Cricket: Collins promises to come out firing in bowling prize quest

EAST League Division Two cricket side Musselburgh put an unbeaten league record on the line at home to Stirling County 2nds tomorrow, in a match that will see West Indian fast bowler Rene Collins promising to come out firing.

The 32-year-old, from St Vincent and the nephew of former West Indies 'keeper Mike Findlay, is making up for lost time after being banned for the opening three matches following an incident against Westquarter at the tail end of 2010, but has just been named the league's player of the month on the basis of a 7-21 return against Livingston.

Rene spent seven years in the British Army doing tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Adventure appears to come easily to him, having also sailed the Atlantic from Rio de Janiero to Cape Town, so his next challenge appears straightforward by comparison. "At the moment I have 16 wickets and that's four more than the league's next best. I disagreed with the decision to ban me so I'd love to go along to the (same) Association's prize giving and take the trophy."

A Civil and Timber Engineering student at Napier University, Collins' award-winning haul comprised three clean bowled, two caught behinds and two lbws.

"Last season I broke a batsman's helmet and two stumps with my speed and this season I'm practising twice a week with colleague Rizwan Ullah to ensure we stay top of the league and I get the bowling prize," he said.

"I'd never got seven wickets before in a match and the last time I played the boundary was so short every time the bat touched the ball my delivery went to the boundary. Sometimes you're up - and sometimes you're down. That's cricket."