August has arrived already and we enter the crucial last 5 weeks of the league campaign. Results now are everything at both ends of the table and fortunes will be decided by every one of the remaining fixtures that get played.
A fixture of huge importance to both clubs – the victor seeing the result as a lifebelt cast towards them to avoid relegation in what has been a disappointing campaign to date.
Uddingston won the toss and batted first with an unusual opening pair in Keerat Singh and Abdul Sabri. I can only surmise that Abdul was elevated to opener and issued with a pinch-hitter role in the absence of Mo Awais. Sabri (4) fell in the first over, caught at mid-off by Ross MacLean off the bowling of Rahim Roghani. Aaman Ramzan joined Singh at the wicket and the pair put on a 59 run partnership until Ramzan (23) was bowled by Gurveer Singh in the 12th over. Harry Singh (17) was run out in the 22nd over with Uddingston now placed at 98-3. A 70 run partnership between Singh and Fergus Clarke came to an end when Clarke (29) was caught off the bowling of Zain Mohammad. At 168-4 off 37 overs, Uddingston will have fancied posting a large total on what looked a decent Bothwell batting track. Ross Lyons and Keerat Singh began to turn the screw on the Kelburne bowling.
When Keerat Singh (78) was caught by Northend off Singh in the 42nd over and Uddingston were now 207-5, Keerat had only scored 8 runs from the fall of the previous wicket. Ross Lyons had decided to tee-off at Royal Bothwell and was quickly golfing the Kelburne bowling to all corners. The Uddingston innings concluded with them 288-6 with Ben Willmott (20) the only other Uddy wicket to fall when he was caught by Fouche off Farndale at 278 in the 49th over. Lyons finished his round 81 not out including four 4s and seven 6s with Rajarajan Kamaraj (1 not out) at the other end. Gurveer Singh took 2-78 but full credit to Zain Mohammad who bowled his 10 overs and finished 1-22.
The Kelburne response never really got going, and just when it seemed to be waking up, it was very quickly put back to sleep. It suffered a dreadful start when Cammy MacLean (0) was caught off Abdul Sabri in the 1st over. Evan Fouche (2) was bowled by Sabri in the 5th over and by the 11th, Sabri had taken a third wicket when Harry Singh caught Kyle Northend (21) and Kelburne were 49-3. In the 15th over, Sabri had Lucas Farndale (1) caught by Rohail Jahan-Zeb then took his 5th wicket of the day in the 17th when he had Mo Kamran (37) also caught by Rohail Jahan-Zeb. With Kelburne now 72-5, the innings just got worse when Alexander Gilmour (0) was bowled by Tom Willmott in the 18th over and in the 19th over, Sabri took his 6th and final wicket of his spell when Zain Mohammad (0) was caught by Rohail Jahan-Zeb.
At 75-7 after 19 overs, the Kelburne innings limped along with Rohail Jahan-Zeb getting Rahim Roghani (18) caught in the 24th over until it was finally put out of its misery in the 29th over when Gurveer Singh (0) was caught by Sabri off Rohail Jahan-Zeb and Kelburne’s last man, Pashtoon Barak declared retired leaving Ross MacLean 29 not out at the end.
Sabri took 6-37 and Rohail Jahan-Zeb took 2-25.
125 all out and a loss by 163 runs was not the day out in deepest Lanarkshire that Kelburne wanted, but for Uddingston, a welcome win that sees their percentage position improve in the table.
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Stenny made the trip to Old Anniesland in the full knowledge that their league campaign for 2025 would be over if they didn’t win today against the anticipated bowling blitzkrieg. GHK would be looking at a win that would probably go a long way to guaranteeing their divisional status for 2026.
GHK won the toss and invited Stenhousemuir to bat first. Peter Hamilton (4) was LBW to Zain Ullah in the 5th over. In the 9th over, Bahadar Esakhiel (1) was caught by Israr Hussain off Ullah and Stenhousemuir were 27-2. Stenhousemuir got themselves up to 54 in the 14th over then lost 3 wickets in the space of 11 deliveries. Yaseen Valli (27) was run-out on the last ball of the 14th over followed by Asad Izaz (0) LBW to Akbar first ball of the 15th over. Amir Shahzad (2) was then LBW to Muhammad Majeed in the 15th over and Stenhousemuir were now an uncormfortable 57-5.
Callum Grant (3) was the next wicket to fall when he was LBW to Akhbar in the 21st over. Zander Smith and Ollie Townsend got a small partnership going but when Smith (49) was caught by Jawad off Mohammad Nawid in the 28th over, Stenny were now 113-7.
Only 5 more runs were added to the total as Stenhousemuir were 118 all out in the 30th over – the returning Ullah bowled Nick Lister (5) and Nicky Rodgers (0) in consecutive balls in the 29th over with Ollie Townsend (4) last man out when he too was caught by Jawad off the bowling of Nawid the following over.
The GHK bowling was Ullah 4-11, Akbar 2-40 and Nawid 2-10.
GHK’s chase of the total was completed with them 123 for the loss of 3 wickets. Ali Majeed (12), Zishan Zaman (21) and Fazal Jawad (10) were the three GHK wickets to fall. Muhammed Majeed (63 not out) and Nasratullah Safi (11 not out) were the batters when the match finished in the 35th over.
Nick Lister 0-7, Zander Smith 0-33 and Callum Grant 1-24 bowled 23 of those 35 overs in defence of their total, but not for the first time this season, Stenhousemuir lost as Nicky Rodger’s side was at least a couple of bowlers light on the day.
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Drumpellier welcomed Dumfries to Langloan with high hopes of a win improving their mid-table status. For Dumfries, a win was the priority mission at hand given that the two clubs above them in the table were playing each other – a win would provide them with hope, and with hope comes faith and the faith in the team to possibly then overturn their misfortune season in the final weeks.
But there was no charity today for Dumfries after Drumpellier won the toss and elected to bat first. Dumfries did have Drumpellier 2-2 in the 3rd over with Jordan Pryde (0) caught off James Hobman in the 1st over followed by Muhammad Nadeem (0) LBW to Hobman in the 3rd over, thereafter, it was a very long day in the field at Langloan.
The Drumpellier innings finished in the 50th over with them 295-2 on the back of a 293 run partnership between Supeshala Jayathilake (112 not out) and Chathuranga Kumara (150 not out). There were a few boundaries but they only counted for 114 of that partnership (21 x 4 & 5 x 6), a partnership that constantly kept the scoreboard moving with singles, twos and a solitary three. Dumfries used 7 bowlers with James Hobman bowling 9 overs and taking 2-50.
Dumfries were going to have to throw the bat at the ball and obviously have a bit of luck along the way if they were to overturn such a large score – neither event happened as the Dumfries innings dribbed and drabbed its way to 148 all out in 49 overs.
Wickets fell here and there throughout with Munro Cubbon (26) top scorer and Fergus Bainbridge (22) in 2nd place. The wickets were spread out amongst the Drumpellier bowling with Adnan Bukhari 2-28, Jordan Pryde 2-49 and Josh Allison 3-27.
A maintaining mid-table positional win for Drumpellier but another away-game trip for Dumfries to forget about.
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This looked to be an interesting confrontation – Prestwick’s high scoring win last week was a filip in their see-saw season while Ferguslie would be hoping to get a win under their belt again.
Although today was league cricket, this clash was part 1 of a double-header weekend between the two clubs with part 2 being played on Sunday, again at Meikelriggs, in the McCulloch Cup semi-final at 11.00am.
Prestwick decided to bat first and put on 54 for the first wicket when Indy Singh (27) was caught behind by David Stafford off Ettiene Jewell in the 13th over. New batter, Declan Botes (0), was out the very next ball when he was caught at 1st slip by Taimoor Ahmad. Sachin Chaudhary (7) was then caught behind by Stafford off Jewell quickly followed by Tiann Kuhn (38) caught behind by Stafford off Jewell leaving Prestwick now 87-4 after 21 overs.
When Euan McBeth (22) was LBW to Daoud Tahir in the 29th over, Prestwick looked to have returned to their slippery slope batting of late with them now 105-5, however Tom Fleet threw some salt down to at least make the last 20 overs passable. He, along with the remaining batting, nudged and nurdled the score along to 192 all out off 48 overs. Fleet (34) was ably assisted by Ross Kennedy’s 12 and Callan Turner’s 19 to finish with a reasonable total to try and defend.
The Ferguslie bowling was Ettiene Jewell 4-31, Qasim Khan 2-35 and Uzair Ahmad 3-16.
Although Ferguslie’s response initially stuttered with David Stafford (0) uncharacteristically bowled by Tiann Kuhn first up, their innings was one of patience. Adam Tahir (24) was caught by Fleet off Ronan Alexander to take the reply to 63-2 off 18 overs which brought Muhammad Mayet to the wicket and a subsequent 81 run partnership with Uzair Ahmad. Ahmad (78) was bowled by Declan Botes in the 36th over and Ferguslie 144-3 but no further wickets fell as Mayet (57 not out) and Taimoor Ahmad (28 not out) took the home team to victory in the 43rd over.
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For the second week in a row, the league match of the day was at New Cambusdoon with Ayr hosting league leaders Clydesdale. Ayr needed to win to keep themselves in contention of winning the championship over the following four weeks, however, a Clydesdale victory would seriously deflate Ayr hopes while providing the Titwood men with a considerable points/percentage cushion over their nearest challengers for their remaining fixtures.
Clydesdale won the toss and asked Ayr to bat, a decision I initially questioned given Ayr’s traditional batting first form at home, however, when Ayr had been reduced to 39-8 in the 21st over, there was obviously something in the wicket I couldn’t see. Had it not been for a rearguard batting performance by Neil Flack (49 not out), ably assisted by Robbie Walsh (10) and David Baines Junior (2), Ayr would not have sniffed finishing 99 all out in 34 overs.
Most of Flack’s innings required him to occupy the crease for as long as possible while also managing the tail-enders at the other end and then hoovering the strike. A big ask of most but Neil’s innings today exemplified just how good a player he is and an under-rated batsman to boot as well.
The Clydesdale bowling was outrageously effective in the opening 20 overs then fell away slightly as Neil Flack raised the drawbridge in defence of his club and trying to post a total. A learning curve for the Clydesdale bowlers possibly for future reference and how to deal with defiance but their final bowling figures were Isaac Rahman 2-31, Mo Ghaffar 4-15, Zeeshan Bashir 2-15 and Rafay Khan 2-28.
Paddy Barbour and Sheryar Awan opened up for Clydesdale in their pursuit of a 100 to win. Clydesdale passed the total in the 20th over for the loss of two wickets: Barbour (20) bowled by Michael English to make the score 30-1 after 5 overs and Craig Young (37) when he was caught and bowled by Brayden Riggs in the 20th over and the total was 93-2.
A chastening defeat for Ayr that makes their tie with GHK earlier in the season a bitter pill to swallow as today’s loss leaves a serious dent in their championship aspirations. For Clydesdale, another win under their belt.
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McCulloch Cup Finals Day – Meikleriggs – Ferguslie Cricket Club – Sunday 3rd August 2025
The semi-finals and final of this year’s McCulloch Cup competition are being held at Ferguslie.
The first semi-final starts at 11.00am with Ferguslie playing Prestwick.
The second semi-final is slated for 2.30pm with GHK playing Clydesdale.
The final is scheduled for 6.00pm.
Good luck to all the teams today.
If you can, pop into the field of dreams and watch some of the action – you are always welcome at Ferguslie.
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And what a week that was…
There were an awful lot of positives to be had this week in the ‘associated to the WDCU cricketing world’ that I frequent.
The first was as a representative of Football’s Square Mile and being part of an event with WESTA, the West of Scotland Tartan Army, who had a social evening in the Rhoderick Dhu in Waterloo Street, Glasgow last Friday. I gave a 10 minute presentation called ‘Six degrees of Separation – From Poloc to Brazil’ and explained how Glasgow area cricket clubs helped give football to the world.
I won’t elaborate but a journey of connections, associations and friendships detailed how football has an awful lot to thank our cricket for – your cricket.
In last week’s review, there was a competition to win a signed copy of ‘As the Willow Vanishes’ and two places on Lindsay Hamilton’s Glasgow Football Tour Subway tour – there were 27 entries (Paul Hoffman, Gill McElnea and Malcolm Cannon were close) and the lucky winner was Stenhousemuir captain, Nicky Rodgers, who correctly guessed what I may have said back in the day. Well done Nicky – Lindsay and I will get the prizes over to you shortly.
On Tuesday 29th July until Thursday 31st July, Stirling County Cricket Club hosted the 2025 over 40s Triple Crown festival featuring Scotland Seniors Cricket, Ireland, Wales and England. England were the eventual winners but thanks have to be given to all the members and staff of Stirling County Cricket Club for making the festival a great success and also showcasing what our cricket has to offer and hats off to Scotland Seniors Cricket for all the hard work bringing the festival to Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed, on and off the field, by all involved. Jon Taylor was a very happy Jambo in his role as ‘mein host’ for his club and the festival.
On Thursday, new Cricket Scotland President, Omar Henry, popped into New Williamfield to catch up with folks, say hello and watch some of the Triple Crown cricket. Afterwards, he went to Titwood, spoke to Clydesdale members and went over to the nets and chatted to players and the Clydesdale pro, Sizwe Masondo. I’ve known Omar for 45 years and it was good to see him – I sneaked a selfie with the great man himself outside the clubhouse with the Football’s Square Mile plaque in the background.
Yesterday, Mel Curry caught up with the overseas players of Ferguslie, Muhammad Mayet and Ettiene Jewell, during their match versus Prestwick. Football’s Square Mile are proud to be the shirt sponsors for both players for the 2025 season and it was too good a photographic opportunity to miss out on.
And at Drumpellier, a local resident, John Muldoon, popped into Langloan to catch some of the cricket, and was made to feel most welcome by the likes of Gordon Shaw and Stevie Allison. John sent me a photograph with the following tag-line – “A lovely Saturday evening at Drumpellier Cricket Club – there is no equal on a sunny evening like this.”
And on Friday 1st August 2025, Queen’s Park Football Club announced the initiative they have put in place with Lindsay Hamilton and her Glasgow Football Tour. Well done Lindsay – I am sure a number of cricketers and supporters will meet up with you in the coming months.
And all of this takes you back to the six degrees of separation – football’s story, its development, Queen’s Park Football Club, the creation of international football, the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Cup, the unification of the laws, the explosion of football around the world etc etc all coming back to a unique origin point of involvement – our cricket, its intertwining with another sport and what the clubs and members have been responsible for, and that even Omar Henry is a part of it all – from Poloc to Brazil – something to be proud of.
And so we should be.
Siggy