Arbroath bolster bowling attack

The top flight sides in Tayside and Fife are determined to make amends for the woes of last weekend.

Two of the teams who plunged to defeat face each other at Lochlands, Arbroath and Glenrothes, while Forfarshire head across the Forth to face Stew-Mel at Inverleith.

Arbroath are boosted by the return of skipper Marc Petrie and his deputy Ross McLean.

The former said: “I felt we have been short in the seam bowling department, so we have brought in Shaun Christie.

“He has been a very consistent performer in our second team over the past couple of seasons and more than deserves his shot in the first team.

“Last week’s performance up at Aberdeen was disappointing.

“Our fielding and bowling was below par, so we’ve worked hard on that at training.

“Glens are a club improving year after year and they will be keen to get their season going, so we must be on top of our game.

“Saffyan Sharif has been in great form over the winter for Scotland but they have more match winners than just him.”

Captain Sharif is buoyed by having Yasir Arfat and Robert Hutchison back in action, while new recruit Farzan Hafeez makes his debut.

Meanwhile, Arbroath are also looking forward to kicking off their Scottish Cup campaign tomorrow with a home turf encounter with Prestwick.

Petrie said: “I have a lot of respect for the way Prestwick go about their business and they will be on a high from their Western title success last year. We are desperate for another cup run this season and a top performance is required to do that.”