Conference C
FREUCHIE'S David Cowan may have been forced to operate at half-pace against Clydesdale on Saturday, but still he fired a full-scale reminder of his seam bowling talents in the direction of the Scotland selectors.
Despite being hampered by a twisted knee, sustained during a chance meeting with a drain-cover on the Titwood outfield, he contributed handsomely to the Fifers' surprise victory.
Replying to Freuchie's 191 for eight, Dale's lack of match practice was painfully evident as they slumped to 126 all out, with Cowan taking four crucial and cheap scalps.
''The Coo,'' though satisfied with his return, insisted the success had been the result of an efficient team-effort.
He said: ''Our openers, Robbie Birrell and Blair Forrester, gave us the ideal platform with a stand of 67, then Iain Gavin stepped it up with his half century before being unluckily run out.''
Cowan must now be a leading candidate to join the Scottish attack for the two-day match against the MCC at Lord's next week. I would like to think I am still in the frame for the international squad,'' he stated.
Ian Stanger was the only Dale batsman to offer much resistance with 31.
Spokesman Colin Mitchell admitted: ''Our captain Greig Williamson was obviously struggling with the back problem that had kept him out of one of the Scotland matches in midweek.
''In retrospect, he maybe shouldn't have played - but the real reason we lost was because we batted very poorly.''
To an extent, Arbroath suffered through the success of the town's soccer team as they lost by four wickets to Uddingston at Lochlands. Leading players Murray Clark and Kevin Ritchie took the day off to cheer their heroes to promotion, although ex-skipper Neil Burnett refused to blame their absence for the defeat.
''These guys have followed the football team all over Scotland during the winter and we can have no complaints about the option they took. It was probably a once in a lifetime thing for them.''
The other matches followed the form book, with Prestwick pipping Greenock, and Aberdeenshire thrashing Edinburgh Accies.
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