Ryan to Retire From Cricket
It has been announced today that Ryan Watson is to retire from all forms of cricket. Ryan has been a great servant to our club as a professional, amateur and coach; and has also given many hours supporting the club’s activities off the field.
He has been instrumental in our rise to prominence as a leading club in Scottish cricket and our thanks are due to him in many ways.
Only this week on the occasion of his Scotland debut, Craig Wallace paid tribute to the help that Ryan had given him in reaching that milestone. He has also helped with the development of many more of our promising youngsters.
Ryan will certainly be missed on the pitch. How could any team not miss the services of a cricketer who holds the record as Scotland’s most capped cricketer, holds the record as the highest ever run scorer in the SNCL and is in the top dozen all time wicket takers in the SNCL?
Ryan also had a glittering Scotland career which also brought huge honour and increased profile to Forfarshire Cricket Club.
Some will no doubt argue that with his fitness not in question and aged just 35 this is perhaps a premature retirement; however, with a young family and a new business venture it is perfectly understandable why Ryan has decided to call time on his playing career.
Hopefully he will still be able to spend some time at Forthill to support the juniors in particular. It would be a pity if his vast experience and outstanding coaching abilities were lost to the club – and more importantly to the game of cricket.
From a playing perspective; Ryan’s retiral gives the opportunity for someone else to come forward and captain the club and also to the emerging talents within the ranks to take on more responsibility on the field. We are sure they will relish this opportunity. However, there is no doubt that the void left by his retiral will be a very difficult one to fill.
Our huge thanks go to Ryan for the fantastic service he has given to Forfarshire Cricket Club over the years and we hope he will remain a part of our club for many years to come.