The trophy had been presented by players of the original match to notorious landowner, Major William Clunes of Craikaig – who was involved in the Highland Clearances – after he had hosted the game on Old New Year’s Day, 1829.

An inscription on the trophy reads: “From the young men of the parish of Clyne to Major Clunes.

“As a memento of their gratitude for the countenance and encouragement which he, as the only individual supporter from another parish, afforded twenty of their number while engaged in a Shinny Match against an equal number selected from the parishes of Golspie, Rogart, Dornoch and Creich, and which ended in a drawn game, 12th January, 1829.”

Shinny is thought to be the oldest form of the name for the game. The word is still used in Canada and north Minnesota for an informal game of ice hockey played on a frozen pond.