Cricket: Saltires cup clash set for a wash-out

Published on 04/07/2012 00:00

Scotland’s crucial Intercontinental Cup clash with Canada is in danger of being washed out.

Former Saltires paceman Paul Hoffman, now head groundsman at Uddingston, reckons it will take a miraculous change in the weather to allow him to properly prepare a wicket and outfield befitting the occasion.

The four-day tussle is due to start this morning, but he has scant hopes. He said: “The past few weeks have been an absolute nightmare. I have tried to keep the covers on as much as possible, but the lack of light makes the grass start to die.

“The track is like a huge slab of plasticine and I have spent so much time attempting to mop up the puddles on the outfield.

“Demoralising doesn’t come close to how I feel. We haven’t had a fighting chance.

“We might be able to squeeze in some kind of one-innings match, but it depends on a marked improvement in the weather, and the forecast is not encouraging.”