STUART CHALMERS finds himself one match away from a rare sporting double after his Penicuik cricket club battled their way into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
If holders Greenock can now be defeated in Midlothian on August 10 then Penicuik, who have just added the scalp of fellow Division One outfit Forfarshire to those of Premier side Grange and Division Two's SMRH in the Cup this season, will go forw
ard to contest the trophy – against either Uddingston, Heriot's or Ferguslie.
For Chalmers that will mean adding to the experience of running on to Murrayfield four years ago when his Hawick YM rugby side tackled Perthshire in the annual Scottish Rugby Bowl final.
Whatever happens, Chalmers will be leading from the front.
As well as being top scorer with 403 league runs this season and taking most wickets (12] in the same campaign, he also skippers the side.
"I love being involved and it helps enormously to have some experienced players such as former Scotland cap Willie Morton to turn to.
"Then there's professional Mo Ramzan, an ex-Pakistani internationalist, with loads of experience."
In fact, Ramzan's cv includes an outing for Pakistan against South Africa at Rawalpindi in 1997 when he contributed scores of 28 and 7 to a drawn match.
Chalmers makes it clear he would welcome a deeper involvement in cricket's big day than he managed on rugby's final jamboree.
"I got off the bench in the last minute and while it was good to be involved at Murrayfield, my arrival was too late to make much of a difference.
"So far as beating Greenock is concerned, what do we have to lose? Reaching the last four has brought on a bit of a collective nose bleed through operating in such dizzy heights but it is all about taking your chance.
"To win at Grange in an earlier round we had the better strike rate when the rain intervened and what mattered was getting through, at Forfarshire we chased down 243 to win.
"If we put it together we have a good blend of experience and also youth including Kris Steel and Keith Morton, who is a current under-19 cap.
"There's a chance, too, that we could soon be calling on Freddie Coleman from the under-19 squad when he recovers from a back injury."
While keen to share credit, it is noticeable that 25-year-old Chalmers has been a prolific run-maker in his five years at Penicuik while last season he was the only bowler to contribute more than 100 overs in the cause.
Such performances could yet see the Watsonian cricket club assistant groundsman add to Scotland honours at under-15 and under-17 level although he is not looking beyond the cup run.
The key, he says, could be the level of support Penicuik are capable of generating and it was the case that they brought a sizeable contingent to Grange Loan when reaching the Masterton Trophy Final against Watsonians five years ago.
"The tie with Greenock will be one or our biggest matches and while we are keen to climb into the top half of Division One there's no doubt it is the Cup run that has got our members and supporters talking.
"There will be a buzz around the ground when we welcome Greenock especially with some special marketing likely and, who knows, we might just give ourselves an even bigger day out. "After all, the pressure, really, is all on Greenock."
FLURRY OF QUICK WICKETS HAND GRANGE NATIONAL TITLEGRANGE'S under-15 cricketers have been crowned Nationwide National Club champions after a nail-biting last over win against Kinross.
At Glenalmond College on Sunday, Grange worked the ball around well to post 106-7 from their innings. The Kinross top order set about the task of chasing down the runs with some gusto, including a couple of huge sixes that went out of the ground.
However, a flurry of quick wickets around the middle overs pegged back the Kinross reply and they required 19 off the last over but it was too much for them. Earlier in the day, Grange had seen off Clydesdale in the semi-final.
Carlton's under-13s just missed out in the final of their MCC Spirit of Cricket National Club event. Batting first, they made 90-2 but Clydesdale reached their target with the loss of five wickets with two overs remaining.
The full article contains 752 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
