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

94 It was again not the best of seasons from a weather point of view, but Strathmore had three batsmen Nigel Hazel, David Pattullo and Ian Ogilvie in the top four of the Batting Averages, and George Myles once again topped the Bowling Averages. Forthill XI who finished second managed to play only 13 matches out of 22, and this led to a motion being proposed by Arbroath to the effect that a team could only be placed 1st or 2nd if they completed 16 matches. It was a reasonable argument (albeit fairly blatantly driven by self-interest) but it was voted down, although Arbroath had more success with their other motion which was that three points should be awarded instead of two for a win. The Second Division in 1966 was won once again by Coupar Angus who won all 12 games that they played, and usually by a considerable margin. Coupar Angus applied to play in the 1st Division in 1967. This was wisely agreed to, although there had been no precedent for “promotion” and this meant 13 teams and therefore 24 fixtures in the Union. Coupar Angus’s Alan Hynd had been given a game for the Strathmore Union against the North of Scotland at the North Inch and had scored an unbeaten century including 3 successive 6s. He was presented with a bat by the President George Ovenstone for this feat. Less happily in the 2nd Division, Inchyra (who had previously played as Errol) resigned from the League, being one of several clubs finding it increasingly difficult to raise a team, particularly on a Sunday, but they were immediately replaced by NCR who had dropped out of the League a few seasons previously. They had now amalgamated with Dundee YMCA. At representative level, apart from the game against the North of Scotland, there were also a couple of games against the West of Scotland at Arbroath and the Scottish Counties at Forthill. On neither occasion, did the Union field its best side, and concern was now beginning to be expressed about the future of such games, given the arrival of the Scottish Cup, and the addition of Coupar Angus to the 1st Division, which of course necessitated two extra League dates for each club. Perhaps another sign of the now fairly obvious prosperity in the mid-1960s was the gradual assertion of women. Female cricket was rare in the 1960s and when it did happen, it was looked upon with a certain amount of ridicule, but womenwere nowquite clearly beginning to tell their husbands that they resented being left to look after children if husbands went off to