Sandy Strang: Lang Toun loses a PM and three cricket XIs

IT'S not just a Prime Minister they've lately lost. Kirkcaldy could recently boast three teams playing senior league cricket. Alas, no more. The demise of doughty Dunnikier, who have reluctantly withdrawn from the East of Scotland Cricket Association Division 3 citing "a declining player base" follows on from the much-lamented death of Kirkcaldy CC in 1998, and the earlier extinguishing for a second time of the brief flame of Southerton CC.

So what's happened to cricket in the Lang Toun, that a population of 50,000 has lost its three senior cricket teams? Cue respected Scottish cricket historian David Potter: "A curious combination of circumstances has conspired here, not least the rise of village teams Freuchie and Falkland which drew attention to these clubs as highly desirable places to play cricket."

Talented batsman Ian Gavin, for instance, a product of Balwearie High School, was once a Kirkcaldy CC stalwart but carried his bat to Freuchie and was twice capped by Scotland against an England Amateur XI in 1992. "Largo CC, now 25 years in existence," adds Potter, "is now another appealing locus, not least for aspiring cricketers from Buckhaven and Methil."

But what happened to Kirkcaldy CC itself? This, remember, was a club which saw glory days in the 1980s, winning the East of Scotland League in 1984 and the Masterton Trophy in 1985 and 1989, a team which basked in the distinguished performances of high-profile pros like fearsome Guyana fast bowler Ray Joseph, Bob Carter, Indian Test star Sandeep Patil, and 52-times capped West Indian batsman Gus Logie. Home-reared players Graham Welsh and keeper Steve Watson represented Scotland B. This was also the club which spawned the English county career of Worcestershire's Alan Ormerod.

"In the early 1990s," explains Potter, "the recession caused the necessary advertising and sponsorship revenue, admirably arranged by Ian Alexander, to dry up. Then the lease on Bennochy Park expired, and the club had to return to Beveridge Park, a blow from which they never really recovered. Attempts to merge with Dunnikier came to nought, and so Kirkcaldy CC, born 1856, quietly disappeared, little more than a decade after they were considered one of the best teams in Scotland."

It was a savagely salutary lesson in the ephemeral nature of sporting dynasties.

And whither now for Dunnikier? President Alan Cutter, aka Mr Dunnikier for the past 31 seasons, explains: "The writing was possibly on the wall when we had to disband our 2nd XI back in 2004. But all is not doom and gloom. We still have members, good facilities and a decent social scene, but we're lacking in fully available numbers to compete at ESCA level.

"So for the present we're going to curtail our involvement to playing in the Forth Cricket Union and some friendly fixtures. We're hopeful of making inroads into the schools to get a youth team going for next season, and perhaps some day we might graduate back into ESCA."

A final poignant word from David Potter: "The umpire called 'time' on Kirkcaldy on 20 April 1998, and stumps were drawn. It was the end of a long and fascinating story. Dare one hope that one day Kirkcaldy CC may yet come back?"