Strathmore Cricket Union Handbook 1998

20 be relegated again in their centenary year, this despite McLaren’s 1570 runs and 73 wickets from Neil Innes-Smith, currently another member of Aberdeen GSFP. The most recent years have seen South African professionals being hired including some who have played first-class cricket. McLaren has retired with 19385 runs to his credit and the batting of the 1997 side included DuncanMorrison, DavidGray, Dave Bell andRussell Morris, former captain of Oxford University. The mainstay of the bowling these last few years has been Mike Boyd who was the sharpest bowler in the East League of 1997. Today’s East League is but a shadow of the competition which Cupar joined in 1961. The coming of the Scottish Cricket League in 1996 stripped out the top 10 clubs and what was then called Division 1 contained many clubs who played on poor surfaces which were not even maintained by them. The standard of play is utterly depressing and it is no sort of preparation for a league play-off when matches finish at 5pm on a fine summer’s day. Cupar won the East League in 1997, not entirely convincingly, but then came seriously unstuck in the play-off against Stoneywood-Dyce. Subsequently, a meeting of their players decided to go for the better standards and pitches offered by the Strathmore Union and as a result they will open in this particular competition on 25 April at Inverurie. It may be noted that Cupar have met all the current opposition in the Strathmore Union, except Gordonians, in the past andmany Union players have played on Duffus Park over the years. Those who have not, will find an exceedingly pretty public park setting, all the necessary facilities and a pitch which though never the quickest in the world will give batmen ample opportunity to display their talents. They will also find the Regional Scorers Officer(Scotland) waiting to greet them as Cupar embark on the latest phase of their long and interesting history. AC Baxter.