The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Arbroath setting aside previous encounters
Arbroath today return to Carlton, where their quest for Eastern Premier title glory last summer hit the buffers in such dramatic fashion.
But as Lichties captain Marc Petrie pointed out: “We have also had some excellent results at Grange Loan over the past few years, though previous events won’t have any impact on what happens this weekend.
“Carlton are a fantastic club who bring through many of their own players through the system instead of recruiting heavily from elsewhere, a policy I have huge respect for.
“I’ve known their skipper Ali Evans for a long time and I know he’ll have his side well prepared.
“However, we can take great confidence from last weekend having chased a big total with only two wickets down against Glenrothes.
“We must continue in the same way if we are to take anything from this match as well as looking for continuous improvement in all aspects of the game.”
Shaun Christie is unavailable after a superb bowling performance last week. He is replaced by second team captain Craig Ross who makes his debut for the senior side.
Champions Heriot’s head for Forfarshire, whose skipper Umair Mohammed will demand the same level of performance that carried them to success against Stew-Mel last time out.
He said: “We are very much looking forward to it.
“We always have a good battle with Heriots and the fact they are unbeaten in their title defence will make it a huge challenge for us.”
Grange mainstay Andrew Brock insisted his unbeaten side’s approach to their trip to Glenrothes will not change despite the absence of star turn Safyaan Sharif from the home line-up.
Sharif has commitments to Derbyshire, for whom he made his debut in midweek after signing on as a white-ball specialist.
Former skipper Brock said: “I’m sure whoever Glenrothes select, they’ll be out for a victory on their own patch.”
Experienced pair Ryan Flannigan and Neil McCallum are unavailable for Grange and Brock added: “We will be continuing our policy of bringing through youth wherever possible from our junior and academy section.”
Glens bring in Asdaq Raja for Sharif, with Vasu Reddy taking charge of the team.
Spokesman Kenny Crichton said: “After early-season weather problems, we are really looking forward to staging our first home match of the campaign.”