Scottish Cricket: Aberdeen sour glorious day for Greenock (8 Sep 1998)

8 September

Scottish Cricket: Aberdeen sour glorious day for Greenock

By Keith Graham

THERE was an inauspicious ending to the season as Greenock joined Ferguslie, Ayr and Saturday's opponents Aberdeenshire in next season's first division from Conference C.

However, Aberdeenshire showed little or no appetite for the game at Glenpark and scant respect for either their opponents or the spectators, with a performance which reflected total disinterest.

Put in to bat by Ken Godsman, they jumbled their batting order with opener and skipper Neil McRae coming in at ten and the rest of the batsmen playing with such abandon that within an hour of the start, they had crashed to 42 for nine, Queenslander Chris Swan doing the damage with a spell in which he took five wickets in his first six overs.

Only when McRae belatedly came to the wicket did the visitors bring respectability to a performance otherwise totally lacking in pride. He was not out 36 in a total of 87 when Swan took the final wicket to finish with six for 29.

To compound the felony, Graeme Bone, at best an occasional bowler, was given the new ball and Greenock duly wrapped things up by four o'clock with six wickets in hand.

Nevertheless, Greenock deserve their place in the top flight. As Godsman later said: "We have no stars but everyone has worked hard to achieve the target we set at the start of the season." However, Swan has certainly been a major influence with nearly 400 runs and 40 wickets.

It was all so frustrating for Prestwick, denied in their bid for top divisional status not only by Aberdeenshire's abject performance but by the cloudburst which put paid to their last league game at Uddingston.

Having endured a one-run defeat in the Scottish Cup final, it was small consolation on Sunday when, after rain had curtailed their County Cup final - ironically against Aberdeenshire - they won the trophy 4-3 on a bowl-out.

Ferguslie's narrow nine-run win over Arbroath lifted them to the top of the table. They were indebted to Lee Carseldine for a half century as they were bowled out for 124 and equally grateful to Stuart Kennedy (four for 20) and Jamie Graham (three for 20), who just managed to edge them home.

Ayr's 36-run defeat at Stirling was engineered by a rapid 60 from Stuart McGann, the backbone of a useful home total of 173, although Andy Baird claimed the excellent figures of seven for 35.

The absence of Kevin Roberts who, with first division status guaranteed, returned to Australia early and Bruce Patterson, with Scotland in Kuala Lumpur, exposed batting frailties even if David Simpson made a defiant 84 in 99 balls before being last out. Freuchie finished a mixed season with a three-wicket win over Edinburgh Accies.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)