Drumps pick up league trophy

Club captain’s delight at league title win

Drumpellier cricket captain Gordon Shaw is already relishing the challenge of next season after his team were awarded the Western Premier divison trophy.

Drumps made it 12 wins on the spin on Saturday by beating Kelburn in convincing fashion.

They bowled out their opposition for 129 before reaching that target with the loss of only four wickets.

Darren Pryde’s haul of four meant he finished as the league’s top wicket taker with a total of 34.

Drumps had sealed the title the weekend before in unfortunate circumstances.

Their match at home to Renfrew was rained off and with the weather causing havoc throughout the league, it meant they couldn’t be caught.

Although they would rather have won the title with a sparkling performance on the pitch, Shaw says the whole team were just relieved to seal success and pick up the trophy.

He told the Advertiser: “It was great to play with a bit of freedom at the weekend knowing we had nothing at stake.

“It’s been an unbelievable achievement to go win 12 games in a row.

“Going for five or six games at that rate is good enough but 12 is something else.

“When you’re top the pressure is really on and everyone is looking up at you waiting for you to slip up.

“Thankfully we managed to get it over the line and it’s a huge relief.

“Even when the pressure was off on our last game we still saw the win through.”

Shaw was able to point to two specific moments that he felt shaped the club’s season.

He continued: “When we played Stenhousemuir away from home they were chasing our total of 170.

“They were sitting at 163-7 but we managed to take the last three wickets without them scoring another run.

“That was a brilliant win and gave us a good confidence boost.

“We also played Helensburgh away who were bottom of the table and they ended up taking us to the last couple of balls.

“That showed the fighting spirit as well as the quality we’ve got.”

A new challenge awaits Drumps next year as they prepare to shift things up a gear.

But it’s a challenge the team are relishing according to Shaw who said: “We’ve definitely matured as a team and club and are playing together with a good blend of youth and experience.

“It just seemed to click this year and we need to continue to do that next year.

“The togetherness is important and we’ll keeep working towards improving to make sure we can make the step-up.”

Delight The winning Drumpellier squad