The West of Scotland Cricket Club is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. The club's home ground is

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the first international football match, between Scotland and England, played on ...

, located in the

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to ...

area of Glasgow's West End. West of Scotland, traditionally, are one of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

cricket clubs in Glasgow and on a summer's day there can be quite a jovial, rowdy, yet well informed support on the famous banking. West can boast a host of famous players who have both played at the ground and for the club. Recently two of these have been famous Scottish internationalists, the opening batsman Douglas Lockhart and bowler John Blain. Lockhart was a former Oxford UCCE player and having had trials with

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District, Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennines, Pennine range of hills and part of the The National Forest (England), Nat ...

whilst Blain played professional county cricket for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

before working with West as the club's coach.

History

West of Scotland Cricket Club was founded in 1862 as a result of a meeting which took place at the then Clarence Hotel in

George Square George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Squ ...

, Glasgow, between a group of local businessmen and players from the Clutha Cricket Club, who had used the northern part of Hamilton Crescent for matches prior to West's inception. One of the businessmen present was Colonel David Carrick Buchanan who became the first President of the Club and who continued in this role until his death in 1903. Sir David was devoted to the sport of cricket and was patron of a number of clubs, providing invaluable financial assistance to them. The name, West of Scotland Cricket Club was coined by one John McNeill who was very ambitious for the Club, and who envisaged it becoming the MCC of Scotland. All-England Elevens were invited to the Club and other matches of a similar nature arranged, which included the first ever visit of an Australian team to Scotland in 1878. In the club's early decades, they also founded the

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team West of Scotland F.C. (now based at

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milng ...

). Tours of England were also undertaken and it was during the first match of one such Tour in July 1885 that a West cricketer achieved a world record which stood for 12 years. The match was against Priory Park C.C. (

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only c ...

) during which Mr. J. S. Carrick batted for two days, achieving a score of 419 not out. In 1891, Dr.

W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...

brought a team to Partick and won by an innings and 33 runs. By 1922 the Club had a membership of over 500, seating accommodation for 3,500 and a turnstile at every entrance. A reconstructed pavilion was opened in April 1923 by the then President, Mr. Peter Dawson and a new scoreboard built in 1936. Following damage sustained during World War II extensive repairs were made to both the pavilion and ground which included the acquisition of turf from Renfrew Golf Course. Between 1965 and 1970 Scotland played matches at

against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...

, MCC and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. In August 1975 a benefit match was held for the then Club Professional, Salahuddin, and those taking part included

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univer ...

Mike Denness Michael Henry Denness (1 December 1940 – 19 April 2013) was a Scottish cricketer who played for England, Scotland, Kent and Essex. Scotland did not have a representative international team at the time of Denness' career, so he could only pla ...

Intikhab Alam Intikhab Alam Khan (Urdu:) (born 28 December 1941) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 47 Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1959 to 1977. He captained Pakistan in 17 Tests between 1969 and 1975. He ...

, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal and Sir

Garfield Sobers Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielde ...

. Ongoing improvements to the ground and buildings enabled West to continue hosting Senior and International matches and a visit by a Pakistan touring side in 1982 was followed by a series of Benson and Hedges One Day matches between Scotland and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Glo ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

and

. In July 1989 3,500 spectators watched Scotland play Australia. Following this, Scotland also played

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...

and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

at Hamilton Crescent. West has become a regular venue for the Scottish Cup Final, held at the end of August and the tradition of hosting Representative Fixtures has continued with five European Championship Matches being held at Hamilton Crescent during 2000, namely

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

v. Ireland,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a Sovereign state, country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southern Europe, Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes ...

, England Cricket Board XI v. Scotland, France v.

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and Holland v.

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...

Youth System

The Indoor School was opened in February 1957 and was the first of its kind in Scotland. It has produced an array of youngsters who have come through the ranks and now play an impressive level of cricket. Moneeb Iqbal now plays at

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham * County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

and made his first class debut in 2006. In this game Iqbal took a stunning catch on the deep square leg boundary and it has been said that Iqbal is a favourite of the then Durham captain

Michael Hussey Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative la ...

. Another product of the coveted West Youth system is Craig Wright, the ex-Captain of the Scottish national team. Wright left West of Scotland for Carlton CC due to work commitments. He has now moved back west to the controversial Greenock CC all-stars and captained them to SNCL Premier League Success in 2007. Through the work of the Club's Junior Convener, Jim Young, and voluntary coaches, the club has produced many players and over the past three years the recent coach, John Blain instigated a Development XI to introduce them into senior cricket.

References

External links

Official site www.wdcu-cricket.net - WDCU Site
{{Glasgow Scottish club cricket teams Sports teams in Glasgow 1862 establishments in Scotland Partick