Stoneywood Dyce skipper Jamie King has found his maiden season as a captain a challenging, eye-opening one.
Leading a team against the best sides in Scotland when they have been without competitive cricket for more than 12 months is a task no-one really had any experience of.
Scrapping at the bottom end of the table is not where Stoneywood Dyce wanted to be, but when they take the field against Stewarts Melville on Saturday, a win would secure their Eastern Premiership safety for another year.
“For me, doing this for the first time, has been eye-opening,” said King. “We have not played for 12 months, so to just be playing cricket again is enjoyable.
“It’s been great to be out there and get some good performances. It’s been difficult, but that part is why we want to play top-level cricket in Scotland.”
That safety is in their own hands is a positive to take. Win against the league’s bottom side tomorrow and the pressure will be off for the final two games.
“Other teams around us are waiting for different results. We know one win secures our safety,” added King.
“It’s been a tough year for every club, but at the end of the day, it’s been a year without overseas players and with availability issues.
“Just being safe is a start. We didn’t want to be down here, but that’s what’s happened. It’s something we expect of ourselves, so it isn’t a shock.”
King has the luxury of having the same squad available to him for two weeks running, something which has been a rare occurrence this season.
The People’s Park side will make one change for the game, with Martin Reid coming back into the side for Shahzad Ahmad to shore up the batting lineup.
Our 1s have beaten Corstorphine by 39 runs at Barnton! 5 wickets each for @JamieKing45 and Nikhil Ninan sees us with our 4th league win of the season
— Stoneywood Dyce (@StoneywoodDyce) August 15, 2021
Stoneywood Dyce have tried to rely on experience as much as possible, to aid a side which features a number of younger players on a regular basis.
One of those came to the fore last weekend, with George Ninan sharing 10 wickets with King in the win over RH Corstorphine in the second game of their double-header.
“George has been around long enough to know what he’s doing,” said King. “It’s nice to open the bowling with spin; it’s not something we do often, but it’s nice to have that option.
“For a 41-year-old to take a five-for at National League level is just quality. There’s a reason why I try to fill the team with as much experience as I can.
“To have guys like George, Jan Stander, Martin Reid and Lennard Bester in the team is really important.”
After this weekend they face trips to Watsonians and Carlton to finish the season.
King added: “It came at us very fast at the start of the year and it’s flown by. We’ve not had a rained-off game this year – I’ve been playing for 10 years now and I’ve not had a season where we’ve played every game.
“Fingers crossed it stays that way.”
