News

Club Communication – 17-08-2022

Please see below the communication sent to all club contacts earlier today.

A number of items for you today.

Please note that the notification papers for the WDCU Special General Meeting planned for 7pm on Wednesday 7th September have now been sent to all clubs. Please follow the instructions contained in the papers. I am happy to receive all replies as promptly as possible.

Can I remind you that you should double check all your results in any of our competitions are posted on WDCU Live.  You should also ensure that your points totals are correct. It is much easier for you to check than me, so please do so, and let me know of any changes as soon as possible.

The Saturday League season is heading into its penultimate weekend and a number of the league competitions are going to the wire. Over the next two weekends champions will be crowned, and unfortunately relegations occur.  Please remember that at all times – good or bad- that you should show respect to your opponents/umpires and play within the Spirit of the Game.

Coming up this weekend McCrea FS West of Scotland take on Clydesdale in the McCulloch Cup. The game is being held at Titwood and will start at 1pm. Please get along to watch if you can and good luck to both teams.

Also on Sunday morning, M8 Driving Ferguslie, as winners, of the Rowan Cup face Gala in the semi-final of the CS Men’s T20 Finals on Sunday at New Williamfield.  The winners will face either Forfarshire or Heriots in the final in the afternoon, so a great day’s cricket in store.

I know its a bit away but please remember that Ayr will face Forfarshire in the CS Men’s Scottish Cup final at Goldenacre on Sunday 28th August.

WDCU wishes all teams the very best of luck.

Pakistan Independence day 75 years – T20 celebration match – report

Please see below the report from the above game. Looks like it was a cracker!!

The Scottish Pakistani community celebrating 75 years of Pakistan’s Independence on Sunday the 14th of August had arranged a T20 as part of the days events. The two teams consisted of the Scottish Pakistanis and the Pakistani Pros. 24 talented players of Pakistani heritage had been assembled to play a T20 at Meikleriggs in Paisley, spectated by a large multicultural crowd.

We were anticipating an amazing game and we were not disappointed. The Scottish Pakistanis team, made up of West based local players, won the toss and elected to bat. The Pakistani Pros team and Scottish Pakistanis, took the field.

Imran Mughul opened the batting with Taimoor Ahmad, 6 runs coming of the first over. Qadeer Ahmed bowling his first ball, found the edge of Taimoor Ahmad who departed for 1 run caught by the wicket keeper Farhan Khan. Mughul was joined by left hander Saif Sajjad, his Clydesdale teammate. The loss of the early wicket only spurred on Mughul who launched a blistering attack in the next over hitting 16 runs. Mughul followed this up in the 5th over, bludgeoning 28 of the over, including 4 sixes with a number of the sixes well out of the ground. The scoring continued from Mughul’s bat with the score at 77 for 2 after the end of the power play after 6 overs had been played. Mughul reached his fifty in just 19 balls The Pakistani pros skipper Usman Saeed, had to control the scoring and introduced Adnan Mufti and Anwar Hafeez to the attack. Adnan Mufti and Anwar Hafeez slowed the scoring rate down but still not enough. The score after 10 overs was 112 and a massive total looked ominous. The introduction of, off spinner Rafay Khan made the desired impact with him picking up wickets and restricting the score. Khan continued his grip on the game by removing Mughul caught in the deep for a brilliant 115 in the 16th over with the score already slowing down to 148. Mughul had reached his 100 in 48 balls and completed his innings of 115 in 52 balls including 11 sixes and 8 fours. Unfortunately, the remaining batters could not complete the overs and the Scottish Pakistanis were all out in 18.3 overs for 162 with only Fazal Jawad (10) and skipper Haroon Tahir (13), the only other batters to reach double figures. Rafay Khan returned excellent figures of 5 for 17 in 4 overs, Tasawar Hussain 2.3 overs 3 for 15 and Qadeer Ahmad 3 overs 2 for 26.

The Pakistani Pros innings started with openers Muhaymen Majeed and Israr Hussain, with Majeed’s first scoring shot going over square leg and the trees for a six. The Scottish Pakistanis opening bowlers Akram Shakoor and Azeem Akbar were not letting the batters score as freely as Mughul had done so in the first innings. Majeed and Hussain put on 32 for the first wicket and Hussain departed in the 6th over. At the end of the 6th over and the power play, The Pakistani Pros team were on 37 runs, 40 behind the Scottish Pakistanis team at the same stage. The run rate was climbing and it was not as easy as it had looked for Mughul when he was batting. Majeed continued showing his array of T20 shots keeping the score going he received some support from skipper Usman Saeed (15) who shared a stand of 36. The score at 10 overs was 69 at 15 it was 98 . Majeed now joined at the crease by former UAE International Adnan Mufti, plundered 17 runs of the 16th over and then 20 of the 17th over. It came down to the last over with 10 runs required. Akram Shakoor was the bowler, who had bowled intelligently throughout, mixing up his pace and using variations , the first three balls were singles. Mufti then was run out on 17, the score on 156 , sharing a partnership with Majeed of 72. Two balls left, 7 runs required to win, the new batter was Tassawar Hussain, who managed a single, Majeed was facing the last ball with a six required to win the game. Majeed launched the last ball deep to mid on, was it going to carry? no, it had held up, it was looking like a catch, the fielder was going back and got his hands to it , only to parry it over the rope for a six. A win for the Pakistani Pros team on the last ball, it does not get anymore exciting than that. Muhaymen Majeed finished on 96 not out off 57 balls including 8 fours and 6 sixes, playing the first and last ball of the innings, just getting his team over the line.

The only bowler for the Scottish Pakistanis team who picked up more than one wicket was young leg spinner Shahan Raja, who claimed the wickets of two Pros , bowling 3 overs 2 for 25.

An excellent game with top performances from Imran Mughul 115, Rafay Khan 5 for 17 and Muhaymen Majeed 96 not out, Muhaymen Majeed chosen to be the player of the match for his match winning innings by the umpires Alex Dowdalls and Majid Haq.

Sandy Scotland

Please see the very sad message received yesterday regarding the passing of CSMOA umpire Sandy Scotland. A great servant to the game of cricket and a fine gentleman to boot. He was an engaging umpire who loved the game and those who played it. Games seemed to pass by so effortlessly when he was in the middle.  He will be sadly missed by all his friends and family.

It is with great sadness that CSMOA acknowledge the passing of one of our Honorary Life Members, Sandy Scotland.

Many of us will have fond memories of Sandy throughout his many years of involvement and service to cricket throughout Scotland.

We would request that umpires should wherever possible wear a white jacket/shirt with a black armband in Sandy’s honour for this Saturday’s fixtures (including those officiating Premier League fixtures or where colours would normally be worn). We would also encourage our officials to liaise with teams to hold a minute of silence prior to the start of your Saturday league fixtures.

CSMOA will also formally provide a tribute to Sandy in the coming days.

Club Development Officer, Dumfries CC – Job Opportunity

A new Club Development Officer post is being created at Dumfries Cricket Club.

This exciting role will look to build on the excellent work of the volunteers at Dumfries CC and aims to establish the club further within the local community and schools. The job advert, and description are attached below.

The role will look to use cricket to improve the levels of physical activity in children and adults in the Dumfries Burgh and wider area.  Working with schools and community groups the role will aim to increase transition from schools and communities into the club setting.

The club is committed to its “One Club” ethos, which ensure that all members are equally important, and have an equal say in the activities we deliver.

The role will involve delivery of cricket coaching, however knowledge and experience of coaching other sports will be beneficial.

Dumfries CC are committed to sports equity, and this role will play a pivotal role in helping establish our activities in the wider community.

If you are interested in the position, then please send your CV with covering letter to chairman.dumfriescricketclub@gmail.com by 24 August 2022.

If you would like to discuss the role and opportunity then please feel free to contact Andrew Reed, Dumfries Cricket Club Chair, 07792-827695, or email: chairman.dumfriescricketclub@gmail.com

CDO Job Advert – Dumfries CC

CDO Job Description – Dumfries CC

Club Communication 9-08-2022

Please see below the communication sent to clubs today.

As we are now into August that means we are nearing the end of the season where Champions will be identified and promotion and relegation will be decided from all our league competitions.

Given that we have been using our new system WDCU Live to administer our leagues this year and it is new to all of us could I ask that all clubs check the results and points gained in all the Saturday, Sunday and Evening League matches. It is really important that these are all up to date and correct.  One of the big issues appears to be the entry of bonus points so please pay particular attention to that.

If there are any errors or issues please highlight them to me and I will take the appropriate action.  Could I ask that this is done no later than Wednesday, 17th August please so that we go in to the last two weekends of Saturday League cricket bang up to date.

Three of our four cup finals have been contested, and our congratulations go to the winners:

Rowan Cup – M8 Driving Ferguslie
Western Cup – Titwood
Greenwood Cup – Partick

The one remaining final – the McCulloch Cup – will be contested between Clydesdale CC and McCrea FS West of Scotland at 1pm on Sunday, 21st August at Titwood.  Finally our congratulations go to Ayr CC who have reached the final of the Scottish Cup where they will take on Forfarshire on 28th August at Goldenacre.

Greenwood Cup 2022, winners – Partick

The final of the Greenwood Cup was held at Albert Park on Sunday, 7th July, where Partick secured a clinical victory against Glasgow opponents GHK Strathclyde.  Both teams had battled hard to get to the final which was played in great spirit.

In a solid first  innings Partick overcame a nervy start to post a commanding total of 127 for 7 from their 20 overs.  Five of the Partick batsmen achieved double figure scores with Robert Corner (36) and Samual Jakobson (26) the star performers.  GHK Strathclyde stuck to their task in the field and promising young paceman Zain Ullah caught the eye with four overs, 2 for 14.  He was ably supported by Zahid Mirza with 4 overs 2 for 19, and Mahboob Ahmad with four overs 2 for 31.

The GHK Strathclyde reply never really got off the ground due to some excellent bowling and fielding from the Partick side.  In a well-balanced attack the top wicket takers were Graeme Etheridge and Mahavir Singh Dhillon with identical figures of four overs, 3 for 12.  Top score in the GHK Strathclyde run chase came from Faraz Shamim with 20.

WDCU would like to thank the CSMOA umpires for the day Majid Haq and Colin McLardie who officiated the game in fine fashion.

Thanks are also due to Paul Coffey for supplying the zinger stumps and the Live stream for the game on Frog Box

Finally thanks to Langside CC for hosting the final in great style and arranging the fine weather.

Western Cup Final 2022, winners – Titwood

Western Cup winners 2022 – Titwood

The final of the Western Cup was held at the Henry Thow Oval on Sunday 31st July where Titwood won a closely fought encounter with Paisley rivals M8 Driving Meikleriggs.

In an exciting game M8 Driving Meikleriggs posted a first innings total of 107 all out in 18.2 overs thanks mainly to a healthy contribution of 57 from Taimoor Ahmad.  M8 Meikleriggs would later rue the fact they were bowled out with 10 balls to go.  Titwood  bowled and fielded well with the pick of their attack being Rohan Dhami with the splendid figures of four overs, 3 for 11.  He was well supported by Daniel Cairns who bowled four overs, 2 for 19.

The Titwood reply was steady with consistent partnerships throughout the innings but solid contributions of 29 from Daniel Cairns and 25 not out from Kallum Dhami was enough to see the Titwood side home with a ball to spare.  M8 Driving Meiklleriggs bowled and fielded valiantly, but it was not enough to defend their total of 107.  Pick of the Ferguslie bowlers were Hasan Mailk with 3.5 overs 2 for 26, and the miserly Taimoor Ahmad bowling four overs, 1 for 7.

WDCU would like to thank CSMOA umpires Paul Hoffman and Duncan Blair for officiating the game splendidly.

Finally thanks to Prestwick CC for hosting the final, and providing the fine seaside weather.

The winning team photo’ courtesy of Bill Wilson.

“Changing the boundaries” report

sportscotland, today, released the “Changing the boundaries” report, the report of the independent review into racism in Scottish cricket. It can be viewed online, here, and its key findings are summarised on the sportscotland website, which can be viewed here.  The WDCU has made contact with Cricket Scotland in connection with the recommendations of the report, and will work with the national governing body, and sportscotland, going forward in the aftermath of the report.