Strathmore Cricket Union: the first 90 years a history 1928-2018

7 fore in his attempts to form some sort of local League. He was aware that, although cricket was flourishing at the moment, the interest needed to be stimulated and maintained. Indeed, the 1920s were beginning to reveal other attractions in the shape of music, the radio, motor cars and the ever more sophisticated cinema whichwould soon be able to produce “talkies”. Cricket really had to come to terms with the new age. MenlikeSievwrightandhis friendand great rival Bob Laing of Brechin had played for Forfarshire. Forfarshire, based at Forthill in Broughty Ferry felt able and entitled to call on them for Scottish Counties Championship games. It may be that money may have changed hands – such things happened however much everyone abhorred it and chose to pretend that it didn’t happen. Both men had seen the intense rivalry and enjoyed the passion of a huge crowd watching the games. They wanted more of that for their own teams. Sievwright tried to get Arbroath accepted for the Scottish Counties, but such was the exclusive nature of that competition that it was impossible to gain admission. Forfarshire for example, not welcoming the idea of having to share local talent, made the valid point that Arbroath was a town, not a county. At several points in the 1920s, an attempt was made to form a Scottish Midlands League which would have included Kirkcaldy, Cupar, Freuchie, Falkland and Stenhousemuir as well as the Angus teams, but such attempts came to naught. These teams were all prospering and had their traditional and prestigious fixtures against Edinburgh teams which they feared they would lose if they committed themselves to an Angus based League. There was also a certain amount of resistance to League cricket which they associated with professionalism, pointing to the division in rugby for example in the north of England where “League” rugby which was Bob Sievwright