of the bowlers would be reason for concern on the night.  The match scorecard’s online here.

18s progress in the Frank Smith Trophy [posted 09/07/14]

Against a home side more than decimated by holiday absences, the Under 18s won through to theis season’s Frank Smith Trophy finals day.  Batting first against the seven of West of Scotland, the 18s posted 162 for 3, Stouty blazing a 46-ball 90 that included some beautifully crisp and clean hitting.  He struck fifteen 4s and two 6s in his innings, one of the maximums being a switch-hit sweep for 6 in to the spectator seating at Hamilton Crescent.  Bonkers!

In the second innings, and chasing 163 to win, the West batters tried manfully, but the odds were against them with a shortened batting line-up.  Coats contributed a cameo 20-odd opening with Ewing, and Farndale top-scored with 30-odd in the middle order.  But as it was the Hamilton Crescent side finished all out, 61 runs short of the 18s’ score.  The scorecard is online as are updated stat’s.

Uzzi wins it for the Panthers! [posted 08/07/14]

The Panthers were up against the same opposition tonight that they’d played only two ago, West of Scotland being the visitors again to Shawholm.  This time their trip over the river was on Evening League business.  However just like on Sunday in the Sunday League the city’s second-best club would have to return to the northside empty-handed as regards points.  Sunday’s win had centered on a good bowling display first-up, whereas tonight’s victory was based around a storming knock from Uzzi after an iffy bowling display.

The first innings had seen West set the Panthers 145 to win, and when they quickly lost three wickets a successful run-chase wasn’didn’t seem on the cards.  However a 65-run partnership between Rusty (27 from 23 balls) and Uzzi bunting an unbeaten 72 from just 47 deliveries saw the win secured, and with more than two overs to spare!  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Good win for the Academy [posted 08/07/14]

The Academy side were in Evening League tonight at Torrance House, where East Kilbride were the hosts.  And in a competitive match, that saw the home side field a sprinkling of established 1st XI players, the Academy came out on top.  Batting first 107 for 5 was posted, thanks in the main to a Stout combo.  Stouty opened with Stiffy (24) and would top-score with 32, whilst the “better” Stout scored a cameo 19 not out at seven, hitting four 4s in the process.

The bowlers then successfully defended the total posted, restricting East Kilbride to 97 for 8.  Hollywood returned figures of 4-1-11-, whilst there were a brace of wickets a-piece for Ahmed-Raza and that man Matthew Stout again.  The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s.

Representative selections [posted 07/07/14]

Owais Shah and Ihtisham Malik will again play for the Western Warriors Under 15 side tomorrow in the second of two inter-regional tournament matches being played at Titwood.  Yesterday they were on the losing side as Eastern Knights secured the win, and tomorrow’s visitors are Caledonian Highlanders.  The two have also been selected, alongwith Elliott Rousen, for the Western Warriors Under 18 side to face Eastern Knights at Shawholm on Wednesday.  Congratulations to all three young players.

Good bowling display sets up Panthers win [posted 06/07/14]

The Panthers bounced back from last Sunday’s defeat to Kilmarnock in the Sunday League with a comprehensive win over Glasgow’s second-best club, West of Scotland, this afternoon in the sunshine at Shawholm.  Visiting skipper Clews won the toss and decided to bat, but when his side were all out for 103 he might’ve thought that his decision wasn’t the smarter of the two options.  Abi and Blue Knee both had “3-fors”, as did Sajal,…..of sorts!  His three were all slip catches!

Astonishingly he also grassed two other slip catches, this after kind of grudgingly agreed to take up a posting in the corden when the Panthers first took to the field.  Though they went wicketless there were also good spells from Noaman (8-4-17-0) and Pasty (8-1-15-0).  Then in the run-chase, which took just – and exactly – eleven overs, Stiffy (32*) and Pasty (54) dealt with the needful, as a nine-wicket win was secured.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 05/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Colin Scott after ball 9 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eleventh draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Same story at both grounds [posted 05/07/14]

At Shawholm today the home side batted first, were skittled for just over 100 and then lost by five wickets.  Meanwhile at New Williamfield, the home side batted first, were skittled for just over 100 and then lost by six wickets.  More specifically it was the ‘Loc that were skittled – for 103 – at Shawholm, whilst it was the Williamfield XI that were skittled – for 107 – in Stirling.  For the ‘Loc, only Scotty with 33 made a score as only he, Anjum and Pasty got in to double figures, whilst Mushy grabbed a second consecutive “5-for” at New Williamfield.

Zee also helped himself to a “3-for” in the shadow of the Wallace Monument.  Then in the matches’ second innings, despite reducing Stirling County to 20 for 3 early on, the ‘Loc would eventuaklly suffer defeat when their visitors reached 106 for 5 in the 29th over.  Whilst at New Williamfield the ‘Holmboys got to Nelson in just seventeen overs, Rosco smacking 65.  One positive in the home loss was Piercey‘s “4-for”.  The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

Teams [posted 04/07/14]

There are no junior matches tonight, the Under 15s having a scheduled bye week, and the Under 11s’ match at Titwood being postponed given the Scotland versus The Netherlands matches are being played there this week, including today.  Tomorrow there are two league matches: Stirling County visit Shawholm, whilst the reverse fixture in the Reserve League takes place at New Williamfield.  Then the weekend concludes with the Panthers hosting West of Scotland in the Sunday League.  Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.

18s exit the Scottish Cup [posted 03/07/14]

The Under 18s continued their “flatter-to-deceive” season tonight as they somehow managed – irrespective of missing four or five players – to throw away 98 for 2 after fifteen overs, chasing 119 to beat Drumpellier, to end up 114 for 6 when the 120th ball of their innings was bowled.

An astonishing 21 dot balls were bowled in the last five overs to see defeat snatched fom victory!  A short match report is online, as is the scorecard and updated statistics.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 02/07/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 42 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the tenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Beaten again! [posted 01/07/14]

Being on the wrong end of a ton scored by an opposition batter is bad enough, but when two batters from the same club score hundreds to beat you in the space of three days that verges on the really annoying!  But that’s what’s happened.  The club concerned’s Kilmarnock, and after Azeem’s 153 not out won the Ayrshire side Sunday’s league game at Shawholm, it was another batter, Jawad, who tonned-up tonight to see his side with in the Glasgow Cup.

His 115 not out in Killie‘s 181 was the stand-out knock with none of the bowling figures – bar maybe Disk‘s – getting pass marks.  Then in an unsuccessful run-chase, only Noaman with 27 didn’t succumb to the home side’s bowlers, with only two others – Irfan and Crazy Horse getting in to double figures.  A bad day at the office then for the Panthers!  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s.

June 2014

West League Cup quarter-finals rescheduled [posted 30/06/14] The Western Union’s CMC has rescheduled this Wednesday’s West League Cup quarter-final ties, pushing them back a week to next Wednesday.

Monday double over West! [posted 30/06/14]

After the shambles that was Friday’s junior league action, with the Under 11s and Under 15s both losing heavily to Ayr, tonight saw altogether better results from another pair of junior leafgue fixtures – home and away – against the same club.  Tonight the club was West of Scotland, and the two sides playing were the 13s and 18s.  At Hamilton Crescent the Under 13s recorded a good 32-run win, whilst at home the 18s won by five wickets.  Both sides, and in fact both clubs, were affected by holiday and other absences, and so it’s pleasing, from the Poloc perspective, that telling contributions were made to both wins by others.

Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Stouty‘s maiden ton just not enough! [posted 29/06/14]

There were no fewer than 559 runs scored in today’s Sunday League match at Shawholm between the Panthers and Kilmarnock!  And 108 of them were scored by Stouty, who recorded a maiden senior ton, and a first for the club.  But, unbelievably, his 75-ball innings wouldn’t be enough as the Panthers somehow failed to defend 277 in 40 overs, Killie‘s own centurion, Muhammed Azeem, scoring an unbeaten 153 to see his side home with an over or two to spare and two wickets in hand.

Also in the runs was Saurav Chatterjee, with 77, on his farewell appearance for the club.  And in the Kilmarnock innings Piercey took a “3-for” bowling offys!  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Kwik Cricket news [posted 29/06/14]

Greenock was the venue for today’s Under 10 Kwik Cricketers, and, as always, Grant Cathcart reports, “We were at Greenock today in the sunshine, and teamed up with three over-agers from East Kilbride.  We made the older boys bat left-handed, or only score on the offside, as well as scoring just the 1 for boundaries, but – still – had three great, winning, games against East Kilbride (though we were docked more runs when Matthew from EK bowled out his wee sister!), Uddingston (featuring a player smaller and fiercer than Ubaid [Ed: go figure!], and hosts Greenock.  Callum Smith batted really straight and Andrew Harden continues to find the boundary.”

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 28/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 42 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the ninth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Two chases see two wins [posted 28/06/14]

After a couple of Saturdays where only one of the club’s two sides have recorded the win, today saw a return to double-win days with the ‘Holmboys defeating Glenpark at Shawholm by eight wickets, and the ‘Loc beating Greenock at Glenpark by five wickets.  Both games saw successful run-chases, the highlights of which were Nofs unbeaten 85, and Coya‘s 54 not out, the latter coming from just 41 balls.  With the ball there was also a “5-for” for Mushy and “3-fors” for Ihty, Crazy Horse and Nofs.

The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

11s and 15s both thrashed! [posted 27/06/14]

The Under 11s and Under 15s both came a cropper tonight in their respective league games against Ayr.  The 11s lost by a whopping 86 runs at New Cambusdoon as they – to a player nearly – forgot that getting out is the cardinal sin in pairs cricket.  Their sin count tonight being ten!  The Under 15s meanwhile were faring little better as they slumped to 67 for 8 chasing 154 to beat Ayr at Shawholm.  And so, quick-as-a-flash two unbeaten league crash and burn.  It’ll be interesting to see their bounce-back-ability!

Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 27/06/14]

Another busy weekend of cricket looms.  Tonight, things kick-off with the Under 11s (away) and Under 15s (home) taking on Ayr in the WDJCU leagues.  Then, tomorrow, there are home and away Saturday league clashes with Greenock, the Shawholm XI entertain their Greenock equivalents at home [Ed: note this one has a 1 o’clock start] whilst the Poloc XI travel to Glenpark.  Then the weekend finishes off with Sunday morning Under 10 “Kwik Cricket” and the Panthers playing in the Sunday League against Kilmarnock.  Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.

Thanks [posted 26/06/14]

A word of thanks to all those who helped the club host tonight’s Rowan Cup final.  Special mention to groundsman Scott McCutcheon, Russell Lauder, Pierce Fletcher and Craig Young for presenting the ground in great shape.  A healthy crowd enjoyed the match in beautiful summer sunshine, Clydesdale running out winners in their clash against Prestwick.  In his post-match remarks, Cricket Scotland President Colin Neill thanked the club for making Shawholm available, and for the way the ground and wicket had been presented.  Clydesadale Captain, Zeeshan Bashir, in his speech after receiving the Rowan Cup from David Barr, also commented warmly on the ground and wicket.  Well done to everyone involved, a real club effort.

West League Cup quarter-final draw [posted 26/06/14] The Western Union made the draw for this season’s PlayerReg West League Cup quarter-finals earlier today, and the draw saw the ‘Loc land a home tie against Premier Division leaders Ayr.  The match, to be played this Wednesday – the 2nd of July – will start at 6pm.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 25/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Carol Martin after ball 40 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Match off [posted 25/06/14] Tonight’s home PlayerReg West League Cup group stage match against Stenhousemuir has been cancelled because of the persistent rain.

Under 13 and Under 15 junior practice OFF [posted 25/06/14] Tonight’s junior practice is OFF due to the weather.

Evening League fixtures result in a win and a loss [posted 24/06/14]

On a very busy night of cricket action, where the Under 15s were in action over at Hamilton Crescent in the Scottish Cup, the Academy side saw a few older-youngsters drafted in for their trip to Prestwick.  Up against a side containing a number of 1st XI players as well as some street-wise “veterans”, the side put up a decent fight but ultimately lost out to their hosts.  Highlight was, however, a “5-for” for Saqi’ who grabbed half the wickets to fall as the Academy bowled out Prestwick in the first innings for 138.

The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s.  Also in Evening League action this evening – at Shawholm – was the Panthers side.  They were hosting BBC Scotland and this game saw a big win for the Black Cats.  Batting first they posting an imposing 190 for 5 with runs for Noaman (44 from 32 balls), Blue Knee (37 from 31 balls), and Pasty (61 from just 28 balls).  Then in the second innings Motassim ripped the heart out of the BBC’s top order with three wickets in his four-over opening spell, and from here-on-in the visitors struggled, eventually being all out for just 62.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

15s crash out of the Scottish Cup [posted 24/06/14]

The Under 15s crashed out of this season’s Scottish Cup in spectacular fashion this evening.  With players already off on holiday, and two call offs this afternoon (!), the nine-player side was then skittled for just 42 before seeing their opponents, West of Scotland, rattle up the necessary runs in their run-chase with the majority of their overs unused.  Ouch!

A short match report is online, as is the scorecard and updated statistics.

Victory versus Victoria, defeat to the Dark Side [posted 23/06/14]

The Under 13s were at Toytown tonight in a re-arranged league match [Ed: well they were eventually after the Coach remembered it wasn’t at Shawholm,…..around 5.45pm!] and the ground lived up to its billing resulting in 146 for 3 beating 81 for 8.  Unfortunately it was a Stormtrooper 146, and a Rebel Alliance 81 resulting in defeat on the night.  However on a brighter note there was a win for the Invisibles at last, the 18s running out comfortable eight-wicket winners over the Victoria|Active Life Club combined side.

After dismissing their hosts for 93, Stiffy, with a unbeaten 64 that sees an entry on the Juniors Honours Board, put on 61 with Dougie to see the side home.  Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Home win, away loss [posted 22/06/14]

The Panthers were back in action again today – the side’s third match in the last six days.  Today’s asignment was a Sunday League match over in Paisley, against Kelburne who, coincidentally, hd been Thursday evening’s Greenwood Trophy opponents too.  And though the venue was different, as was the competition, the result was the same as the Whitehaugh side ran out winners by 57 runs.  Batting first, Kelburne posted 162 for 7, thanks to 43 from O’Connell and three cameo 20-odds from Gilmour, Allan and Ogilvie.  For the Panthers there was a “3-for” for Saqi’.  Then, after the interval, the Panthers suffered one of “those” batting collapses as five batters recorded ducks and Blue Knee was left stranded on 26 not out watching from the other end as Kelburne’s Wylie took four wickets in an over to end the match.  All out 105, and only three batters into double figures.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are stat’s.

Back at Shawholm there was also a poor batting performance in progress.  Fortunately this was from the visitors to the ground, Drumpellier, as the Academy ran through the Coatbridge side’s batting line-up to see them bundled out for just 90.  The bowling was decent, but it hadn’t been consistently good enough to suggest 90 all out was on the cards.  But 90 all out it was.  There was a “3-for” for the Robster (6-3-18-3) whilst Ahmed-Raza returned figures of 6.4-2-14-1.  The run-chase was matter-of-fact after tea as well, with Dougie (38*) and Stiffy (39*) knocking off the runs in a relaxed fashion, crossing the line in the nineteenth over to secure the ten-wicket win.  The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report, and updated stat’s, including the season’s overall stat’s by player.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 21/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was John Hardy after ball 19 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the seventh draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Representative selections [posted 21/06/14]

Good luck to Ross Armour and Owais Shah after their selections for tomorrow’s Scotland Under 17 trial match.  Owais has already represented Scotland Under 15 this year, along with Ihtisham Malik, whilst Ross played for Scotland Under 15 in season 2012.  Well done to both on their inclusion in the trial, and good luck tomorrow.  Also gaining representative selection again is Craig Young who’s been selected in the Scotland Development XI to take on Yorkshire Academy in a three-day match between the 30th of June and 2nd of July.  Again, well done to Craig and good luck.

Another one-for-two Saturday [posted 21/06/14]

Like a week ago the club recorded a win and a loss in Saturday league cricket today.  And, as last week, it was the ‘Holmboys who recorded the win, and the ‘Loc who suffered defeat.  Both games were against Ferguslie, the win coming at Meikleriggs where 205 was chased to secure a five-wicket margin of victory.  There were 50s for Blue Knee and Stiffy, the latter being unbeaten as the win was secured.  At Shawholm meanwhile the ‘Loc would come to rue dropping Ferguslie pro’ Keith Dabengwa when he was on 10, as he went on to stroke an unbeaten 150 and his side 299 for 8 batting first.

The ‘Loc got off to a great start in their run-chase after the break with Anjum smashing the ball all over the place and the fast outfield giving real value for shots.  However he’d get out having got in to the 30s, and though a number of other batters got starts, no partnerships of real substance crystallised and the run-chase fizzled out as the side were eventually all out for exactly 200.  The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

11s stay unbeaten [posted 20/06/14]

The Under 15s’ match against Helensburgh was conceded on Thursday meaning only the Under 11s were in action tonight.  And on a gloriously warm night, the club’s youngest hardball team made the trip to the coast to take on Prestwick.  Starting a little later with agreement Prestwick to allow the Rana brothers to make their season debut [Ed: thanks to the Ayrshire club], the match would see the 11s record their sixth straight win.  Highlight on the night was likely Sobo‘s “5-for” to see him get on to the Juniors Honours Board…..before Uzzair!

Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 19/06/14] Tomorrow’s Under 15 league match against Helensburgh has been cancelled as Helensburgh cannot raise a team.

Teams [posted 19/06/14]

There were six games scheduled for the weekend.  However tomorrow’s Under 15 match with Helensburgh’s been conceded by the opposition as they cannot raise a team.  This leaves the only Friday night game as the Under 11s’ trip to Prestwick.  Then on Saturday it’s home-and-away matches against Ferguslie in the CSL and CSL Reserve leagues.  The ‘Loc host Feegie, whilst the ‘Holmboys make the journey to Meikleriggs.  The final two matches on a packed weekend card are the two Sunday League games: the Academy host Drumpellier and the Panthers go to Kelburne.  Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.

Greenwood Trophy exit [posted 19/06/14]

The Panthers couldn’t repeat Tuesday’s success in the Glasgow Cup as they were humbled in the Greenwood Trophy quarter-final this evening by a strong Kelburne side on another gloriously warm, sunny and long summer’s evening.  Batting first the Panthers posted just 59 for 9 in their innings, a total that Kelburne raced past in nine overs, to win by nine wickets.  None of the Panthers‘ batters got past 13, as wickets fell at regular intervals throughout their innings.

Then in the Kelburne reply, the Panthers‘ opening bowlers struggled to keep the run-rate down and the game got away from their side pretty quickly.  To rub salt in their wounds, although they did get rid of Andy Miller, Stuart O’Connell – Miller’s opening partner – was dropped when an easy caught and bowled chance was grassed by Usman Malik.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 18/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Avril Robertson after ball 6 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the sixth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

West League Cup defeat to Uddy [posted 18/06/14]

Defeat was the end result after a close game against Uddingston at Bothwell Castle Policies this evening in the West League Cup.  The margin of defeat was 12 runs, the ‘Loc failing to match or better their hosts 132 for 6 set batting first.  The first inning saw home pro’ McEwan provide the base for his side’s decent total, scoring 57 at three.  His innings included eight 4s and two 6s.  For the ‘Loc, Nofs bowled his four overs for just 6, and Crazy Horse his for just 13.

The other bowlers were all north of expensive, their combined twelve overs costing 111.  In the run-chase Nofs got to 35, and Abid made 20 as the side finished nine wickets down and those 12 runs short.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are a match report and updated stat’s.

Glasgow Cup win at GHK [posted 17/06/14]

There was a good win this evening for the Panthers at Garscube against GHK in the Glasgow Cup group stages.  The win drags the side back in to the mix for qualification out of their group, with one of the round-robin games – against Kilmarnock – still to play.  Batting first the Panthers scored 125 for 6, with good contributions from Saurav (31) and Usman Zakir (65*).  Then in the second innings, the Panthers‘ bowlers kept things tight enough to see the side home by 13 runs.

The seven wickets to fall were shared around, with a couple for Zaeem and Adnan.  The match scorecard is online, as are updated stat’s, and a brief match report.

Match off [posted 16/06/14] Tonight’s Under 13 league match against East Kilbride has been cancelled as East Kilbride cannot raise a team.

South Glasgow narrowly defeated at Shawholm [posted 15/06/14]

Shawholm hosted a match between South Glasgow Under 14s, coached by David James, and the Western Warriors Under 15 regional side.  The South Glasgow side featured no fewer than six Poloc players: Amaan Ali, Calum James, Abdullah Malik, Aliyan Qureshi, Joe Spence and Ahmed-Raza Hanif.  The match was a cliff-hanger as the younger area squad side ran their older opponents close, losing by just 1 run.  There’s a fuller report on the west junior cricket website, and it highlights some strong contributions from the club’s youngsters.  Aliyan and Ahmed-Raza both bowled impressively, returning figures of 7-1-16-1 and 9-0-27-2 respectively, whilst CJ and Abdullah opened the South Glasgow innings in their run-chase, putting on 43 for the first wicket.  CJ eventually top-scored with 34 (52 balls), adding 47 for the second wicket with the Dark Side‘s Zain Ashraf.  Aliyan, meanwhile, added a useful 19 in the middle order to add to his good bowling.

Kwik Cricket news [posted 15/06/14]

Ayr was the venue for today’s Under 10 Kwik Cricketers, and, as always, Grant Cathcart reports, “We took six to Ayr today, picked up some players from Prestwick and West, and played three great five-pair games against Uddingston, Ayr II and Ayr I.  Win, win, loss.   The first two games saw the boys and girl thump loads of runs, defend their wickets and bowl really well.  In the second game they whacked 130 runs off ten overs!  The third game was much tighter, with lots of runs and wickets for both sides.  Ayr I, needing 16 from the last pair, batted really well to get home by 3 runs.  The non-cricketing highlight involved playing ‘how many miles to Ayr?’ on the journey down.  After four rounds of mileage signs on the M77, a voice from the back pipes up with ‘Oh, does the number always go down then..?’    Thanks to Gordon Smith and Bill Harden for help with transport.  Next week, East Kilbride.”

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 14/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Charlie McBride after ball 15 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fifth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Mixed fortunes! [posted 14/06/14]

Today’s matches were home and away against Stenhousemuir.  At The Tryst the ‘Loc threw away a good first innings performance in which they’d bowled Stennie out for just 130, by then, themselves, being skittled cheaply.  93 all out saw them lose by 37.  Only three batters got in to double figures (Nofs, Pasty and Owais), and the good work of the bowlers – including a “3-for” for Ihty – was wasted.  It was completely the reverse at Shawholm however as the ‘Holmboys won by a whopping 272 runs!

Batting first, the ‘Holmboys posted 303 for 4, with 74 for Rosco and 72* from Nichty.  Then in the second innings, the visitors to the policies were bundled out for just 31, Motassim grabbing a “5-for”. The match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) are online, as are updated stat’s, and match reports (here and here).

Both teams win on Friday night [posted 13/06/14]

The Under 15s played their second match in 24 hours, and maybe there were some tired limbs as well as tired minds as they limped across the finish linee at Langloan where they just defended 86, and no more.  Abtaha’s “3-for” at the death was crucial as the Drumpellier|Uddingston combined side were restricted to 78 for 7.  The Under 11s meanwhile were romping to a 97-run win at home to see them remain unbeaten so far this season, 124 for 3 was way too many for visitors Uddingston who posted 67 for 11 batting first.

Another Maqsood – Moiz – was the star-turn in this game too, Moiz grabbing a “4-for”.  Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 12/06/14]

There are four games scheduled for the weekend.  On Friday the Under 11s entertain Uddingston, whilst the Under 15s go to Langloan to play the Uddingston|Drumpellier combined team.  Then on Saturday it’s home-and-away matches against Stenhousemuir in the CSL and CSL Reserve leagues.  The ‘Holmboys host The Tryst, whilst the ‘Loc go to Larbert.  Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.

15s through in the Scottish Cup [posted 12/06/14]

Ayr were the Under 15s’ opponents in tonight’s Scottish Cup clash.  And New Cambusdoon was the venue.  The first good news to report is that, notwithstanding a forecast that suggested rain, the game enjoyed a distinct lack of precipitation.  The second piece of good news is that the 15s returned up the M77 with a win.

The win sees the side play West of Scotland now in the next round, in another away match.  A short match report is online, as is the scorecard and updated statistics.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 11/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 48 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fourth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Three from three in the West League Cup [posted 11/06/14]

The West League Cup was tonight’s competition as the sun shone on a glorious evening at the policies.  The city’s second-best club were the visitors, and the good news is that the ‘Loc saw off their challenge to record a third straight win in the group stages of the comp’, all against Premier Division clubs.  The “short score” as they say these days saw 88 for 7 beaten by 89 for 5, with just under three overs to spare.

In the first innings, Nofs (4-1-7-1) kept things tight, Piercey took 2 for 11 on his return to bowling and there were good bowling performances from Ihty (4-1-16-1) and Hollywood (4-0-15-0), the latter on his 1st XI debut.  Then in the run chase, an unbeaten 30 from Scotty was the main contribution as the winning post reached with the first ball of the eighteenth over.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are a match report and updated stat’s.

Matches off [posted 10/06/14] Both today’s Evening League matches: home against Kelburne’s, and away to Hillhead, have been cancelled because of the persistent rain.

Practice OFF [posted 10/06/14] Tonight’s senior practice is OFF due to the weather.

Match off [posted 09/06/14] Today’s Under 18 home match against Uddingston’s been cancelled because of the heavy rain.

Practice OFF [posted 09/06/14] Tonight’s Under 11 junior coaching and practice is OFF due to the weather.

Poloc youngsters feature in Western Warriors win [posted 08/06/14]

Ihtisham Malik, Aliyan Qureshi and Owais Shah were all in action today for the Western Warriors Under 15s in their inter-regional tournament game at Lochlands in Abroath against the Caledonian Highlanders.  And in a convincing nine-wicket win, all three played a part.  Ihty, opening the bowling, returned figures of 10-2-18-1 to restrict the Highlanders‘ batters, and Aliyan, bowling as third change staked a claim to get thrown the ball a little earlier by turning the screw late on the Highlanders‘ innings of 132 for 8 by producing figures of 6-2-11-0.  Good bowling from both players.  Then in the run-chase, after an opening partnership of 52, Owais joined Ferguslie’s Taimoor Ahmed in the middle and the two youngsters saw their side home with no further dramas, Owais finishing 42 not out (77 balls) and the Warriors winning in 37th over.

Kwik Cricket news [posted 08/06/14]

Not in the least put off by yesterday’s monsoons, or today’s heavy showers, the intrepid Under 10s were at the West of Scotland Kwik Cricket festival this morning.  Grant Cathcart reports.  “Somewhat surprisingly given the monsoon yesterday, Kwik Cricket went ahead as planned at West this morning.  Sammee, Hassaan, Moiz and James were joined by three EK players and played really well against Ayr|Prestwick, West of Scotland, and Kelburne.  Snorkels were issued during the last game at one point as the rain lashed down.  The bowling and batting was too good for their first two opponents, however the third game was much tighter.  Needing 9 off the last over, Hassaan and James chipped away at it until 2 were needed off the last ball.  An easy single became a winning 2 as James went for it and the fielders panicked with their throw-in.  Next week, Ayr.”  Thanks to Grant for organising our youngsters as always.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 07/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 37 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the third draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Match off [posted 07/06/14] Tomorrow’s Western Cup last sixteen clash with Inverclyde’s been cancelled after today’s torrential rain.  The Gourock club have also now conceded the tie noting they’ll be unable to fulfil the fixture on its schedule reserve date.  As a result the ‘Holmboys progress to the quarter-finals where they’ll host either Titwood or St. Michael’s.

John Giavarini [posted 07/06/14]

Today’s Herald newspaper included an announcement of the passing of John Giavarini.  As John Thompson has noted in his Guestbook message, John played in the club’s 1964 Western Union-winning side.  The Herald notes that he died peacefully in Bermuda on the 31st of May, aged 70.  The club wishes to pass on its members’ condolences to John’s widow, Sandra, his children Christopher and Laura, and the wider family.  A funeral service is being held at Portnahaven Church on the Isle of Islay on the 12th of June.

11s win again [posted 06/06/14]

The Under 11s were in Ayrshire this evening playing the Irvine|Kilmarnock combined side at Marress.  With no Under 15 match – it was a bye week – the 11s had centre-stage on the night, and they didn’t disappoint.  Up against a young and inexperienced home side, the Under 11s piled on the runs batting and lost only one wicket en route to posting 154 for 1.  Then in the second innings the youngsters claimed six host wickets and cruised to a 152-run win.  Mention to Abdul for a buntalicious unbeaten 24 – including a six clubbed over extra cover, and to Sobo and Moiz who both recorded “3-fors”.

Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 05/06/14]

There are four games over the weekend.  Friday night sees the action kick off with the Under 11s travelling to Ayrshire to play the Irvine|Kilmarnock combined side in a league match.  Saturday then sees two senior league games: Weirs home and away, with the ‘Holmboys going to Albert Park, and the ‘Loc at home.  And the ‘Holmboys are back in action on Sunday in the last sixteen of the Western Cup, travelling to Gourock Park to play Inverclyde.  The winner plays either the Dark Side or St. Michael’s in a home quarter-final match. Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.

Representative selections [posted 05/06/14]

Congratulations to Ihtisham Malik and Owais Shah on their selections for Sunday’s Western Warriors Under 15 match against Caledonian Highlanders at Lochlands in Arbroath in the latest inter-regional tournament matches.  Also gaining representative selection is Craig Young, selected for the Reivers squad to play the Northern Hurricanes in The Netherlands on Sunday and Monday the latest North Sea ProSeries matches.  Well done to all three players.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 04/06/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Malcolm Leitch after ball 16 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the second draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Match off [posted 04/06/14] Tonight’s PlayerReg West League Cup group stage match against Clydesdale at Titwood has been cancelled because of the persistent rain.

Under 13 and Under 15 junior practice OFF [posted 04/06/14] Tonight’s junior practice is OFF due to the weather.

Midweek cup action [posted 03/06/14] This week’s midweek action sees the latest skirmish with the Dark Side, the group stages of this season’s PlayerReg West League Cup being the backdrop for the derby.  Both sides are unbeaten in the competition going in to tomorrow’s clash at Toytown, with the hosts riding high at the top of the CSL Western Premier Division and through to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.  The team for tomorrow’s match will be online as players confirm.  The forecasts’ poor, so fingers crossed Rebels.

Scottish Cup exit for the ‘Loc [posted 01/06/14]

The ‘Loc exited this season’s Scottish Cup at Myreside today in a match that, on reflection, was eminently winnable.  After bowling out their hosts for under 200 the side got off to a good start chasing the D/L-adjusted target of 188 (in 44 overs), reaching 50 for 1 in ten overs.  However this would prove the high-water mark of the reply.

Nofs was second out – somewhat bizarrely given out, run out, by ESP – Anjum then followed 7 runs later before, as the @WatsonianCC Twitter feed put it “WICKET! Chubby strikes for the 2nd time in his over, with one that’s rolled along the ground.”, and Pasty was back in the hutch too.  59 for 4 as quick as that.  Owais and Scotty then added 26 for the fifth wicket, but when they were separated and the rest of the batting line-up – aside Fletch (17) – failed to fire, the side found themselves bundled out for just 135, and on the wrong end of a 50-run winning margin.  135 all out, chasing 188, with almost eight overs unused.  Frustration.  One that maybe got away.  A match report is online, as is the scorecard and updated statistics.

13s through in the Scottish Cup [posted 01/06/14]

The Under 13s were – unusually – in action on a Sunday.  This afternoon saw them travel to South Lanarkshire, and a match-up against East Kilbride in the Scottish Cup.  In a hard-fought encounter, played throughout in persistent drizzle, the 13s were victorious, winning by 13 runs in the final analysis.

They batted first and posted 103 for 4, with Sobo scoring an unbeaten 30, and Hamaad 25.  Then in the East Kilbride reply, Nabeel’s bowling (4-2-4-0) was the difference between the sides and restricted the host batters to 90 for 4.  For East Kilbride, both Kiely and McCann retired after getting to 30.  A short match report is online, as is the scorecard and updated statistics.

Academy XI washed out…..again [posted 01/06/14]

A week after arriving at Bothwell Castle Policies to find it lashing, and the covers with hoses missing, the Academy side were again luckless when today’s Sunday League match against Stenhousemuir was abandoned just thirteen overs in to the first innings, with the persistent rain making life pretty miserable for both side.  The ‘card for what it’s worth, and updated stat’s are online.

Representative selections [posted 01/06/14]

Ihtisham Malik, Aliyan Qureshi and Owais Shah have been selected for the Western Warriors Under 15 side to take on Caledonian Highlanders next Sunday at Lochlands, home of Arbroath United CC.  Congratulations to all three players.  Also in representative active has been Abtaha Maqsood who played today for the women’s Avengers representative side, against the Crusaders, in the inter-regional match.  You can see pictures of Abtaha in action online on the CricketEurope website.

May 2014

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 31/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Stephen Brown after ball 4 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the first draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Win one, lose one [posted 31/05/14]

Prestwick were the club’s opponents today in the CSL: the ‘Loc were down on the coast, the ‘Holmboys were hosting their counterparts from the Henry Thow Oval at the policies.  And it’s from Shawholm that – somehow – the visitors returned after having secured the win.  At 36 for 6, and then 74 for 8, the St. Ninian’s XI winning seemed a pretty unlikely eventuality, but it happened.

And the reason they won can be summer in two words: “Mitchell” and “Rao”.  The young Prestwick player had the game of his life, scoring 62 when no-one selse got past 17, and then taking 7 for 31 as St. Ninian’s bundled the ‘Holmboys out for 137.  Astonishing.  Looking behind the bare bones of the scorecard, gifting a whopping 35 runs in wides alone to the visitors was criminal, irrespective of how, otherwise, the ‘Holmboy bowlers might’ve bowled, and this, added to the side’s failure to put together a partnership of more than 39, ultimately proved fatal.

Meanwhile, down at the Henry Thow Oval the ‘Loc were continuing their good run of form with an ultimately convincing 71-run win over Prestwick.  The win was set up by a first innings total of 209 being posted, a total that owed much to Nofs‘ 99, with Pasty (29) and Rosco (21*) chipping in valuable runs to book-end the innings.  Then in reply, the regular taking of wickets, combined with decent control from the bowlers and a good fielding display, saw Prestwick bowled out for 138.  Crazy Horse was the main wicket-taker, taking 4 for 53 in his fifteen overs.  We’ve got match reports online on the NVT Poloc and NVT Shawholm pages, as well as match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) and updated stat’s.

Representative selections [posted 31/05/14]

Congratulations to Aliyan Qureshi and Calum James on their selections for tomorrow’s Western Warriors Under 15 trial match at Hamilton Crescent.  Also gaining representative selection again is Craig Young, selected for the Reivers squad to play the Highlanders at Nunholm on Monday in the latest North Sea ProSeries match.  Well done to all three players.

Under 15 ECB Cup exit [posted 30/05/14]

After exiting the Under 13 version at Hamilton Crescent yesterday, the Under 15s followed their younger cousins out of the ECB Under 15 National Club Championship this evening at Newfield in Edinburgh, losing to Grange.  Batting first, the 15s eventually posted 93 for 6, a total that their hosts chased down with eight balls to spare.  In truth, and notwithstanding the dead wicket and rugby-length outfield, 93 was maybe 20 runs short of a defendable total.  And had Grange’s opener Dickinson not managed to score just 9 from his 41 balls, the home win would’ve been recorded much sooner than it was.  Match report online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

11s continue winning run [posted 30/05/14]

The Under 11s welcomed near-neighbours Weirs to Shawholm tonight for a league game.  And pleasingly, the club’s youngest hard-ball cricketers won again.  The 11s had first use of the wicket on a pleasantly warm evening, and lost just two wickets en route to posting 90 for 2, or net 80 under the pairs cricket scoring system.  Then in the second innings, Weirs were restricted to net 22, losing seven wickets along the way, to secure the home win.  Moiz (14) and Samee (16) were the top scorers for their side, Sobo then taking a “3-for” in the Weirs’ innings.

Match report online, as is the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 29/05/14]

It’s a very busy weekend of cricket coming up, with junior and senior games galore.  Tomorrow sees the Under 11s host Weirs and the Under 15s travel to Grange, and Sunday afternoon sees the Under 13s take on East Kilbride in the Scottish Cup.  The Academy’s also in action, hosting Stenhousemuir, on Sunday, as are the 1st XI who travel to Edinburgh to play Watsonian in the Scottish Cup.  Saturday’s two senior games are both against Prestwick: the Shawholm XI host the St. Ninian’s XI, and the ‘Loc go to the Henry Thow Oval.  Saturday’s teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.  Selections for Sunday’s matches will follow shortly.

Under 13 ECB Cup exit [posted 29/05/14]

The Under 13s made the short trip to Hamilton Crescent this evening, over on the north side of the city.  The purpose of their cross-river jaunt was the Under 13 ECB National Club Championship tie against West of Scotland.  Batting first the 13s got off to a shocker of a start, being quickly reduced to 7 for 3, three of the top four back in the changing room.  Things got little better as – five down – the side’s total was still in the 20s.  However a brave rear-guard action by the middle order and tail saw 53 eventually posted.  West, though themselves 8 for 2 at one point, chased the required 54 runs in under nine overs, Guy and Barrett surviving three dropped catches to see their side safely home.  Match report online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 28/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Gordon Martin after ball 21 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twentieth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Evening League news [posted 28/05/14]

The scorebook’s still to make it back from darkest Ardencaple, but the news on the wires is that the Panthers lost out to Helensburgh in their Evening League match this evening.  Though details are less than sketchy, the suggestion is that the hosts batted first and – encouraged by some dropped catches – posted 150-odd, after being 15 for 3 (!), a total the Panthers didn’t manage to chase.  More details, as well as the full scorecard, and updated stat’s and a brief match report, will follow as soon as possible.

West League Cup win in the wet [posted 28/05/14]

After last week’s good win away at Torrance House in the first group stage match of this season’s West League Cup, the ‘Loc continued their current good run with a fifth straight win in all competitions, beating another Premier Division side in Drumpellier tonight.  The match, at Shawholm, was played in near continuous drizzle, and saw the ‘Loc stroll to a five-wicket win with over three of their twenty overs to go.

Batting first the visitors posted just 92 for 8, Hamid and Lexy with a couple of wickets each.  The run-chase then saw contributions from Abid, Nofs and Pasty, Piercey and Owais being the pair in the middle when the winning run was scored.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are a match report and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 27/05/14] Tonight’s Evening League match, scheduled to be played at Shawholm, between the Poloc Academy and Ayr, is off.  Ayr regretfully had to concede the match.

Matches off [posted 26/05/14] Today’s away Under 13 League match against Clydesdale, and the Under 18 home match against the same opposition, are both cancelled.

Practice OFF [posted 26/05/14] Tonight’s Under 11 junior coaching and practice is OFF due to the weather.

Busy week of junior cup action [posted 26/05/14]

Notwithstanding today’s three [Ed: yes, three!] cancellations, this week is a busy week for the club’s junior players.  Tuesday sees Ayr visit in the Evening League to play thr Academy XI.  There are then two cup games on Thursday, with the Under 13s travelling to the city’s second-best club in the ECB Cup, whilst the Under 15s are also on the road, their destination being Alloway in the Scottish Cup.  The week finishes with Under 11 league action versus Weirs, and the Under 15s travelling to Edinburgh to play Grange in the quarter-finals of the ECB Cup.  Mention of Friday’s trip to the Capital prompts a word of thanks to West of Scotland who have agreed to reschedule the Frank Smith Trophy match against the Under 18s to allow the Under 15s to be at full strength – this gesture is much appreciated.

Abtaha in action [posted 26/05/14]

Abtaha Maqsood, who is down south with the Scottish women’s Wildcats side, is playing in their match against Leicestershire today.  Following the tweets from the Wildcats‘ Twitter feed, Leicestershire batted first in a reduced 38-overs-a-side match.  At the time of posting the home county were 73 for 9, Abtaha having grabbed a couple of wickets, courtesy of catches from Wildcats skipper Abbi Aitken and Charlotte Bascombe, wickets that had reduced Leicestershire to 61 for 6.  Congratulations to Abtaha on her latest cap.

Academy XI washed out [posted 25/05/14]

The Academy XI were scheduled to be in Sunday League action today, making the short away trip to Bothwell Castle Policies to take on Uddingston.  The forecast for the day was never too clever, but with the Kwik Cricket festival going ahead at the same location, the Academy side made the trip.  However they arrived with the rain lashing across the policies…..and the Kwik Cricket still on!

And, though the rain relented, it was then discovered that a few of the hoses had not been attached to the mobile covers outlets and so the square was waterlogged in places.  Game off.  Hey-ho, and at least the guys got to watch the ‘Loc‘s Under 10s winning the third of their three Kwik Cricket matches!  

Kwik Cricket news [posted 25/05/14]

Today’s Kwik Cricket expedition was to deepest, darkest,…..and wettest Lanarkshire.  Grant Cathcart reports.  “The Amphibious 7 won all three games today at Uddingston, against East Kilbride, Uddingston|Ayr, and East Kilbride|Uddingston.  Rain bookended today’s festival, but apart from the ball slipping from the odd hand and James launching his bat toward the boundary, you’d hardly have noticed.  Lots of good bowling and batting, with new start Dylan showing he has a good eye for a fast delivery.  Moiz and Hassaan were pick of the bowlers.  Things to work on in training for all: calling, running and backing up.  Greenock next week.” Thanks to Grant & Co. for their chaperoning as always.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 24/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Keith Sheridan after ball 46 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the nineteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Double win Saturday! [posted 24/05/14]

Today’s two senior Saturday league matches saw the club play “mirror” fixtures home and away against Stirling County.  And when the scorebooks had been totted up, the goods news is that there are two wins to report.  First to finish were the ‘Holmboys who made lite work of winning at home against the Williamfield XI.

Batting first the ‘Holmboys posted 202 for 7 in their 50 overs, thanks in the main to Brian’s 73.  He batted with six different partners before being seventh out with the score on 171, his 73 coming from 127 deliveries and featuring seven 4s.  There were a couple of useful cameos from other batters too, DJ and Beast scoring 24 and 25 respectively.  The Williamfield reply started badly for the visitors, 8 for 3 knocking the stuffing out of their run-chase right from the off.  Motassim had a brace, a Doogie one.  And from this start things got little better, Williamfield eventually being dismissed for just 72.  Haider had taken four wickets, Motassim three, and Ihty had returned figures of 6-1-9-0.

Meanwhile in Stirling the ‘Loc were involved in an altogether closer match.  This time it was Stirling County who batted first, posting 226 for 9.  This was a reasonable score on a good deck and with the fast New Williamfield outfield.  And at one stage, with the home side 190 for 4 with about five overs left a slightly higher total was on the cards.  But the ‘Loc bowlers and fielders kept their disciplines and managed to grab five wickets in these final overs, three of them run outs!  Four home side batters had got past 25, but none past 50 – maybe crucial in the final analysis.  For the ‘Loc the wickets were shared around, mention to Hasseeb too whose fifteen overs, though wicket-less, cost just 49 runs.  The run-chase started really well: Anjum and Abid smoking the ball to all parts.  They put on 50 before Abid departed for a typically rumbustious 33.  It was just the eighth over.  Nofs and Anjum then added the second consecutive 50 partnership as they took the score past 100 before the former was adjudged LBW.  Anjum then past 50 himself before departing, leaving Pasty and Owais.  A period of consolidation then took place – afforded by the good start – the two adding 31.  Owais was fourth out.  From this juncture it was a case of Pasty batting through, and partners coming in with intent and playing their shots.  And when Piercey had reached 22* in no time, with Pasty into the 50s, all that was left to do was hit one more 4 down the ground and the win was secured with three overs to spare.  A good chase, but more importantly two good performances and recent momentum maintained.  We’ve got match reports online on the NVT Poloc and NVT Shawholm pages, as well as match scorecards (the ‘Loc here, the ‘Holmboys here) and updated stat’s.

Another Friday night double [posted 23/05/14]

There were good wins for the Under 11s and Under 15s this evening in their respective league matches against East Kilbride and Glasgow Accies.  The 11s were out in South Lanarkshire where they recorded a thumping 164-run win over their hosts, thanks to taking seventeen East Kilbride wickets, whilst losing just the one.  Hassaan Mehmood took a “4-for”, and Nabeel Khan three.  Meanwhile at Shawholm the 15s were recording a five-wicket win, chasing 111 to win inside sixteen overs.

Both Shah boys scored 40s as the side eased across the finish line.  Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 22/05/14]

This weekend again sees three matches: Saturday’s home and away league matches see the club take on their Stirling County counterparts, the ‘Loc are on the road and the ‘Holmboys are at home.  Sunday would’ve seen two fixtures in addition to the Sunday morning Under 10 “Kwik Cricket” festival, however the Panthers‘ scheduled Sunday League game against Kilmarnock has been rescheduled as the Ayrshire club are playing a CS Challenge Cup match.  The Academy do, however, travel to play Uddingston.  Saturday’s teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.  Selections for Sunday’s match will follow shortly.

Through in the Greenwood Trophy [posted 22/05/14]

The Under 18s – a.k.a. the Invisibles – are still the only losing club side in the last ten days, after the Panthers beat BBC Scotland in the Greenwood Trophy at Toytown to progress to the quarter-finals.  In the “quarters” the side will host either Kelburne or Vale of Leven.  Back to tonight’s game though.  Batting first the Toytown tenants posted 130 for 7 with Noaman the main wicket-taker, grabbing a “3-for” [Ed: likely described as a brutal spell of bowling by Crazy Horse!], and he was given good support by Usman Malik who returned figures of 4-0-22-2.

The successful run-chase centred on 49 not out from Stouty, with Disk chipping in with 23 from 26 deliveries and that man Noaman bunting 16 from just nine balls late on as the win was secured with three balls to spare.  We’re getting good at winning close games,…..except for the Invisibles.  The scorecard of the game is online, as is a brief report and updated stat’s.

Representative selections [posted 22/05/14]

The club’s delighted that Abataha Maqsood’s again been selected for the Scottish Women’s side.  She’s been selected for the Scottish Wildcats‘ two fixtures next – against Derbyshire and Leicestershire in the Royal London Women’s One Day Cup.  Also gaining representative selection are Ihtisham Malik, Aliyan Qureshi and Owais Shah who will travel with the Western Warriors Under 15 side who are playing Eastern Knights at Myreside in Edinburgh on Sunday.  Well done to the three players.  And, finally, and with his university exam’s finished, Craig Young’s been selected again for the Reivers regional squad to play the Dutch Southern Seafarers side in the North Sea Pro Series next week.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 21/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 36 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

West League Cup campaign starts with a win [posted 21/05/14]

East Kilbride was the venue for the ‘Loc‘s opening West League Cup group stage match.  And the good news is that the side extended its winning run with its third win in five days, returning from Torrance House with the win points after a five-wicket victory.  The hosts batted first after Pasty lost the toss, but were restricted to just 88 for 8.  Tight bowling up-top bore fruit as the change bowlers cashed in wickets-wise, “3-fors” for Mushy and Coya.

Then a combative 47 not out from Scotty saw the side home with eleven balls to spare.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are a match report and updated stat’s.

Glasgow Cup wash out [posted 20/05/14]

It was the second round of group stage matches in this year’s Glasgow Cup this evening, and the Panthers were hosting Helensburgh.  In the end – likely the deep end – the match was abandoned as the persistent rain that had fallen throughout the first innings eventually claimed its victim.  The innings that was completed was the Panthers‘ innings,  and had seen them posted 71 for 7.  Usman Zakir top-scored with an unbeaten 25 from just twelve balls, as the top order had struggled in the difficult conditions.

As it was, and somewhat bizarrely, the 9-a-side football match that was being played on the remainder of the outfield by the guys who’d turned up for senior practice was abandoned before the decision to abandon the cric’ was taken!  The scorecard of the game – as it was – is online, as are updated stat’s.

Mixed fortunes [posted 19/05/14]

The Under 13 and Under 18 Leagues got underway this evening, with home and away matches – respectively – with Ferguslie.  At home there was a ten-wicket win for the Under 13s, but over at Meikleriggs it was “defeat from the jaws of victory” stuff as the 18s somehow contrived to lose from 48 for 2 in the ninth over, chasing just 95 to win.  Defeat came with five balls left, and by the margin of 4 runs.

Well done to the 13s who bowled and then batted well, whereas the 18s now need to go away and ask themselves – individually – what they might’ve done different to have seen them secure the win points too.  Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Fixture re-arrangements [posted 19/05/14]

The Under 15’s ECB Cup match with Hillhead CC, postponed on the original scheduled matchday, has been rescheduled for this Sunday afternoon, starting at 2pm, at Shawholm.  Hopefully the side will get good support from members coming down to watch.  The reason that this Sunday is a possibility is because Kilmarnock have asked to reschedule the Sunday League match against the Panthers because they are playing a CS Challenge Cup match this Sunday and don’t think they could field two XIs on a Sunday.  We’ve said we’d be happy to reschedule and the WDCU has agreed to this.  So a couple of changes to this Sunday’s schedule.

Astonishing! [posted 18/05/14]

There have been some bonkers games at the old ground over the years, and the list of said “silly games” now has a new addition after today’s Scottish Cup clash with Dumfries.  Held over after last week’s abandonment down in the Borders, today’s game was an extraordinary encounter.

After being put in on a perfectly good wicket the ‘Loc were somehow bundled out for just 77 against 2012’s Western Premier champions.  And remembering that last Sunday they’d been 61 for 1 in under twelve overs before the rain came against, arguably, a stronger attack this was actually even more bizarre.  So, 78 to win, and the umpires waived inter-innings tea on the basis that – naturally – the required runs would be rattled off in no time.  However 25 overs in to the Dumfries reply and it was drinks.  And it was also, more importantly, game very much on!  The visitors had somehow managed to find themselves in the middle for 25 overs, lost five wickets along the way, and managed to score just 52.  But this was actually a great recovery from 24 for 5!  Who knows what was in the drinks either, because three overs after drinks and it was 54 for 8.  Make that for 9.  Before, 2 runs later, it was all over and Dumfries had been bundled out for 55.  Extraordinary indeed.  Match report online, along with the ‘card and updated stat’s.

Kwik Cricket news [posted 18/05/14] This morning saw the start of the 2014 “Kwik Cricket” festival series.  Today’s first festival was at Titwood, home of near-neighbours Clydesdale.  We had a team of six involved, and the club’s youngest representatives had great fun, along the way playing and winning games against a West of Scotland|Ayr combined side and East Kilbride, before a final game loss to Kelburne.  Thanks to Grant Cathcart, as always, for organising our attendance and organising the troops.  Next week the festival’s at Uddingston’s Bothwell Castle Policies ground.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 17/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 25 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the seventeenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

League campaign starts with a win [posted 17/05/14]

Despite a number of interruptions caused by the near persistent precipitation that was sometimes heavy, but mainly just persistent, the ‘Loc got their 2014 CSL campaign off to a winning start.  The final scorecard will say that they won by eight wickets on Duckworth Lewis, but this wouldn’t do justice to the drama that played out at the death.

As it was the win was secured when Pasty cut the second ball of the last over for a 4 through point to end a successful run-chase centered on Anjum’s unbeaten 44 and a patient 36 from Nofs.  The revised target of 88 in 22 overs was set after the last of the rain breaks, and came after Kelburne, the visitors, has posted 142 for 6 in 38 overs batting first.  Nofs and Hasseeb picked up a brace of wickets each, four visiting batters getting past 20 but none really going on.  A good win then on matchday one – we’ve a short match report online, as well as the scorecard and updated stat’s.

Rain beats the ‘Holmboys [posted 17/05/14]

Despite both sides’ best efforts, it was the weather that won at Whitehaugh today, persistent rain eventually seeing the match with Whitehaugh abandoned.  The ‘Holmboys were batting first and started well, putting on 59 for 0 in fifteen overs.  Rosco (38*) and Brian (19*) were the openers and had set a really good base from which to post a decent target.  But the weather was having none of it and, after taking an early tea, the decision to “pull the plug” [Ed: pun intended!] was taken.  Game abandoned.

Representative selections [posted 17/05/14] The 2014 Inter-Area Tournaments start tomorrow, and the club’s delighted that a number of its junior players are going to be involved.  In the younger – Under 12 – age-group, Nabeel Khan, Samee Mehmood and Sohaib Shah will take to the field with South Glasgow in its match at Titwood, whilst six Under 14s from the club have been selected for South Glasgow Under 14s’ clash with Clyde Under 14s.  The six are Amaan Ali, Ahmed-Raza Hanif, Calum James, Abtaha Maqsood, Rorie McWilliam and Aliyan Qureshi.  Well done to all the selected players.

Double derby delight! [posted 16/05/14]

Tonight saw the start of new Under 11 and Under 15 league seasons.  And both age-groups started with the proverbial “crackers”: derbies against the Dark Side.  And after the dust had settled in both games the good news is dear reader that two wins recorded.  At Shawholm the Under 11s recorded a relatively straight-forward 28-run win over their Crossmyloof counterparts, whilst over at Toytown the 15s chased down the 128 they needed to win in the last over, thanks in no small measure to an unbeaten 59 from Ihty. Match reports online, as are the scorecards and updated stat’s.

Teams [posted 15/05/14]

This weekend sees three matches: the start of the league campaigns and a reschedukled Scottish Cup first round match.  Saturday’s two matches see home and away clashes against Kelburne in the CSL Championship and Championship Reserve.  The Shawholm XI make the short trip to Kelburne Oval, whilst the Poloc side welcome their opponents to Shawholm.  Then, on Sunday, Dumfries is the opposition in the Scottish Cup, last Sunday’s first try and getting this game on being abandoned after less than twelve overs.  Saturday’s teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.  Selections for Sunday’s Scottish Cup match will follow shortly.

Rowan Cup exit [posted 15/05/14]

The ‘Loc‘s stay in this season’s Rowan Cup lasted just the one round as they fell to first round defeat at the Henry Thow Oval against Prestwick.  The home side chased the 111 they needed to win, with four balls to spare.  The first innings had seen 110 posted, the side being bowled out on the final ball of their allotted twenty overs.  Scotty Millen top-scored with 26, no-one else getting past 17, but no-one posting an entry in the Webbed Feet Award table.

In reply, 41 from Prestwick’s “Overseas Amateur” Emblem was the corner stone of his side’s successful run-chase, Fraser Macdonald chipping in with 24.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are a match report and updated stat’s.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 14/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was John Hardy after ball 19 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the sixteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Academy XI win on Evening League debut [posted 13/05/14]

The Academy XI played their first ever Evening League match tonight.  Active Life Club was the opposition, Bellahouston Park the venue.  And, in a close-fought match it was the Academy side that came out on top, defending 116 to win by 13 runs. There were runs for Owais (40) and Stouty (21), before Uzzair took a “4-for” and Stiffy held on to five outfield catches as the home side fell short of their target.

Report online, as is the scorecard of the game and updated stat’s.

Match off [posted 13/05/14] Today’s home Evening League match against Clydesdale is off, the square still not being playable after the rain of the last week.

Practice OFF [posted 12/05/14] Tonight’s Under 11 junior coaching and practice is OFF due to the weather.

Match off [posted 12/05/14] Today’s away Under 13 League Cup match against Ayr has been cancelled. The square at New Cambusdoon remains waterlogged after the weekend and overnight rain.

Still in it [posted 11/05/14]

Today was another frustrating one for the ‘Loc after their away Scottish Cup tie in Dumfries was abandoned after eleven overs.  The side had started well, as well, reaching 61 for 1 – Owais being the batter out, and Anjum and Nofs at the crease.

There was no doubt an abandonment was the correct decision as rain and hail swept across the ground after an early tea had been taken. The tie will be replayed next Sunday. The scorecard of the game is online, as are updated stat’s.

The Shawholm XI progress in the Western Cup [posted 11/05/14]

After yesterday’s entire card of Western Cup group stage matches were washed out, the draw was made for the last sixteen knockout round.  This saw the ‘Holmboys land an away trip to Gourock Park to play Inverclyde on Sunday June the 8th. Last season saw a run to the quarter-finals in this competition where it took Hillhead’s 1st XI to end the Shawholm boys’ stay in the tournament.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 10/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Keith Sheridan after ball 46 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fifteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Matches off [posted 10/05/14] Today’s home Western Cup match against Ferguslie’s Meikleriggs XI has been cancelled. The square remains waterlogged after last night’s rain.  Also off is the CricHQ 40 Cup match away to Ferguslie at Meikleriggs.

Match off [posted 09/05/14] Today’s home Under 15 League match against Glasgow Accies has been cancelled. The square remains waterlogged after last night’s rain.

Practice OFF [posted 08/05/14] Tonight’s practice is OFF due to the weather.

Match off [posted 08/05/14] Today’s home Under 15 ECB Cup match against Hillhead has been cancelled. The square is unplayable because of last night’s and today’s rain.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 07/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 14 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fourteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Match pic’s [posted 07/05/14] Stuart Rousen has passed on some match photographs from last Saturday’s CricHQ 40 Cup match at Shawholm against Renfrew.  We’ve uploaded the pic’s, taken by Stuart, to our Gallery where you can scroll through them.

Teams [posted 07/05/14]

This weekend sees three matches: all are cup games.  Saturday’s two matches see home and away clashes against Ferguslie.  The Shawholm XI make their competitive home debut, whilst the Poloc side travel to Meikleriggs.  Then, on Sunday, Dumfries is the opposition down at Nunholm in the Scottish Cup.  Saturday’s teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.  Selections for Sunday’s Scottish Cup match, and Tuesday coming’s two Evening League matches will follow shortly.

Match off [posted 07/05/14] Today’s West League Cup match at home to Stenhousemuir has been cancelled because of the wet weather.

Under 13 and Under 15 junior practice OFF [posted 07/05/14] Tonight’s junior practice is OFF due to the weather.

Panthers go down in the Glasgow Cup [posted 06/05/14]

Tonight saw the first of the group stage matches in this season’s Glasgow Cup.  It was a chilly night, but this didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Panthers or their opponents East Kilbride.  In a low-scoring match the Panthers eventually lost out by six wickets as the visitors from Torrance House chased down the 83 they needed to win with plenty overs to go.  There were more ‘Loc debutants again tonight, with Saurav and Sajal both playing their first games.

The scorecard of the game is online, as are updated stat’s.

Under 13 lose derby [posted 05/05/14]

Toytown was the venue for tonight’s Under 13 League Cup match against the Dark Side.  The side, featuring eight Under 11s, put in a pretty good performance against their older near neighbours.  Batting first the Under 13s posted 91 for 8 in their twenty overs, thanks in the main to an unbeaten 30 for Uzzair [Ed: after, this is, he’d run out little brother Sohaib!], a quick-fire 10 from Samee and no fewer than 38 in wides from their hosts.  Then in the second innings they pushed Clydesdale all the way, the Crossmyloof youngsters eventually winning it in the seventeenth over.  The scorecard’s online, there’s a short match report, and the current season stat’s and averages, overall stat’s and overall junior win | loss record have all been updated.  Worthy on mention here on the “Home” page however is the following exchange overheard between the two Clydesdale youngsters fielding on the leg-side.  Player 1, “Am I imagining it or is this a lot smaller compared with Ayr?”  Player 2, “Yeh, it’s tiny!”  Your scribe cannot tell how he chuckled!  “Out of the mouths of babes” and all that…..

Match off [posted 04/05/14] Today’s Sunday League match between the Academy and Glasgow Accies is off, called off by Accies.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 03/05/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Russell Lauder after ball 28 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the thirteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Saturday’s games [posted 03/05/14]

The Shawholm XI notched up their first win of a new season today, bouncing back from heart-breaking defeat at Toytown last Saturday to ease to a nine-wicket win in Renfrew in the Western Cup.  The win was set up by a good display in the field first up, the ‘Holmboys bowling out their hosts, Deanpark, for just 117.  Then, in the successful run-chase, the top order dealt with matters, Dougie finishing 49 not out, and Scotty unbeaten on 35, the win being secured inside 25 overs.

Meanwhile at Shawholm, the ‘Loc somehow managed to throw away the win in the CricHQ 40 Cup versus Renfrew.  After bowling their visitors out for 140, the side then moved through the 100 barrier for the loss of just one wicket, Anjum going early to leave Malcolm and Owais to put together what looked like being a match-winning partnership.  But when their partnership was broken wickets just kept tumbling, and 100 for 1 became 132 all out to see the side lose by 8 runs in a match that should’ve been won.  Like last week – in both matches – batting frailties were the undoing.  Scorecards are online (here and here), as are match reports (here and here), along with updated statistics.

Another representative selection [posted 01/05/14]

Hot on the heels of the club’s four Under 15s selection for this Sunday’s Western Warriors squad match and Abtaha Maqsood’s Scottish Women’s selection, congratulations are also due to 1st XI Captain Craig Young on his selection for the Reivers Pro Team’s two matches against Dutch rep’ side, the Hurricanes, in the upcoming T20 and 50-over matches.  The matches are the first round of the new North Sea Pro Series.

Abtaha selected for Scotland Women [posted 01/05/14]

After the disappointment of her Scotland Women’s matches against Durham being cancelled due to the weather last weekend, Abtaha Maqsood will be pleased – as the club is delighted – that she has been selected for the first two competitive Scotland Women’s fixtures of the new season: against Northamptonshire and Hampshire away.  Congratulations to Abataha, and good luck in the upcoming matches – remember to enjoy them too!

Match off [posted 01/05/14] Tonight’s Under 15 Scottish Cup first round tie away at Ayr has been called off due to the weather.  The overnight and today’s heavy rain have left the ground at New Cambusdoon unplayable.  News on a rescheduled date to come.

April 2014

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 30/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Avril Robertson after ball 6 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twelfth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Under 13 and Under 15 junior practice OFF [posted 30/04/14] Tonight’s junior practice is OFF due to the weather.

Teams [posted 29/04/14]

There are three senior league or cup matches this weekend, and another on Tuesday next week.  Saturday’s two matches are both against Renfrew, the Shawholm side visiting King George V Playing Fields in the Western Cup, whilst the ‘Loc host their Renfrew equivalents in the second of this season’s CricHQ 40 Cup group stage matches.  Both games start at 1pm and are 40-overs-a-side matches.  Sunday’s match is a Sunday League match for the Academy side, at home to Glasgow Accies, and Tuesday’s match is a Glasgow Cup tie between the Panthers and East Kilbride.  Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.

Junior representative selections [posted 29/04/14]

Four of the clubs Under 15 players – Calum James, Ihtisham Malik, Aliyan Qureshi and Owais Shah – have been selected for this Sunday’s Western Warriors Under 15 trial match at West of Scotland’s Hamilton Crescent ground.  Congratulations to all four, who were part of the Warriors winter squad and programme.

Under 13 lose in the cup [posted 28/04/14]

Tonight saw the start of competitive junior cricket at the ground for season 2014.  Prestwick were visitors in the Under 13 League Cup to get the season up-and-underway.  Batting first the Under 13s posted a crditable 75 for 4, Uzzair retiring having reached 30, and Joe holding the rest of the innings together with an unbeaten 16.  In the reply, Prestwick lost four quick wickets after safely getting to 21, and at 31 for 4 the result was far from certain.  But Turner (21*) and MacBeth (12*) restored order to proceedings and batted through to secure the win for their side.  For the Under 13s there were good bowling figures returned by Joe (2-1-4-1), with Hamaad Anwar – on debut – taking two-in-two in that 10-run period when the Ayrshire youngsters wobbled a bit.  A win for the opposition then, but a good first game to get under their belts for the Under 13s.  Next Monday sees the next group stage match in this competition.  The scorecard’s online, there’s a short match report, and the current season stat’s and averages, overall stat’s and overall junior win | loss record have all been updated.

Match pic’s [posted 27/04/14] We’ve got a small selection of photographs from today’s Sunday League opener against Prestwick at Shawholm.  The game saw an impressive run-chase by the Panthers‘ openers, Muscles and Abid.  We’ve uploaded the pic’s, taken by Usman Zakir, to our Gallery where you can scroll through them.

Sunday League hangover cures [posted 27/04/14]

If it wasn’t quite the “morning after the night before”, it was certainly the afternoon after.  And a chance to make amends for the day before’s two disappointing results.  And, also, a first for the club: fielding two elevens in the WDCU Sunday League.  The Panthers were hosting Prestwick at Shawholm, whilst the Academy side travelled to take on Renfrew.  And the good news is that both recorded handsome wins.  At Shawholm, a Prestwick side featuring both the Ayrshire club’s overseas players was restricted to 127 for 9 in their 40 overs, a total that was passed without losing a wicket by the Panthers courtesy of an unbeaten opening stand of 135 by Abid (74*) and Muscles (47*).  A ten-wicket win.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are stat’s.

Meanwhile over in Renfrew the Academy side romped to a seven-wicket win, thanks to a tight bowling display that saw an Ahmed-Raza “5-for” and Haider returning figures of 8-5-6-3!  Well bowled chaps.  In the successful run-chase, three wickets were lost: Dougie (21) and Owais (32) both got starts but holed out needlessly after getting in, leaving Stiffy (27*) to see his side home with CJ the other not out batter.  The scorecard of the game is online, as are stat’s, including the season’s overall stat’s by player.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 26/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Jonathan Raine after ball 12 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eleventh draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Double derby day defeats [posted 26/04/14]

Today saw the start of competitive cricket for season 2014.  Luckily for both the ‘Loc and the ‘Holmboys both Shawholm and Toytown were passed fit for play, and both games were played.  Credit both sets of groundstaff then for their hard work.  At Shawholm, however, it could be argued – in hindsight – maybe working less hard to get a game on might’ve been a better idea as the ‘Loc were skittled out for just 39,…..yes, thirty nine, that’s three (3), nine (9).  Ouch!  0 for 2 was the start, and then, arguably, things got worse when Pasty was adjudged LBW hitting one in to his pads, Stiffy nicked off and Coya was bowled shouldering arms. The last five batters amassed none between them, and Nofs was left 23 not out.  The Dark Side then chased the 40 needed for just two wickets – Tariq and de Lange – inside thirteen overs.

At Toytown things were altogether closer, but the ‘Holmboys would somehow snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, losing their last six wickets for just 22 runs to lose by 10 runs chasing 156 for the win.  Doogie‘s 49 and Rosco‘s 31 were in vain, as was Dougie’s “4-for” and Hasseeb’s figures of 8-1-12-0.  Yup, all-in-all it was a derby day butt kicking!  Scorecards are online (here and here), along with the first statistics of the new season.

Teams [posted 24/04/14]

There are four senior league or cup matches this weekend.  Saturday’s two matches are both against the Dark Side, the Shawholm boys travelling to Toytown for a Western Cup clash, whilst the ‘Loc welcome their opposite numbers from Crossmyloof in the CricHQ 40 Cup.  Both games start at 1pm and are 40-overs-a-side matches.  Sunday’s competitive action is in the Sunday League, the Panthers hosting Prestwick and the Academy side travelling to play Renfrew.  Teams are online, players being added to each side as they confirm.  Let’s hope Saturday’s weather forecast is wrong!

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 23/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Carol Martin after ball 40 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the tenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Senior practice OFF [posted 22/04/14] Tonight’s senior practice is OFF due to the weather.

Schools coaching programme [posted 21/04/14]

Tomorrow – Tuesday – sees the start of the community schools coaching programme that, in conjunction with the club’s sister coaching Charity, “The Community Coaching Initiative”, will see the club’s coaches delivering a wide range of cricket coaching in thirteen schools in-and-around the south side of the city over the next eight weeks.  The programme as it stands will include delivering coaching at both schools and at the club’s ground, and will see the club provide Shawholm as a “home” ground to a number of the secondary schools for their Glasgow Schools Cricket Association matches and national cup matches.

Match pic’s [posted 20/04/14] We’ve found some photo’s online that were taken at yesterday’s inter-club pre-season friendly played at a sun-kissed Shawholm.  We’ve uploaded the pic’s, taken by Usman Zakir, to our Gallery where you can scroll through them.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 19/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Matt Coyle after ball 11 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the ninth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Season 2014 underway! [posted 19/04/14]

31 players were in action today as season 2014 finally got underway.  On a beuatiful day at Shawholm an inter-club pre-season match was fiercely competitive, and saw no fewer than eight debutants, whilst at Dalnacraig in Dundee, a Poloc XI recorded a 102-run win over CSL Eastern Championship side Dundee High School Former Pupils (“DHSFP”).  In the runs at Shawholm were Lewis James (51), Ross Armour (25), Calum Stout (35) and David James (27).

There were also wickets for Dougie Willoughby (3 for 8), Noaman Ishtiaq (3 for 26) and Usman Malik (3 for 9) in a game that saw the XI skippered by Brian Spence defeat David James’s side by 12 runs.

In the away game the Poloc XI posted 216 for 4 in 40 overs, batting first, with runs for new Professional Malcolm Nofal on debut (72), Anjum Aslam (64), Owais Shah (37) and Craig Young (28*).  In reply the XI’s hosts were quickly four down, “Overseas Amateur” Pierce Fletcher grabbing a wicket in each of his first three overs.  Abishek Bhatia was also a wicket-taker on debut as he returned figures of 2 for 18 from his seven overs.  The 102-run win was secured when DHSFP’s innings closed on 114 for 9.  Scorecards from both games are online.

Congratulations to Abtaha Maqsood [posted 17/04/14] The club’s delighted to hear about Abtaha Maqsood’s selection for the full Scotland Women’s side to take on Durham CCC at Stirling County’s New Williamfield ground on Sunday the 27th of April.  Abtaha’s selection, adding to the caps she has already earned at Under 17 age-group level, reflects on her hard work and application, and commitment to improving her game.  Well done! The full team can be seen on the Cricket Scotland website.

Teams [posted 16/04/14]

There are two matches this pre-season weekend,…..involving three ‘Loc teams!  A Poloc XI travels to Dundee on Saturday to take on CSL East Championship side DHSFP CC, whilst at Shawholm there’s an inter-club match involving as many of the other senior and older junior players as possible.  The weather looks set fair, with only a high wind-chill factor and a still-far-from-hard wicket to overcome!  Both matches are 40-overs-a-side, and both start at 1pm.  All teams are online, as players confirm availability.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 16/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Stewart Shearer after ball 32 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 12/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Stewart Shearer after ball 32 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the seventh draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Welcome! [posted 10/04/14] Tonight saw our two overseas players meeting up with a few of the guys for the first time at a chilly outdoor practice session.  Despite the wind-chill factor though the session was well attended with over twenty players put through their paces by Blue Knee and Youngy.  Fielding and fitness were the orders of the day!  Good start to what we hope’ll be another enjoyable and successful season.  Welcome to the ‘Loc boys!

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 09/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Colin Scott after ball 9 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the sixth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Matches off [posted 08/04/14] This weekend’s first three pre-season matches have all been cancelled off due to the weather.  Sunday’s away fixture at New Cambusdoon against Ayr was called off this morning, with a decision on the two home games – against Glasgow Accies and West of Scotland, on Saturday and Sunday respectively – following later in the day.

First outdoor session [posted 06/04/14]

This Tuesday evening – from 6.30pm – sees the first outdoor session for senior players, and those older juniors aiming to playing senior cricket this season.  Weather-permitting on Tuesday we will be doing a little bit of work around the ground – getting the nets hung on the all-weather practice net bays, moving the screens out in to position, and so on.  We will also be dealing with pre-season admin’, including updating any registration photo’s or other details.  Discussion will take place about the leagues we’ve entered and our practice regime.  Players should also – if they have not already done so – pay their membership subscription on Tuesday or reach an agreement with the club as to when this will be paid.  Remember that it is easy to pay subscriptions using the website’s PayPal facility, and that the club continues to operate a “no pay, no play” rule to ensure those representing the club are also contributing to it.  Let’s have a good turnout on Tuesday evening please; as ever, more hands make light work!

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 05/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Euan Williamson after ball 41 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fifth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 02/04/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Tommy Robertson after ball 23 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fourth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

March 2014

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 30/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 29 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the third draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 29/03/14] This Sunday sees the twenty-third indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 15s and older between 1pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 26/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was David James after ball 5 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the second draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 22/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Carol Martin after ball 40 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the first draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 21/03/14] This Sunday sees the twenty-second indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, then Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 19/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 26 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twentieth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 15/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 8 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the nineteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 14/03/14] This Sunday sees the twenty-first indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 18s and older between 1pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

New kit [posted 13/03/14] We’ve got a new range of playing, training and leisure kit for 2014 – have a look online. You can also see samples by getting in touch with Keith Young. Manufactured by Lords International, the kit (pictured left, too) comes in at great new prices and looks fantastic. Orders can be placed now – get your order in!

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 12/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Elizabeth Brown after ball 34 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Annual membership subscriptions – DUE NOW [posted 09/03/14]

Saturday’s AGM approved the annual subscription rates for 2014 and these can now be paid.  Paying subscriptions as soon as possible is helpful to the club, particularly in the off-season months when – as with most clubs – cash flow is tightest.

To assist with paying subscriptions the club offers paying by credit or debit card using a secure PayPal facility.  To use this facility, simply click on the Pay subscriptions page link in the left-hand menu list and follow the instructions on the page this takes you to.

Captain’s prizes [posted 08/03/14] Today’s winners in an adapted Captain’s Prizes competition format were Messrs. McBride, Williamson and Young (Snr.), whose combined 184 was low enough to secure the victory in a 15-hole event.  Only fifteen holes were playable after this week’s rains put paid to play on the 1st green.  Congratulations to the trio.

Stat’s [posted 08/03/14] The Cricket Europe Scotland website has now got full statistics, by club, player and game, for all SNCL and CSL matches.  It’s an interesting read, and well worth a visit.  You can find the Poloc stat’s here.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 08/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was David James after ball 5 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the seventeenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 07/03/14] This Sunday sees the twentieth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, and then Under 13s and Under 15s between 2pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 05/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Brian Spence after ball 30 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the sixteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Captain’s prizes [posted 05/03/14] Saturday sees the playing of the Captain’s prizes.  Start time is as soon as possible after the 12 noon meet time, and the competition’s an open.  Get along…

Under 15 and 13 Scottish Cup draws [posted 03/03/14]

The Under 15 and Under 13 Scottish Cup draws were made today, and circulated to clubs.  The club’s Under 15s have been handed a first round home tie away at Ayr, with the winner then travelling to the city’s second best club, West of Scotland – who got a first round bye.  The first round tie’s to be played by the 1st of June.  In the Under 13 age-group competition the draw threw up an away tie at Torrance House against East Kilbride for the club’s 13s.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 01/03/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Eddie Coyle after ball 45 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fifteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

February 2014

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 27/02/14] This Sunday sees the nineteenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 15s and older between 1pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

AGM [posted 27/02/14]

The club’s AGM will be held in the clubhouse on Saturday the 8th of March at 5pm.

Under 18 Scottish Cup draw [posted 27/02/14]

The Under 18 Scottish Cup draw was made this morning, and circulated to clubs.  The club’s Under 18s have been handed a first round home tie against Drumpellier, with the winner hosting Prestwick – who got a first round bye – in round two.

ECB age-group cup draws made [posted 26/02/14]

The draws for the Under 13 and Under 15 ECB knockout cups was released today by Cricket Scotland.  The Under 13 draw threw up an away opening round clash for the ‘Locsters against West of Scotland, whilst the Under 15 cup draw saw the club land a home tie against Hillhead.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 26/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 43 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fourteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Player pre-season survey [posted 26/02/14]

Our latest survey – mirroring earlier pre-season player surveys – can be completed online now.  Its results will help those completing it, as well as the club, plan for season 2014 and provide benchmarks against which everyone can later assess success.

Overseas player/coach, and “overseas amateur” [posted 25/02/14]

We are pleased to announce that the club has now finalised arrangements for two overseas players to join it for the new season.  Both players are coming to the club for the first in 2014, South African Malcolm Nofal (pictured left) as coaching professional, and New Zealand-based Pierce Fletcher (pictured right) as “overseas amateur”. More about both can be found online here.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 22/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Wilma Duncanson after ball 33 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the thirteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 22/02/14] This Sunday sees the eighteenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, and Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 19/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Ian Adshead after ball 2 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twelfth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Sunday League fixtures released [posted 17/02/14]

The 2014 Sunday League fixtures are out now.  Like the Evening League, the club’s entered two sides in this competition in 2014, an Academy XI competing in the Evening League for the first time, and joining the Poloc Panthers who are again competing.

More fixtures released for season 2014 [posted 16/02/14]

The WDCU has released more fixtures for the upcoming – 2014 – season.  The Evening League, Western Cup and Glasgow Cup fixtures are now out, as are the WU 40 Cup fixtures.  This latter competition’s the re-named CSL 40 Cup and, alongwith the Western Cup, will represent the competitive season-opening matches.  The club’s entered a second side in the Evening League for the coming season, the Academy XI joining the Poloc Panthers in this T20 league, albeit in a different division.

Burns Supper [posted 15/02/14] Our annual Burns Supper was on in the clubhouse last night and the assembled members and their guests were royally entertained by David Sibbald who delivered a passionate Immortal Memory, and Jim McDougall who replied with a the Toast to the Lassies.  In addition to the set-piece discourses, Jim McKinnon and supper Chairman Kenneth Robertson recited “A man’s a man for a’ that” and “Tam O’Shanter” respectively.  Thanks to everyone who involved, to piper Robin McCall, Beta Catering, and Jen who was on parade at the bar.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 15/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Robin Hagart after ball 27 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eleventh draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 15/02/14] This Sunday sees the seventeenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 15s and 18s between 1pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Upcoming golf events [posted 14/02/14] Dates for the next series of Winter Section golf events are out: the 22nd of February, and 8th and 22nd of March are the dates for golfers’ diaries, being – respectively – the match against Haggs Castle GC and the Captain’s Prizes, and then the clash with the Dark Side.  Let Brian Spence know if you available and able to play.

Kwik Cricket festivals, 2014 [posted 12/02/14]

Regular visitors to the website [Ed: both of you!] might’ve noticed that the fixture schedules for the various teams are filling up.  This includes the traditional Sunday morning Under 10 Kwik Cricket festivals run by the WDJCU.  The club’s agreed to host one as ever, Sunday the 13th of July being the date.  To see the full programme – which is still be updated by the junior union – have a look on the Under 10s page.

Indoor nets [posted 12/02/14] A reminder that additional weekday net sessions at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall start this evening.  The session – between 6pm and 8pm is open to all players aged 16 or over.  Please note, however, that there will be a compulsory £3 per person, per session, charge to pay for the hall hire.  “No pay, no stay“!

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 12/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after ball 48 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the tenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Junior league and cup fixtures [posted 08/02/14]

The junior league and cup draws for season 2014 have been distributed today by the WDJCU.  We’ve got them all up-and-online on the various juniors pages: Under 11s, Under 13s, Under 15s and Under 18s.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 08/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Stephen Brown after ball 4 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the ninth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 07/02/14] This Sunday sees the sixteenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Funding support [posted 06/02/14]

We are delighted that two more corporate funders have continued their support of the work carried out by the club’s sister coaching Charity, the Community Coaching Initiative. Thanks are due to both Atlas Communications and Mackay Corporate, both long-standing supporters.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 05/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Peter Alexander after ball 29 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Ian Harvie [posted 04/02/14]

The Herald, this morning, reported that former club Treasurer and President Ian Harvie passed away last week.  His funeral will be held next Tuesday in Brodick, on the Isle of Arran, to where Ian moved, had made his home, with his wife Meg.  The club condolences go to the family and friends of Ian at this sad time.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 01/02/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Peter Alexander after ball 29 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the seventh draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

January  2014

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 30/01/14] This Sunday sees the fifteenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 15s and 18s between 1pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Funding support [posted 30/01/14]

The turn of every year brings with it the usual need to look to raise the funding that’s needed to carry out the various activities of the club, in particular our community coaching.

Delivered in conjunction with the club’s related registered Charity, the Community Coaching Initiative, this sees cricket introduced to hundreds of young people each year.  And each year we’re hugely grateful to the many funding partners that enable this work to be carried out.  This week Primestaff and Capital Managers – two long-standing supporters – have again committed to contribute to the Charity.  Thanks to both.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 29/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Gordon Kennedy after ball 35 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the sixth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Scottish Cup draw [posted 28/01/14]

The draw for this season’s Scottish Cup was made today, and circulated to clubs by Cricket Scotland.  Back to a straight knockout basis, the draw saw the ‘Loc drawn away to Dumfries in round one on the 11th of May, the winner travelling to either DHSFP CC or Watsonian’s CC in round two.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 25/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Matt Coyle after ball 11 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fifth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Grant award [posted 23/01/14] We are delighted that the club’s been awarded a grant by the Sports Council for Glasgow under its Club Grant scheme.  The award, granted as part of the club’s winter community coaching programme will allow the purchase of specialist coaching equipment and aids, specifically “Katchets, “Skyers” and additional bowling machine balls.  The club’s grateful to the council for its generous support.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 22/01/14] This Sunday sees the fourteenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, and Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 22/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was John Hardy after ball 19 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the fourth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Cup entries [posted 22/01/14]

The club has, as usual, entered sides in all cup competitions available to it.  Its Under 13s, 15s and 18s will play in the Cricket ScotlandScottish Cup, whilst both Under 13s and 15s will also compete in ECB age-group cup competitions too.  The Under 18s are entrants to the Frank Smith Trophy as usual too, with the Under 13s’ entry to the WDJCU Under 13 League Cup completing the cup entries.

Representative squad selections [posted 22/01/14]

Congratulations to Calum James whose inclusion in the Western Warriors Under 15 qinter squad was confirmed this week.  Calum joins the list of the club’s juniors already selected for representative training squads this off-season.  Ihtisham Malik and Owais Shah are in the Cricket Scotland Academy, Ross Armour, Lewis James, Elliott Rousen and Douglas Willoughby are in the Western Warriors Under 18 squad, and Aliyan Qureshi is in the Cricket Scotland Regional Development Centre.  Well done to all these young players.

January Medal winner [posted 18/01/14] Today’s Golf Section January Medal was won by Brian Spence, the Hon’ Sec’ sneaking home ahead of Sandy Duncanson courtesy of a better inward half after both players carded net 62s.  The course was in good nick thanks to the clear-up work done last weekend after the New Year weather, and Adsy‘s preparation work on the tees, aprons and greens.  Thanks to everyone involved.  After the medal the two sightscreens, recently blown over, were re-erected with everyone’s help – again, many thanks to those involved.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 18/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Wilma Duncanson after ball 33 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the third draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

January Medal [posted 17/01/14] Tomorrow is the January Medal, and the fun starts at 12.30pm.  Let’s see a good turnout for the first competition of 2014.  The course has been prepared despite the wet weather – thanks Adsy – and so all that’s needed are the golfers!

Indoor nets [posted 15/01/14] We’ve managed to secure some additional weekday net sessions at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  These sessions – all between 6pm and 8pm are open to all players aged 16 or over, and are on following dates: Thursday 13 February, Thursday 20 February, Thursday 27 February, Thursday 6 March, Thursday 13 March, Thursday 20 March, Thursday 27 March, and Thursday 3 April, 6pm to 8pm.  Please note that there will be a compulsory £3 per person, per session, charge to pay for the hall hire.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 15/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was John Hardy after ball 19 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the second draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 15/01/14] This Sunday sees the thirteenth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 15s and 18s between 1pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 11/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Ronnie McGregor after ball 24 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the first draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Saturday league fixtures released for season 2014 [posted 09/01/14]

The Competitions Management Committee of the WDCU emailed clubs this evening with information concerning season 2014.  In addition to an explanatory note outlining the difficulties it believes it’s encountered in scheduling Saturday league games, the email also contained an attachment detailing the the fixtures for both the club’s two senior Saturday sides.  These can be found online now, here and here.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 08/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was Ernie Donaldson after ball 27 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the twentieth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Indoor coaching and practice [posted 05/01/14] This Sunday sees the twelfth indoor winter coaching and practice for juniors at Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sports Hall.  This week’s session is for Under 11s between 1pm and 2pm, and then Under 13s and 15s between 2pm and 3pm. The full schedule of winter/spring indoor sessions can be found on the Juniors page.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 04/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 8 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Saturday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the nineteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.

Burns Supper [posted 02/01/14] First news of this year’s Burns Supper are out.  Kenneth Robertson’s organising it as usual and the date’s Friday the 14th of February with a 7pm start time.  Tables are for eight and it’s £25 per person.  The Immortal Memory will be delivered by David Sibbald, and Jim McDougall will give the Toast to the Lassies.  To book a table and/or for more information, get in touch with Kenneth.

Bonus Ball – latest winner [posted 01/01/14] The latest winner of the Bonus Ball was no-one after club ball 14 was drawn as the Bonus Ball in Wednesday night’s National Lottery main draw. This was the eighteenth draw in the current ten-week, twenty-draw game. Full details of winners, and who’s paid and who’s not, are on the Bonus ball page of the website.