Absentees hand Carlton understudies their chance

A NUMBER of players who have been performing well for the second XI have been given the chance to shine for Carlton this afternoon when Watsonians visit Grange Loan in the SNCL Premier Division.

With Preston Mommsen, Gordon Drummond and Ross Lyons on Scotland duty in Deventer, and wicketkeeper Jamie Kerr on holiday, the second-placed side have promoted Ani Majumdar, Tom Barrett, Oli Tame and – fitness permitting – Fraser Boyd.

Batsman Majumdar has had a superb start to the season for the twos with a top score of 142 not out against Edinburgh II in East League Division One three weeks ago, while teenager Barrett is highly thought of and Englishman Tame has turned out for the first team already.

Young wicketkeeper Boyd is a member of the Eastern Academy and scored 101 for the twos against Boroughmuir seven days ago. But he is struggling with a finger injury and if he can't play Carlton may have a problem behind the stumps. Tom Clarke also replaces Ali Evans who has university commitments.

Watsonians sit third and head across Edinburgh at full strength looking for their fourth win in a row. They will also be looking for revenge after losing out to today's opponents in a Twenty20 Masterton Trophy encounter on the same ground nine days ago.

Meanwhile, Dunfermline Knights captain Gowtham Rai believes consistency in selection has helped his side get off to a strong start in the top flight. The Fifers welcome Clydesdale to McKane Park today with the hosts having won four matches since promotion.

And after naming an unchanged side from the one that beat Uddingston last week, Rai said: "It really helps to be able to pick the same team every week. We work well together as a unit, and in such a tight division where anyone can beat anyone else on a given day, that consistency will sometimes help to pull us through."

Clydesdale head east on a high after defeating leaders Grange last week. Two enforced changes are made, Mo Afzal and Andrew Scobbie coming in for Scotland pair Qasim Sheikh and Majid Haq. Spokesman Colin Mitchell said: "We know we have been inconsistent so far, but last week showed what we are capable of and we have to push on now."

All-rounder Giles Holmes is back for Grange as they host Uddingston. Opener Oli Hairs also returns with Simon Taylor while Chris Murphy will keep wicket in the absence of Simon Smith. Last term when the sides met in Edinburgh the hosts won a low-scoring game by 26 runs – and Uddingston head east on the back of two straight losses.

Greenock's first league win of 2010 last Saturday was tempered by Sunday's Scottish Cup defeat at Stirling County and they will need to be at their best to see off Forfarshire without Richie Berrington.

Forfarshire travel to Glenpark unchanged from the team that went down heavily to Carlton at Forthill last week. They currently sit in sixth place in the table and will have been delighted by the news that unavailable team mate Matthew Parker took four wickets on the first day of his Scotland first class debut in Holland. Meanwhile, key men Colin Smith and Iain Brand return as Aberdeenshire take on McCrea FS West looking to bounce back from three straight league defeats that have hit their chances of retaining the title.

The visitors to Mannofield have also had their problems this summer, but they did manage a morale-boosting win over West Lothian in the Scottish Cup six days ago, with Dave McNulty in good form with the ball.