Lives in Cricket No 39 - Alec Watson

20 Early Life 1866. By that time the Drumpellier Club had moved to its present ground at Langloan, in 1863, still within Colonel Buchanan’s estate. This ground had been laid out by John Sands, an elderly English professional cricketer, who had recently laid out the Hamilton Crescent ground of Glasgow’s West of Scotland CC, another of Colonel Buchanan’s interests. Sands, too, was to play a significant part in Watson’s career. Thus between 1858 and 1860 Alec’s burgeoning cricket skills had attracted the attention of Freeth, who gave him a position at work that allowed him time off to go and play cricket without risking losing his job. Apparently Alec later told John Thompson, who gave us much information on Alec’s earlier career, that, when any match was due, Mr Freeth would seek out Alec, enquire about its starting time, look at his watch and say, ‘It is time you were off, for always remember to be punctual on the ground, so as to be ready for when the match starts.’ One suspects from that story that Freeth always knew where to find Alec, and that by that time Alec was not employed down a mine, but perhaps on the surface or at an iron works. About 1860 Colonel Buchanan, effectively the perpetual chairman of the Drumpellier Club, seems to have been on the lookout for promising cricketers for his club. The core of the membership seems to have been wealthy friends of Buchanan, including John Isaacs, his ‘butler’ at Drumpellier House; though one suspects that Isaacs was more than a mere servant. At any rate Buchanan seems to have decided that the club needed a leavening of players from the local clubs. Isaacs and Job Freeth, Drumpellier CC’s long-time secretary, had seen Alec playing for Thistle and had invited him to practise with them on his forays to Yeomanry Park; so they knew his abilities. Along with Tom Telfer, George Brown and David Griffiths, all to become noted Scottish cricketers, Alec was invited by them to join the Drumpellier Club. Of these Griffiths was to be noted for his batting and magnificent wicketkeeping, forming a formidable foil to Alec’s then fast bowling. Yet at that point Alec seems to have had more of a reputation as a batsman. So by the early 1860s the young Watson may be said to have taken the first firm steps on a cricket career ladder that was to take him far from Yeomanry Park. As indicated above, there was plenty of cricket being played in Coatbridge at that time, with the various works, churches, societies and districts each having their own clubs. Indeed Colonel Buchanan gave an annual subvention of one pound to