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

253 2007 Matthew Parker Arbroath United 199 mins 2008 Greg Stewart Forthill 118 mins 2009 Iain Brand Mannofield 103 mins 2010 Mike Yellowlees Forthill 112 mins 2011 Michael Leask Stoneywood/Dyce 89 mins 2012 Mark Stewart Strathmore 173 mins 2013 Bryce Carnegie Arbroath United 85 mins 2014 Harris Carnegie Arbroath United 85 balls 2015 Swapnil Rane Gordonians 96 balls 2016 Hamza Arshad Gordonians 55 balls 2017 no award 2018 no award The present cup was donated by Dick Auchinleck in 2004 In the first thirty or more seasons of the Strathmore Union, centuries were few and far between and it was by no means uncommon for a whole season to pass without an individual batsman amassing a three-figure score. The majority of centuries which were recorded were scored by club professionals and it was only in 1962 that a decision was taken to award a prize to the amateur who scored the fastest century of the season. The original trophy was donated by Mr T W L Bell of Strathmore and was retired after the 2003 season. Since the inception of the award, there has only been one season, in 1963, when no amateur batsman has scored a century. The trophy has been withheld on three occasions because no timings or balls faced were recorded for any centuries scored and on several occasions, faster centuries may have been recorded than the prize-winners but, again, no details had been supplied. The number of centuries scored in the top division has fluctuated dramatically over the years. Until the late 1980’s, most seasons would have seen fewer than half a dozen centuries scored but from 1990 to 1997, as many as 168 hundreds were recorded in just eight seasons with a high of 35 in 1996, the first season of bowling limitations. A similar run was seen between 2001 and 2009 but since then, centuries have been harder to come by, with only two scored in 2012 and fewer than a dozen in any of the last nine seasons. The highest individual score recorded remains the 261 scored for Forthill against Stoneywood/Dyce by Brad Murphy in 2003. Azhar Ali scored seven centuries for Huntly in 2006, the most in a season by a single player.