Cricket season kicks off with Senior Cup

The 2023 North of Scotland Cricket season is due to get under way tomorrow afternoon, with the Senior Cup taking pride of place on the opening weekend.

There are several intriguing battles as teams get the first chance to gauge how their rivals are set up for success this year.

Two of 2022’s trophy winners will go head-to-head as Ross County look to set up a hat-trick of Senior Cup triumphs against defending league champions Northern Counties.

Both teams contested last summer’s final, with the Northern Meeting Park outfit losing out by six wickets.

That final was held at The Abbey in Fort Augustus, which will again be hosting some action this weekend when Forres come calling.

Fort Augustus were the beaten semi finalists by Ross County, while Forres fell in the opening round to Northern Counties.

The remaining match on the fixture list for this weekend sees Highland return to the senior fold for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

They had won the Senior League in 2019, but since the pandemic have been limited to the Reserve League due to a significant turnover of players.

First to visit Fraser Park in Inverness this year will be Nairn County, who were the other unsuccessful semi finallists in 2022.

With seven teams making up the senior cricket competitions this year, Elgin are the only side to have received a bye, and await the winners of the match between Ross County and Northern Counties in the semi final.

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