Weekend roundup – 5th/6th June
The weekend got underway with the 1st XI travelling to Goldenacre to take on Heriot’s with both sides having their Scotland players back out of isolation. The home side won the toss and elected to bat and things looked good for Carlton when Omar Ahmad claimed the first wicket in the 3rd over. Heriot’s rebuilt however with big 2nd and 3rd wicket partnerships to be well placed at 179 for 3, but the Carlton bowlers stuck to their task and eventually bowled them out for 254 in the final over. Rua McIntyre picking up 3 wickets and skipper Ali Evans with 2. The reply never really got going as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals. Only Fraser Burnett (21) and Ali Shah (29) made double figures as Carlton were bowled out for 90 in the 31st over.
The 2nd XI entertained Gala at Grange Loan and skipper Pete Deakin won the toss and chose to bat first. The home side were unable to string together any meaningful partnerships and slumped to 108 for 7 with Shujaa Khan (50) the only man to really get going. A good rear-guard action from Rory Allaradie (32) helped Carlton to a below par looking total of 174. Gala got off to a fast start, racing to 50 without the loss of a wicket. That all changed when Harry Simpson was introduced to the attack as he produced the remarkable figures of 10-5-7-5 to tip things in favour of the home side. In the end Carlton bowled out Gala for 144 in the 41st over to cement their place at the top of the ESCA Championship.
The 4th XI travelled to Peebles for their ESCA Division 4 clash and were asked to bowl first. A loose start was reined back in thanks to an excellent spell from Sam Haggo (7-1-11-4). Joe Ward also picked up a wicket and the Kentish twins cleaned up the tail (Fraser 3-16; Charlie 2-9) to leave the 4s needing 101 for the win. Openers Iain Hathorn & Euan Keatinge dug in and got the visitors within sight of the line before both were out for 56 & 32 respectively. Shuaib Farooq & Charlie Kentish saw the 4s home with 8 wickets to spare.
The 5th XI made the long journey to Gala to take on their 2nd XI and skipper Keith Murray lost the toss and was invited to bat first. Carlton posted a decent looking total of 164 for 7 from their 40 overs with David Simpson top scoring with 60. In reply the 5s managed to take wickets regularly to keep the home side chasing the game. Despite some good middle order hitting from Gala the visitors were able to chip away at the wickets and eventually ran out winner by 21 runs. There were two wickets apiece for Kyle Burgess; Euan Murray & Hamish Turner while Zaara Dancu; Ben Stronach and Angus Turner each picked up one.
First thing on Sunday morning there was a Kwik Cricket match against Grange at Grange Loan. Four teams from each club battled it out in the outfield in glorious sunshine. Grange won more games that Carlton, but as ever with games at this level – cricket was the winner.
Also on Sunday the 1st XI played Greenock in a much-postponed Scottish Cup first round tie. Greenock won the toss and chose to bat first, making a solid start. A good performance in the field in the second half restricted the visitors to 197 for 7 from their 50 overs with Arun Pillai (2-30) and Shujaa Khan (2-22) the most successful bowlers. The home side were in trouble at 28 for 4 but Ali Shah (89) and Ruari Macpherson (61) steadied the ship to set up a 4 wicket win after 28 overs. Carlton will face Heriot’s at Goldenacre in the next round.
The Women made the short journey to Craiglockhart to take on George Watson’s College. Captain Annette Aitken-Drummond won the toss and opted to bat first and the visitors racked up 196 for 4 from their 30 overs. Abbi Aitken-Drummond top scored with 54 but there were good contributions from the skipper (45); Sam Haggo (36) and Hannah Rainey (24*). In reply GWC were soon behind the rate and despite some stubborn resistance from the top order the home side never really threatened the Carlton total. Charis Scott was the pick of the bowlers with 3-17 as the Women ran out winners by 107 runs.
The 3rd XI were also on duty on Sunday as they hosted Boroughmuir at the Inch. Brad McKay won the toss and chose to field first. Gav Rittoo rolled back the years to claim 6 for 19 as the visitors were bundled out for 107 in the 37th over. The Carlton reply was not without incident but 34 not out from Alex Fedenczuk and 32 from Anish Amin helped the 3s to their second win of the campaign with a 5 wicket victory in the 31st over.
In a new initiative for Carlton the club fielded a Mixed Development side in the ESCA Sunday Development league. Under the experienced eye of “Fantasy” Bob Irvine the side travelled to Tranent to take on an East Lothian XI. Bob won the toss and broke the habit of a lifetime and chose to bat first with Carlton posting 137 for 6 from their 30 overs. Nahum Appleton top scored with 42* with Paul Stones also chipping in with 27. Carlton then bowled out ELCC for 68 with Harry Charman claiming 4-26 and Robert Rowlands picking up 3-14.
