These are troubling times for cricket fans and officials in the north-east of Scotland, on and off the pitch.
After a rain-affected opening month in the Eastern Premier League, Aberdeenshire, who entered the campaign with decent aspirations, remain as Pointless as the winners on the TV quiz show and are anchored at the bottom of the pile – one place below Stoneywood-Dyce.
There have been some mitigating factors for the problems faced by Shire. Two of their six fixtures have been washed out, while there have been issues with player availability, and the loss of one or two talented players such as Connor Shorten to other teams.
But that doesn’t gloss over the proceedings in the most recent contest where they were skittled for a paltry 68 by visitors RH Corstorphine, with veteran Scotland star, Majid Haq, taking a remarkable four for 3 in nearly seven overs, then hitting an unbeaten 28 to guide the Edinburgh side to the maximum 10 points.
Haq told me: “They were 35 for 0 at one stage, so to bowl them out for 68 on a good pitch was way beyond anybody’s expectations.
“We fielded well and took all the catches which came our way. Then we only needed one good partnership and a bit of luck.”
It was the sort of result which hinted at the fragility in the Aberdeenshire ranks, a situation which has not been helped by the stop-start nature of the championship to date.
But life isn’t going to get any easier for the Granite City club who have to make the journey to league leaders Forfarshire on Saturday, where they will confronted with such prolific and belligerent opponents as Michael Leask, Chris Greaves and Craig Wallace.
Stoneywood-Dyce initially fared better on their return to the top flight, but have lost three in a row and it’s a sign of the times that their meeting with local rivals Shire at Peoples Park on June 15 is already shaping up as a must-win tussle.
The reality – and it is something they are both striving to change – is that participation numbers have dropped alarmingly in the men’s game in the region, particularly among players between 18 and 25
The Grades circuit, which used to be a fertile breeding ground for the bigger organisations, is nowhere near as strong or significant as it used to be. One recalls, 20 or 30 years ago, when there would be 60 sides involved in the different competitions. Now, there are fewer than 30 and many of the participants are either grizzled old stagers or pint-sized teenagers.
In their defence, Aberdeenshire has been a shining beacon on recent Friday nights, with Bob Buchan and his colleagues involved in spreading the gospel to boys and girls via the All Stars and Kwik Cricket initiatives.
There is no shortage of enthusiasm, nor commitment from these dedicated servants of the sport and their efforts should bear fruit in the longer term. But it tends to be a different story on Saturdays just now.
As one of their players told me: “We need to do more to keep people interested once they leave school. And we have to encourage the creation of a stronger schools set-up.
“We don’t have enough lads playing cricket, it’s as simple as that.”
That isn’t only a problem in the north east. It affects almost every part of Scotland. But while Shire have several youngsters who are making progress, they are too often being flung in at the deep end.
