Scottish Cup Final: Stirling County blasted out of contention

Scottish Cup Final 2010: Stirling County 131 all out lost to Uddingston 135-3 by seven wickets 

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Stirling County skipper Phil Rees must wish he had lost the toss. He looked distinctly nervous while waiting for the languid arrival of rival captain Ricky Bawa for the ceremony of the spun coin. And he called correctly before deciding to bat first - asserting without apparent conviction that he wanted his players to get runs on the board in the guaranteed dry conditions.

Bawa, by contrast, feigned indifference to the result of the toss, as well he might with a line-up of players who were likely to make light of anything thrown at them, it didn't matter much to him whether they batted or bowled first.

And so unfolded one of the least competitive Scottish Cup finals, which was a great shame for the enthusiastic supporters of both sides - including a couple of colourful uvuzela blowers and a wit with a bugle, who sounded the last post for Stirling less than an hour into their innings.

By then, the men from New Williamfield were 34 for four. They lost Gavin Anderson, edging Paul Hoffmann to Bryan Clarke, and Ian McGhee, run out by a superb direct throw from Scott McKenzie, both without scoring. To his own evident disappointment, as well as that of the crowd, the ginger-haired 20-year-old Australian all-rounder, now qualified to play for Scottish teams after four years' residence, having made 14 with confidence, clipped the ball at head height for Josh Johnston to pluck from the air at square leg. And he was followed quickly by Matthew Tweedie, bowled for just 3 by Uddingston pro Rasita Pryadarshana, who went on to claim 4-21.

Hoffmann and Bawa had strangled the Stirling batting, with only 12 runs on the board after 11 overs, and the procession of wickets continued as the run-rate climbed under the influence of James Miller, the only batsman who looked in control. He eventually fell to Amir Gul, bowled for 51, having shared the only stand of any consequence with Richie Carswell (21) before the Stirling innings ran out at 131 in the 42nd over. But, in truth, the game was more-or-less in the bag for Uddingston at a much earlier stage.

All it needed to seal that bag was the quickfire innings from Hoffmann that we have come to expect at the top of the Uddingston batting order. He did not disappoint, though his magnificent 43 featured no big hits and - from Stirling's point of view - more than his fair share of thick edges to the third man boundary long before the first power play was over. Hoffmann despatched four balls of Carswell's first (and only) over to the boundary, the first two, short of a length, carved brilliantly along the ground to the deep point rope - the railings at Hamilton Crescent now being a feature of the past.

At the other end, Edwards persisted manfully to exercise some control with the ball, but Hoffmann was in full flight until his first aerial shot looped lazily into Rees's hands at mid-on on the 30-yard circle to give the youngster his only wicket.

Once Hoffmann had departed, Sameer Zia took over, with some superbly-timed and elegant drives to the offside boundaries, and was clearly delighted to reach his half-century, going on to remain undefeated at the end with 65 and deservedly collect the man-of-the-match accolade, awarded by umpires Bill McPate and Mac Wylie.

Uddingston's second victory in eight years came in the 20th over. It was far too soon for a showpiece final, but Phil Rees can reflect that, even if he had decided to field first, the result would probably have been much the same.

Report by Mike Stanger