Hazel proved toughest nut in Strathie's rich harvest

HE WAS a Goliath with a bat, cutting a swathe through the game from the mid-1950s to early 1970s. The brilliant batting and charismatic coaching of Nigel 'Chopper' Hazel fired little Strathmore to the pinnacle of Scottish cricket.

In 1971 at the age of 50, the Bermudian led the Lochside Park men to an epic Scottish Cup final victory against Bob Massie's Kilmarnock with a team who were Forfar born, Hazel excepted. Pace bowlers George Myles and Neil Prophet and spinner Gavin McKiddie led the attack and batsmen Don Crighton and David Patullo supplemented the Hazel runs - which totalled around 20,000, including two double centuries against Forfarshire in one month in 1960, and 28 hundreds.

"Nigel came to us in 1954 after a successful spell at Aberdeenshire, where he succeeded his cousin, the peerless Alma Hunt," says former Strathie chairman David McGregor, who is now in the chair at Forfar FC. "Ever affable, he was nonetheless hugely competitive, fiercely loyal and utterly dedicated to pushing this club forward, frequently turning down lucrative offers to join big-paying [Lancashire] League outfits."

In 1965 Blairgowrie prevented the club from winning 11 successive Strathmore Union championships: they went 57 games without defeat from 1961-65. Even when 'Chopper' retired to tend his beloved Lochside wicket and to man the bar, Strathie's success continued. It was spearheaded by outstanding professionals, including test all-rounders Lal Rajput - Indian Cricketer of the Year in 1986 - and Springbok Pieter 'Striker" Strydom plus former Hampshire left-arm spinner Ian Turner, with fine overseas amateurs like Mark Kelaher. They were Scottish Cup finalists in 1992 and county champions in '94.

But financial problems and a loss of key personnel heralded a decade of decline, the new millennium bringing relegation from the SNCL to the Dukes Strathmore Union Premier League. The 150th anniversary, which was marked in 2004, was overshadowed by a sense that the club were no longer occupying their customary place at the top table.

Some chinks of light are flickering, however. "We have restored some financial stability off the park," says secretary Alan McKay, "and are now firmly focused on reasserting ourselves on the field."

Skipper Mark Stewart concurs: "Some key players have returned. My brother Greg, lately of West of Scotland and Forfarshire, is back, as is former Scotland B all-rounder Stevie Blackie, fresh from his Australian sojourn, and now converted into a highly useful pinch-hitting opener."

They will supplement the contributions of Nigel Hazel Jnr, whose league average of 72 last season lifted the George Overstone Trophy awarded to the Strathmore Union Batsman of the Year. Seamer Alan McKay has been rescued from the golf course, and the club hope that rookie opening bowler Andy Cooper, who made a telling impact in the second half of last season, will return soon.

Having no pro since 2001 hampered efforts, but they hope to re-engage former Indian test all-rounder Iqbal Siddiqui.

Stewart observes: "If you add the emergence of some burgeoning young talents like Gavin Sinclair, who recently notched an unbeaten league 60 against Stoneywood, promising batsman Gary Hewitson and Scotland under-15 all-rounder Matthew Simpson, the seeds of revival are demonstrably there."

Lochside Park provides one of the most enchanting arenas and firmest decks on the Scottish circuit. May the splendid spirit of "Chopper" Hazel live on.