Forfarshire captain Jack Hogarth and his squad are excited to head to Spain and represent Scotland in the European Cricket League over the coming days.
Today (Friday) a squad of thirteen players fly out to Malaga, as the Broughty Ferry side get ready to play in the Men’s event for 2024.
After retaining the T20 Scottish Cup and the 50-over Scottish Cup in 2023, Forfarshire will represent the country at the T10 tournament for the second year running.
Forfs are in Group E with VOC Rotterdam from Netherlands, BSC Rehberge from Germany, Gozo Zalmi from Malta and Stari Grad from Serbia.
Group matches and play-offs will take place between Saturday and Monday and, should they make progress, the Championship Week is then between March 18 and 22.
All matches take place in the Cartama Oval and Hogarth, who’s taken over as skipper this year from Scott Cameron, who is still in the squad, said: “Having had a taste of the European Cricket League last year the club cannot wait to be representing Scotland once again.
“What we learnt last year was to expect the unexpected, both in terms of the opponents that we might come up against and the way that T10 cricket goes.
“You can be going along quite nicely in a match and then a batter can come in and take the game away from you by smacking a couple of sixes and it can be hard to wrestle the initiative back.
“In T10 cricket you can’t get too high or too low at any point during a match, but what you can do is back your skills and thanks to the great covered training facilities we have at Forthill, the guys have been working hard all winter on nailing down those skills.
“Batting gets the headlines in this format, but variations when it comes to bowling are very important as is general fielding while we have done a lot of practice of catching under lights because we’ll come up against that in Spain.”
A number of the current squad were involved in the competition last year, while 25-year-old leg spin bowler and middle order batter Hogarth, Callum Garden and Lyle Robertson all played at the same venue in late 2023 with Scotland A at the European Cricket Championship.
“It is a cliché and especially in the T10 format, you have to take things a game at a time, but we are very keen to qualify for Championship Week this time around,” Hogarth added.
“We have a strong squad and players that all want to start 2024 well, so we’ll get ready for our first game on Saturday and then build from there and see what we can do as things move along.”
The squad that will represent the club is filled with youth and experience, and up-and-coming 17-year-old Thomas Knight can’t wait to be involved.
Monifieth High School senior six pupil Knight, who is a wicketkeeper/batter, has been selected after a promising summer last year and some great work at winter training.
“It is a real buzz to have been selected for the trip and I am looking forward to getting out there and playing my part,” Knight, a Scotland age-grade cap, said.
“The senior guys at the club have made it so easy for me to fit into that environment over the last couple of years and the culture that we have at Forfarshire has helped me to settle in as I try to push on with my cricket.
“Playing the shortened format of the game in Spain in different conditions and against different opponents than I am used to will be a test for me, but it is a challenge I am looking forward to.
“It is great for Forfarshire as a club and for the local area that we are representing Scotland and playing in such a high-profile event and we want to go out there and do our best.
“We have been training well, so now we need to translate that to matches.”
Knight has been playing with the club since he was young and has benefitted greatly from working alongside player/coach Craig Wallace of late.
Hogarth added: “Thomas has really impressed us with his work ethic and attitude and merits his place in the squad for this trip.”
In the UK, you can tune into the European Cricket Network channel on YouTube in the coming days to support Forfarshire in their group matches.
Forfarshire squad: Bryce Allchin, Scott Cameron, Glenn Carnegie, Callum Garden, Jack Hogarth (C), Lewis King, Jamie King, Thomas Knight, Lyle Robertson, Lewis Robinson, Fraser Ross, James Sim, Craig Wallace.