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

74 won the Bowling award with 75 wickets at an average of 5.93, while the Batting award went to Eric Cruickshank of Aberdeen Grammar School FP with an average of 66.88. This was a new record for an amateur in the Strathmore Union but still more than a little short of professional Nigel Hazel’s 82 of the previous year. Representative games however in 1956 had caused some problems. A game against the Pakistan Eaglets had had to be cancelled because of difficulties in raising a team, and the expenses for the game against the Grange at Raeburn Place had been too high. However, the South Australian team had returned and had played two very close and enjoyable games, while the Strathmore Union was able to announce with pride that it had still not lost to the Scottish Counties. For 1957 Errol and NCR (National Cash Register) of Dundee were to be admitted to the 2nd Division. 1957 saw a record stand of 411 between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey at Edgbaston in the first few days of June as they saved the First Test match against the West Indies. As more and more people now had television and the game was on BBC TV, cricket fans had the opportunity to see a lot of this stand, but it is debatable whether it did the image of cricket very much good, for it was dire to watch. In view of injuries to other West Indian bowlers, Sonny Ramadhin bowled an astonishing 98 Overs during that very long innings. 1957 was also the first year of ball-by-ball commentaries on Test Match Special on the Third programme of the radio, a station normally reserved for high-brow Classical Music. There was good news for Brechin in 1957 when fast bowler Stuart Wilson earned the first of his 16 caps for Scotland. He was actually an Englishman, born in Lancashire in 1932, but had been educated at Brechin High School and had lived almost all his life in Scotland. He was a plumber who lived in Edzell, and his cap was well deserved. His first cap was against Lancashire in May at Old Trafford when he took 2 for 66. In Scotland, however, the first half of summer 1957 was the worst in living memory for bad weather, and many games were postponed, but the sun did come through later in the season and some good cricket was played. Strathmore won the 1st Division Championship for the second time in three years, although their run of success in the 2nd Division was broken by newcomers NCR, who also won the Two Counties Cup. This year, the Three Counties Cup final did not come down to a close finish,