’Shire minus key men for trip to Gilvenbank

AT the halfway stage of the season, it is a mixed report card for Tayside and Fife cricket clubs.

At present, Forfarshire are sitting in second place, Arbroath in a slightly disappointing sixth and the two Fife sides, Falkland and Glenrothes, are second and third bottom respectively.

Forfarshire and Glenrothes meet tomorrow at Gilvenbank in a game the Dundee side would normally start as hot favourites.

They are, however, without three of their biggest players as captain Craig Wallace, pro Graham Beghin and left-arm spinner Liam Sweeney are all missing.

In what will be a fairly-youthful line-up, Umair Mohammed takes over the captaincy.

He will look to negate the danger of “Glens” pro Misbah Akbar who has the potential to demolish batting orders with his pace.

Arbroath have suffered from a lack of fielding a settled side with injuries and suspensions biting hard.

However, they should be too strong for Stoneywood Dyce when they meet at People’s Park.

The Northerners have yet to win a game and, with Craig Ramsay and Calvin Burnett returning to Arbroath’s line-up, they should have too much firepower.

Falkland face a tough task as they travel to Edinburgh to face Grange.

The home side are packed with potential match-winners and Falkand’s decision to recruit heavily has not really paid off with results showing a decline from their position a year ago.

Leaders Watsonians face up to Aberdeenshire at Myreside and should pick up full points against a struggling Dons side who have only won twice all season.

With Chris Venske ruled out for most of the remaining games with a broken leg, it could be a long second half of the season for the team from the Granite city.

The remaining game sees an all-Edinburgh derby between Heriot’s and Carlton at Goldenacre.

Usually Carlton would be favourites to win this one but Heriot’s have improved greatly and a close game may be on the cards.

In the Western Premier Division, the top match sees East Kilbride play host to Clydesdale, with EK desperate for a win to get themselves back into the title race.

Elsewhere, leaders Ferguslie visit Stenhousemuir and Kelburne are at home to Prestwick.

On Sunday, the Scottish Cup quarter-finals are due to be played after being washed out last week.

Because all the games started without finishing, the venues are now reversed,which means Arbroath meet East Kilbride at Lochlands.

That home advantage should count for a lot and see the Lichties through to the semi-final.

Similarly, the Clydesdale-Grange game may favour the home side, especially as the Edinburgh side will have a couple of players away on international duty.

Forfarshire player/coach Graeme Beghin (right) is pictured receiving a sponsored car from Marc Watson-Gray, Group Marketing Manager of West End Motor Group. Graeme is in his second year with Forfarshire and is currently leading run scorer in the Eastern Premier Division with 573 runs from just eight matches, including three centuries.

Forfar Farmington celebrate after beating Raith Rovers in the U/15 East Region Girls League Cup Final at University Grounds, Riverside.