Meigle Cricket Club

Meigle Cricket Club

Meigle Cricket Club is a cricket club in Meigle, Perthshire, Scotland.

Established in 1876,[1] it has won the Strathmore & Perthshire Cricket Union, of which it was a founder member in 1929, on eight occasions 2022, 2019, 2014, 2001, 1998, 1980, 1961 and 1954. The club was second to Brechin in the inaugural season.[2]

The 1st XI played in the Cricket Scotland Eastern Premier League in 2021 and the club 2nd and 3rd XI play in the Strathmore & Perthshire Cricket Union lower divisions. The Union is one of three regional feeder leagues to the Cricket Scotland League set up. The club has long running rivalry with Freuchie Cricket Club from Fife from many years competing in the Scottish section of the National Village Cup which the club has won ten times, the first year of the Village Cup in 1972 and the most recent success was 2022 in a 5 wicket win over Falkland to make it three titles in a row. From the mid nineties to the late noughties the club were deemed ineligible for the competition. Meigle became eligible again in 2011 and in 2013 lost the Scottish final to Dumfries-shire side Kirkwood.

The club play at Victory Park which has a slight slope, though the other park in the Village, Belmont Park has also hosted cricket in the past.[3][4] In 2001 the club, captained by Peter J. Drummond who later captained Forfarshire in the Scottish National Cricket League, played in the annual Play-Off to enter the Scottish National Cricket League but lost to Border League champions Penicuik. The 1st XI has also won the main Twenty20 cup for the North District, the Three Counties Cup (originally Forfarshire, Perthshire & Aberdeenshire) on six occasions 1951, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1998 and 2000 and have been runners up nine times, the last final appearance being in 2018 The 2001 undefeated league winning team are known as 'the invincibles', but the greatest team in the club's history is regarded by many to be the 1980 treble winning team. A short lived league cup 'The 3 D Sports Premier Trophy' was played for in 1999 and Meigle reached the final, but suffered a batting collapse and lost out to Gordonians at Guthrie Park, Brechin. Meigle had won their section with 100% record in a group with Dundee HSFP, Brechin and Cupar (Fife). The club have played in the Scottish Cup in six seasons, often qualifying by winning the Strathmore Union, or finishing in a high position.

The Meigle 2nd XI has won a 2nd XI title on five occasions; 1932, 1958, 1959, 1984 and 2018. The 2nd XI has won the Two Counties Cup on three occasions 1985, 1987 and 2000.[5] The Strathmore Union allowed the Perthshire League to join it in 2004.

The club's greatest ever player is WB Scott, better known as Bill Scott. In 1997, in a match versus Arbroath United he became the first batsman to amass 10,000 league runs. He is also often referred to as 'the best amateur batsman never to have played for Scotland', he finished with over 13,000 runs in the Union top flight.[6]

  1. ^ "Meigle Cricket Club Home Page". Meiglecc.hitssports.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  2. ^ "Strathmore & Perthshire Union Archive". Cricket Scotland. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  3. ^ Dukes Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, Strathmore and Perthshire Union, 1929-2010. Retrieved August 2011
  4. ^ "Meigle, Victory Park, War Memorial Arch". ScotlandsPlaces. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Meigle CC". Spcu.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  6. ^ "SU handbook" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2012.