In fifty years’ time, as I sit staring contemplatively into a crackling wood fire whilst gently swirling the contents of my whisky glass, my train of thought will be interrupted as, out of the corner of my eye, the light from the flames flicker and reflect off the Bafta and Oscar statues resting on the mantlepiece, awarded for best Adapted Screenplay for the movie “The Battle of Boghall”. At that moment, my grandchildren will come running excitedly into the room asking me to tell them again, for the hundredth time, about that fateful day at Linlithgow Cricket Club on 13th May 2023. This will be the story I tell them.
After weeks of incessant rain, the sunshine finally managed to break through the clouds and kiss the hallowed turf of the Boghall Cricket Ground, the picturesque home of Linlithgow CC and the scene for the ensuing battle against Gala CC, last season’s deserved champions. Winning the toss, LCC decided to bat first, confident in the knowledge that a decent first innings total would pile the pressure on the opposition, and given Gala’s poor record of chasing last year this should give the home side the upper hand. However, within 30 minutes, that plan had backfired in spectacular fashion.
Strachan and Hedge strode out to bat. Greeting them at the end of his run-up, was the 6ft 4inch Sri Lankan pro, Chathuranga. He quickly settled into his rhythm, with his extra pace and accuracy creating problems. Hedge (11) was his first victim, with a ball that angled back in to the right-hander then nipped away taking the top of off. Debutant Jack Bell was next into the firing line. Unfortunately his first stay in the middle was a short one as the Sri Lankan produced a carbon copy of his first dismissal to send him back to the hutch without scoring. The conveyor belt of wickets continued as Black departed a couple balls later, unlucky to be given out caught behind off a bouncer that clipped his grille, followed the very next ball by Morton who was pinned on the crease and given lbw. When Strachan (10) departed in the next over to a good catch at gully, the scoreboard made for very sad reading, with LCC in all sorts of trouble at 24 for 5. Thomson and Saunders began building a patient partnership, aided by the fact that Chathuranga had decided to take a breather. The pair put on a valuable 40 runs for the 6th wicket, before Saunders was bowled around his legs by fellow Sri Lankan spinner, De Zoysa. Graham was the next man in and he too made the long, lonely walk back to the pavilion shortly afterwards, having been bowled by the returning Chathuranga, who gratefully claimed his cheap 5 wicket haul. For the second week running Dixon came in far sooner than he had expected and again, for the second week running, produced another stellar lower order performance. Thomson (26) and Dixon (22) battled away, helping push the score towards three figures, before both falling to catches in the deep as they tried to push the score along. The famed LCC last wicket partnership didn’t materialise, with Allan being the last man out, with the score on 103.
LCC took to the field after the tea break with a simple game plan… bowl well and pray for wickets. Initially it appeared that the cricketing gods were ignoring our prayers as the opening pairing of Thomson and Hamilton continuously beat the outside edge without any reward. However things all changed in the 11th over with the score on 20, when Hamilton managed to nip one back down the slope and sneak through the defences of Hastings (8) to clean bowl him. Paterson was next in but only lasted two balls, with Saunders taking a sharp catch behind the stumps whilst standing up to Hamilton, who was getting the ball to dance all over the place. In strode the Sri Lankan pro for his first taste of batting in Scotland. No sooner had he taken his guard than he was walking back to the shed for an early shower whilst the ecstatic LCC team celebrated behind him, Hamilton having trapped him lbw for his 3rd wicket (10-4-16-3). 20 for 0 had become 20 for 3 and the wolf pack could now smell blood, with an upset starting to seem like a real possibility. Allan (6-3-6-1) replaced Thomson and immediately settled into his metronomic consistency, threatening the stumps with almost every delivery. His accuracy was rewarded not long afterwards when Rhode tried to deposit him into the carpark, only to have his furniture rearranged, leaving Gala on 28 for 4. Dixon was introduced into the attack alongside Morton and the pair maintained the strangle hold on the opposition batsmen, with every run having to be fought for. The watchful remaining opener, Eyre, was removed a few overs later as Dixon angled one back into the stumps from wide of the crease. At 34 for 5, the buzz both on and off the field was electric and as the spectator numbers grew, their vocal support added to the tense, claustrophobic batting conditions which greeted any new batsmen. Those conditions proved too much for Crooks, when he drove one back to Morton (6-1-15-1) who gleefully accepted the caught and bowled. And 52 for 6 soon became 58 for 7 when Dixon (10-2-25-2) beat Tharanga’s stubborn defences to clean bowl him. De Zoysa joined the Gala captain, Halls, at the crease, with the former deciding that attack was the best form of defence. With every run a precious commodity and only 32 needed to win, LCC turned back to their trump card, Thomson to deliver the goods. And that’s precisely what he did, trapping the opposition captain on the crease. With Dixon bowled out, and De Zoysa continuing to target the boundaries, LCC captain Black decided to step up to the occy. With Gala requiring only 14 to win, Black managed to hit De Zoysa on the toe with a yorker. The hopeful unified appeal from all eleven LCC players on the field was amplified by the 30-odd supporters off the field, and this erupted into pure ecstasy when the umpire slowly raised his finger. 1 wicket needed and 14 runs still to get, with Thomson in full flow steaming into the Gala tailenders… it was never in doubt and the rest is history … cue the slow-motion Hollywood sports movie style celebrations as the underdog team manages to snatch victory in the dying seconds of the game, a true David and Goliath moment at The Battle of Boghall. Gala all out for 94 and a 10-run victory to Linlithgow, who maintain their unbeaten start to the season.