Cricket: Watts ready for game which could set Carlton on title trail

Carlton cricket skipper Fraser Watts today primed his side for "the toughest game of the season" when first meets second in the Premiership at Grange Loan tomorrow.

Having set the pace throughout, this will be an opportunity for Carlton to find out just how good they are against Arbroath. Watts also gives a glimpse of the planning that has gone into a sustained title bid. By dropping Nik Hunt down to the seconds so as to get extra batting practice with Aravind Srinivasan stepping up in the only change, Carlton will have one eye on the following week at Heriot's when they are liable to missing three players on duty with Scotland.

However, second-placed Arbroath are the primary focus, with Watts remarking: "They have two outstanding cricketers in the Burnett brothers, Calvin and Fraser, while Marc Petrie is a Scottish internationalist. Additionally their pro (Harsh Vithna) and overseas amateur (Harry Byres-Howe) are always contributing so we will have our work cut out."

What particularly pleases Watts going into this game, though, is the way Carlton were able to put a defeat, by West, on their previous home appearance behind them when bouncing back at Greenock a week ago.

"I said to the side that every team loses from time to time but what is important is how they bounce back. At Greenock we posted a target of 212 on what was possibly a 250-run wicket. But that only meant we had to dig a bit deeper in bowling them out for 154 and the guys reacted to the challenge."

Watsonians and Barclays Wealth Grange are also in the Capital tomorrow against, respectively, Stoneywood Dyce and Drumpellier.

Fresh from a win at Heriot's to boost hopes of a top-four play-off spot, Watsonians bolster their pace attack with recalls for Raj Routray and Tony McKenna.

Heriot's welcome back Simon Smith and Gavin McIntyre for Tino Weeraratna and Colin Thomson and will give late fitness tests to hamstring victims Craig MacKellar and Andre van Niekerk ahead of a trip to Dunfermline Knights, where they'll be confronted by former colleagues in Kevin McLaren and Cammie Farrell.

Vikas Manoor and Siddhartha Singh debut for Edinburgh Accies at Falkland, while RH Corstorphine have skipper Rob More back at home to West Lothian.

Meanwhile, next Thursday will see a meeting of a Future Structures Group charged with considering how competitive cricket in Scotland might be re-organised.On the agenda will be the possibility of returning to regional leagues with the Premiership and Championship sides being integrated.

According to East Association president Bruce Dixon, clubs in the Glasgow area have already voted by a narrow margin to return to a West League, meaning that discussions will also centre on a possible combined East/Caledonia Premier League.

Today Heriot's skipper Steve Knox drew on experience of playing in New Zealand to remark: "The way ahead should be an expanded fixture list for the three regional sides - Caledonian Highlanders, Western Warriors and Eastern Knights - meeting in a variety of formats from two-day matches to limited overs and Twenty20.

"Two or even three day matches would have benefits for the Scotland team aspiring to be in the world's top ten and there is no reason why they couldn't by being based on the same model as South Africa and Australia as well as New Zealand."