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

120 in a row, beating Aberdeen Grammar School in the final, and Kirriemuir continued their fine record in the Two Counties Cup by winning it again, but it was the Dundee side Telecoms who won the 2nd XI Championship, thanks to the batting of Dougie Robb, Ian Dand and Graham Wise and the seam bowling of Ray Tully, who took the 2nd Division bowling trophy, Jack McDonald and Jim Robb. A feature of this season, according to the Secretary at the AGM was the amount of games that were disputed with “some clubs appearing to conduct a running battle over more than one season”. Brechin v Meigle on 25th June, for example, had to be declared null and void after it appeared that the Umpires had made a mistake about timing and had not allowed the necessary three hours before a game could be declared a draw; at the North Inch in July, Montrose’s last two batsmen had suddenly and unilaterally decided that the light was bad and went off, but the Management Committee, quite rightly, declared that Perthshire XI were the winners. On a more positive note, Gavin McKiddie of Strathmore earned a well- deserved Scotland cap against Ireland, becoming one of the very few players to do so, having played exclusively for a Strathmore Union club. Others, notably R W Sievwright, J S Brand, J D Henderson and Stewart Wilson had played for Scotland but had also played for Forfarshire in the Scottish Counties Championship as well as in the Strathmore Union. Less credit has to be given to another Strathmore player, however, who must remain anonymous. When the team were playing against Dundee High School, he found himself on the wrong end of a few decisions of the Dundee High School Umpire Jack Farquhar, an outstanding International fast bowler for Perthshire and Forfarshire before the 2nd World War. This Umpire, respected and venerable, but by now less than totally mobile, carried a Gavin McKiddie on his Scotland debut in 1977