Scottish Cup final: Uddingston and Stirling County prepare for battle

For the supporters of Uddingston and Stirling County, there can be no doubt that this Saturday's Scottish Cup final is the pinnacle game of the season, and there is sure to be a noisy and enthusiastic crowd at the Hamilton Crescent ground in Glasgow.

With a 12 noon start, the 50-overs-a-side game in what the weather men promise will be a fine and sunny day has all the ingredients of a classic and competitive game for the spectators to savour.

Uddingston, who have blown hot and cold through their premier division league season, have surged through the four previous rounds of the Cup with commedable brio. Beating second-division Weirs in the first round was only to be expected, with Gavin Bradley hitting 95 and UAE all-rounder Sameer Zia taking 5-28 for an 87-run victory. Against Imans Edinburgh in round two, their roles were reversed, Bradley taking 4-27 while Zia's 38 shared an 8-run partnership with Sri Lankan pro Rasita Priyadarshana, towards a win by seven-wickets.

Then came the thrilling quarter-final against Heriot's at Bothwell Castle, when Sean Weeraratna's 83 propelled the visitors to a total of 208 all out in the final over. Uddingston's skipper and veteran seamer Ricky Bawa and Bradley took three wickets each before their team set about the target. It was not easy, and once again Bradley (48) and Zia (39) led the way, but Weeraratna deployed his bowlers with courage and confidence. The winning runs came in the last over, with Uddingston's last pair at the crease.

And in the semi-final against Dunfermline Knights, Uddingston were rampant, with Bradley (4-16) and Priyadarshana (3-21) slicing through the middle and lower order to dismiss the Knights for just 80, with 18 unused overs remaining. It was a situation tailor-made for Paul Hoffmann to come in and destroy the opposition bowling as well; he cored 42 of the first 50 runs before being stumped, and the game was won in less than 18 overs.

By contrast, Stirling County won their most famous victory in the first round, against the odds, and against fancied Arbroath United by a convincing seven-wicket margin. Arbroath had worked their way to 203-9 in their 50 overs, Fraser Burnett (44) and pro Craig Williams (40) at the front. Rain reduced the D/L target to 183 in 44 overs, but Ian McGhee's 50 and 49 from youngster Josh Edwards got them there with four overs to spare.

In the second round against Greenock, Edwards added another four wickets to his first-round three to reduce the visitors to New Williamfield to 112-9 before the last pair stubbornly added another 74. A brilliant unbeaten century from Edwards took Stirling to their target with 11 overs remaining.

The quarter-final against McCrea FS West at Hamilton Crescent was rain-affected, with Stirling's innings reduced to 41 overs as skipper Phil Rees (49*) and Matthew Tweedie (38*) followed McGhee's 42 to set up a total of 190 for three. West's failure to take wickets resulted in an increased D/L target of 217 for victory but, despite a battling 46 from skipper Ian Young, the home side was all out for 175, with nearly four overs unused.

Duckworth-Lewis stayed away from Stirling's home semi-final against Stoneywood-Dyce, and Ian McGhee once again led the way with a fine 58, well supported by S Shakoor's 37, in a less-than-challenging total of 199-9. It's probably a good thing the destructive Jan Stander was absent from this game, as the Aberdeen visitors subsided to 137 all out in the 43rd over, despite wicket-keeper Liam Crowther's 45, Edwards accounting for the middle-order with another 4-for.

So the 2010 Scottish Cup final is set to be highly-competitive. Uddingston have won the trophy only once previously, in 2003, while a Stirling victory would put their name on the silverware for the first time in its 45-year history.

TEAMS

Uddingston: Ricky Bawa (captain), Paul Hoffmann, Sameer Zia, Bryan Clarke, Rasita Priyadarshana, Amir Gul, Gavin Bradley, Kalpendra Makwana, David Bill, Josh Johnston, Scott McKenzie, Alan MacLeod

Stirling County: Phil Rees (captain), Ian McGhee, Gavin Anderson, James Miller, Josh Edwards, Matthew Tweedie, Kreeson Naicker, Craig Matthew, Richard Carswell, Ian McDonald, Graeme Taylor, Harry Cordner