Lives in Cricket No 39 - Alec Watson

17 of Alexander, particularly common in Scotland. The parish of Old Monkland was then well on the way to becoming the modern town of Coatbridge, and what had been a rural area administered by monks was by the mid-nineteenth century a labyrinth of ironworks and collieries, grimy by day, fiery by night. ‘There is no worse place out of hell than that neighbourhood,’ wrote one visitor. It was in such an environment that the adolescent Alec Watson began his life’s work. Alec would probably have begun his working career at the age of about twelve, or perhaps earlier, as a part-time worker, part- time scholar. Given his geographical environment and family background, it is hardly surprising that he went into coal-mining or possibly ironworking. We do not know the details of his first employment, but it must have been about that time that he came into contact with cricket. It may seem surprising that cricket flourished in a place like Coatbridge, but it did. The main reason is that, as Coatbridge’s iron industry rose in the first half of the nineteenth century, there was a need for skilled workers in that field. That need was initially met by an influx of workers from England – the Irish came later to add to the racial mix – and Coatbridge’s English Square was inhabited by families from across the border. It is hardly surprising then that they brought with them one of their main pastimes to indulge in during whatever limited leisure hours they had. At that time there were about twenty cricket clubs in and around Coatbridge. Two in particular were of importance to young Alec. One was Coatbridge Thistle which played in ‘Dock’ Park in the Sheepford area at the east end of the town. Many of the collieries and ironworks were in this area at Whifflet and Sheepford. ‘Dock’ Park got its name from the fact that it was adjacent to a dock on the Monkland Canal where barges were laid up and maintained. Alec may have started playing for Thistle in his mid-teens; it was perhaps the nearest club to his work. The Thistle Club is long gone, ‘Dock’ Park was later covered by the North British Iron Works and the Monkland Canal has been largely filled in through the town. The second club to interest Alec is still with us as the Monklands’ premier club, Drumpellier CC. At that time, around 1858, it was playing at Yeomanry Park, later called West Park, just across the main road and through the hawthorn hedge from Alec’s home in Langloan; an ancient hawthorn hedge still exists there. After coming home from work, Alec would go to Yeomanry Park and stand around watching the cricketers at practice, and would field Early Life