Local cricket: Callum Stuart could be key as Heriot’s battle on three fronts

Callum Stuart has clocked up the miles from Dunbartonshire to New Zealand with two spells in England thrown in, but for now he is firmly settled in Edinburgh and focused on a massive few cricketing days coming up for Heriot’s.

Tomorrow the Goldenacre men host Aberdeenshire knowing that nothing but a win will do if they are to keep their alive slim CSL Eastern Premier Division title hopes.

They then welcome Arbroath in the Citylets Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday before the Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy final against either RH Corstorphine or Stewart’s Melville on Wednesday evening at Grange Loan.

Stuart, inset, a 24-year-old seam bowler who joined the club at the start of this campaign and slotted into the first XI straight away, is expected to play a big part in all three games.

Certainly he has shown he is one for the big occasion having bowled a superb spell and taken 5-33 earlier this month to help Heriot’s battle back to defeat West of Scotland in the last eight of the Murgitroyd Masterton.

“I am loving my cricket at Heriot’s,” Stuart admitted.

“I was born in Dunbartonshire and moved down south to England when I was about ten.

“My family spent a few years there until we went to New Zealand and I was there for nine years before heading back to the UK last summer to play a cricket season in south Yorkshire.

“A lot of my extended family live there and it was a great year as I won some silverware with a club called Tickhill.

“With my girlfriend based in Stirling I then decided I was keen to move up north and I wanted to continue playing cricket as well.

“Former player Jamie Watkins put me in touch with Heriot’s and I am really glad he did because there are a great bunch of lads at the club and we have a good team spirit.

“We never know when we are beaten, we showed that against West when other teams might have wilted but we dug in as a team and now we are looking forward to some more big games to come.

“There is a good balance to our team too and I think everyone knows their role in the side very well which is key when you are trying to build a bit of momentum and string results together.”

Heriot’s will head into their crucial run of games without regular skipper Keith Morton who is on honeymoon, so Hayes van der Berg takes up the captaincy reigns.

Carlton have two big matches this weekend.

They are currently third in the league and are away at Arbroath tomorrow before a home Cup semi-final with Stoneywood-Dyce on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the top flight tomorrow, second placed Mazars Grange will be taking on Stewart’s Melville in a Capital derby with Watsonians playing leaders ion8 Forfarshire at Myreside.

RHC are at home to Stoneywood-Dyce.

Meanwhile, this evening the Eastern Knights start their Tilney T20 Blitz defence away to the Caledonian Highlanders at Forthill.