Helensburgh Cricket Club (HCC) ended the cricket season on an emotional note by winning promotion - and naming one end of their Ardencaple ground after a club stalwart who died earlier this year.

The 'Lang End' was officially named after a former captain, Graeme 'Shaggy' Lang, who was a stalwart of both HCC and Helensburgh Rugby Club, and who passed away in April.

The renaming ceremony was attended by hundreds of Graeme's family members, friends, and fellow players.

Post-unveiling, all attention gravitated towards the primary cricket match of the day.

It was a critical game for Helensburgh as a win would guarantee their promotion from Western Premiership 3.

(Image: Supplied)

Mearns CC were the opponents, and after winning the toss, they chose to bowl first.

With an impressive start by veteran opener Pete Deeks and captain Gregor Chambers, HCC displayed a strong performance early on.

Nice partnerships with Stephens and Wynne took the score over 100 with Chambers making an excellent half century.

However, when he fell for 67 with the score on 134-4, Mearns sensed their opportunity and took a number of quick wickets to leave HCC in trouble at 166-9.

A career-best 23 by Alex Macauley saved the day as Helensburgh closed their innings with a respectable total of 198.

Graeme Lang passed away in April. (Image: Supplied)

And with the scent of victory in their nostrils, Helensburgh began their attack on the Mearns batters in impressive fashion, with Chambers, who would end with figures of five for 25, and Rajitha (2-30), taking five wickets within the first 14 overs.

Mearns are a good side, though, and were battling hard, before Rajitha took an excellent catch on the boundary off Jamieson to make the score 72-6.

It proved a key breakthrough; after that, wickets fell regularly, and when Chambers brought himself back on in the 30th over, he capped an excellent day for himself personally by picking up the last two wickets to secure victory and promotion as Helensburgh won by 97 runs.

This season has been a marked improvement for HCC, both on and off the pitch, particularly after struggling for the past few years.

(Image: Supplied)

Chair Aidan Keogh and captain Gregor Chambers deserve substantial credit for their hard work.

Aidan has worked hard behind the scenes, backed by a small committee, to improve the playing facilities - new sightscreens, covers and of course his beloved boundary rope - whilst Chris Thomas and Calean Lang have ensured the ground has remained playable and looking terrific despite the weather this summer.

On the field Gregor has brought a group of players that was fairly dispirited back in November back together, attracted a few new faces, and turned them into a highly competitive side who have thoroughly deserved their success.

Across the season, 22 players participated, each contributing to the team's success in their unique way.

Helensburgh closed their season with a record of 10 wins from 13 matches, with the team finishing unbeaten away from home and unbeaten in the second half of the season.

Several players also made it to the top five of the league stats for batting, bowling, and fielding as Helensburgh finished behind Andersons East Kilbride to secure their place in Premiership 2 next year.

Along the way, there were centuries for Chambers and Lang, and 'five-fers' for Chambers and Parffrey.

All of this was made possible with the support of the club's main sponsors, Shearwater Marine Services and Partners&, and a number of match ball sponsors.