Carlton spinner Chayank Gosain all fired up for Grand Final

Gosain made his way through the club’s junior section and into the first XI when he was 16 back in 2012. Since then he has been a fairly regular first-team member and this summer he has been in the best form of his career, taking 27 wickets as Carlton won the CSL Eastern Premiership title.

Clydesdale won the equivalent league in the West and now the country’s top two meet in a one-off 50-over encounter at Grange Loan to see who will be crowned national champions.

Since the Grand Final came into being five years ago the East team – Watsonians in 2012 then Arbroath, Aberdeenshire and Mazars Grange – have won it and Carlton will be aiming to keep up that tradition.

Gosain, now 20 and studying at Napier University, said: “I have loved every minute of this season. The club has been a big part of my life and now to have helped them win a Premiership title is very special.

“We knew that we had a good squad heading into this summer, but I think the main thing was that we did not put too much pressure on ourselves and we just took each match as it came.

“The good start got us all in a good frame of mind and all 18 players who have played in a league match in 2016 did their bit. Although I am 20 I am experienced compared to the likes of Calum Everett, Cameron Shoebridge and Tom Simpson, but they have done really well when needed.

“The team also get on really well and in cricket that is a big thing as you are with each other a lot on a Saturday. As a unit I think we have a good balance while for me as a bowler it has been great coming on after Ali Evans and Mario Olivier because they give the opposition such a hard time.

“They create pressure with their pace and accuracy and then it is up to me and others to take advantage and get some wickets. To get 27 wickets has been pleasing, but it would not have happened without the team around me.”

Gosain knows that Clydesdale will prove one of the toughest tests of the campaign so far, but he believes the Carlton side have one last big effort left in them.

“Since we won the league a couple of weeks back the whole place has been buzzing and to have one more home match to round things off is really exciting,” he said.

“We know all about Clydesdale’s dangermen and will be giving them a lot of respect, but we just have to focus on our own cricket and see what happens.”

For the match, Carlton skipper Steve Gilmour has named an unchanged side for the third week on the trot.

That means that Fraser Watts, who finished their highest runs scorer in the league with 468, is involved as is last week’s centurion Olivier.

Meanwhile, SMRH have their own big match against Meigle at Freuchie tomorrow.

The Inverleith men pipped RH Corstorphine to the Baillie Gifford ESCA Championship title last week and know if they can win this play-off match in Fife then they will be playing in the top flight in 2017.

For SMRH, Matt Angelini, Mark Burgess and Andrew Tetley come into the XI with Kyle McCallum, Ryan Burt and Tom Hilton missing.