If there has ever been a colder evening for cricket, none of the watching parents could remember it. Luckily the Carlton youngsters were undeterred by the Arctic conditions and won convincingly.

Calum won the toss and decided to bat. Angus and Tom S were both patient, waiting for the ball to come to them and resisting the temptation to go for the aerial route. Both retired unbeaten on 30 after classy innings and Calum was going well before his partner ran him out. Once Kamran found his timing he got the scoreboard ticking over with some stylish shots before playing over the top of a ball that just clipped the bails.

Sam and Gregor formed a good partnership and they were both timing the ball well towards the end of their innings before Gregor fell to a fine catch off the last ball of the 20th over as Carlton posted a formidable 153 for 3.

Three overs into the Heriot's reply and the score was 1 for 3, with openers Angus H (2) and a rapid Sam M (1) immediately in the wickets. Everybody got 2 overs and bowled well - Tom K was on a hat-trick at one point, Angus B bowled two great overs for just one run (a no-ball), Gregor Shand also picked up 2 wickets and the skipper bowled one ball and picked up the final wicket by hitting middle stump.

A comprehensive win. Surely it will get warmer soon?

RAINED OFF

Carlton batted first on the artificial wicket away to Stewart's Melville B XI. Solid contributions from Olly (22) & Angus B (14) allowed Carlton to build a sensible score, which was enhanced by the final partnership between Gregor S (23*) and Cameron (7*) allowing Carlton to reach 97 for 5 of the 20 overs.

Carlton bowlers got of to a great start with captain Sam clean bowling the opener with his 3rd ball. Tight bowling from all Carlton bowlers meant that the home side never got any momentum and found themselves 23 for 3 after 12 overs. The expected run chase never got going with Stewarts Melville reaching 53 for 4 after the allotted overs. The tight bowling and good fielding meant it was difficult for the home side to score runs.

Well done to all involved and we look forward to the summer !

Another comprehensive Scottish Cup win, this time over an inexperienced SMRH side in a match that was switched to Grange Loan with Inverleith still waterlogged.

Batting first, Angus H started aggressively and was fortunate to benefit from a dropped catch in the first over. However, he then found the boundary with ease and soon retired on 31. Fellow opener Tom S once again played the anchor role perfectly, while Olly came in at 3 and played some fine shots. Tom and Olly retired in the space of a few balls, allowing a fine partnership between Sam and Kamran to take Carlton to an imposing 171 for 0 off their 20 overs.

Angus B and Tom K opened the bowling and after the first four overs the score stood at 2 for 6! A tight opening over from Angus immediately put pressure on the SMRH openers, resulting in a great run-out from Ruairidh with only one stump to aim at. Tom picked up a wicket in his first  over, which Angus followed with a maiden. The next two balls each produced a wicket for Tom, who then held his nerve to deliver a hat-trick ball that demolished the stumps and sparked prolonged on-field celebrations.

Tom's hat-trick ball

Not content with this, Tom then collected his fourth wicket of the over off the final ball.

A fine innings from the SMRH no 8 Seb stopped the rot before wickets for Ruairidh, Kamran, Angus H and Sam sealed a comprehensive win. Special mention for Murray who was unlucky to see two catches go down off his bowling.

A huge thank-you is due to Liz for managing the last minute change of venue and Alasdair for making it possible.

Carlton won the toss and elected to bowl against Watsonians at a very cold Grange Loan.

Good opening bowling by Charlie and Gregor restricted the scoring in the early overs. However the breakthrough came from an exceptional piece of fielding from Sam, with a direct hit from 40 yards to run out the opening batsman. The change bowlers of Angus and Cameron took regular wickets, 2 each, and Watsonians were in a bit of trouble with 5 wickets down.

However, a patient and sensible retired 30 from Tom Counsell ensured that their score progressed through overs 10 to 15. Good bowling spells from Ethan and Murray meant that Carlton continued to take wickets and kept the pressure on Watsonians.

At the end of 20 overs Watsonians scored 94 for 9. Carlton main wicket takers were Angus 2 for 12, Cameron 2 for 22 and Murray 2 for 9. A helpful addition to the Watsonian score was the wide’s from Carlton !

With the evening starting to feel like mid winter, the Carlton openers Olly and Gregor showed good patience against accurate bowling. However, the first wicket did go down to a good caught and bowled; just reward for the accurate opening spell. Murray and Olly batted away against more steady bowling. However there was a need to increase the scoring rate and this led to a run out.

Charlie and Olly started to play more shots and moved the score forward with an increased scoring rate. This led to Olly retiring with a well played 32. At this stage, 14 overs gone, Carlton were looking to increase the scoring rate, chasing around 6 an over for the remaining overs.

Sam was unfortunate to middle one to deep mid wicket. This was quickly followed by Charlie running himself out for a well played 18. The excitement/tension on the side-line was clear to see, with Carlton needing 15 of 15 balls. Some good shots and some good luck left Carlton closer, leaving 6 off the last over. This did come at a price of 2 wickets.

In the last over, Watsonians, with a flurry of fielding and two good catches, came out winners, with Carlton coming up short at 92 chasing 94.

Disappointing game to lose, however everybody enjoyed the game, even with the cold weather. Special thanks to Will for scoring with gloves on.

Shaking off the loss through unavailability of all-rounders Olly and Kamran, Carlton got off to a good start with a tight opening spell from Angus H and Calum. Calum picked up the first wicket with a catch from Maxwell and he delivered four excellent overs, ending with figures of 1 for 4.

Thereafter the bowlers struggled, with the hard hitting Grange batsmen taking advantage of anything short to find the boundary. Sam was unlucky not to pick up a wicket before being replaced by Angus B, who bowled three overs of immaculate line and length while Grange were looking to increase the run rate, picking up two wickets for just 7 runs.

Chasing 127 against the quality Grange attack was always going to be a tough ask and although Angus H batted stoutly and the fast-improving Charlie counter-attacked very effectively late on Grange ran out worthy winners to end Carlton's cup adventure for the year.

Match cancelled - Ground waterlogged

Carlton Cougars' game against Stewart’s Melville took place at the sun baked Merchiston Castle school playing fields. Charlie, winning the toss again, decided to bat.

Angus H and Olly opened the batting. Both showed good progress by punishing the short ball on what was a very slow wicket. This resulted in a series of boundaries for both batsmen, square of the wicket. It looked like both batsman should get to 30, however Olly was unfortunately yorked for 28. Murray joined Angus, however was dismissed with a good catch by the bowler for 2.  Angus H then completed his 30 and retired. The 30 consisted of some big shots and a series of sensible cricket shots.

Charlie and Angus B were now at the crease. Angus was unfortunate to be caught of a leading edge of the slow pitch. Charlie and Sam looked to accelerate the run rate over the remaining overs. Both  batsmen progressed  well with a collection of boundaries and Charlie was unlucky to play on when it looked like he was trying to hit a six !  Sam continued how he started and retired for a well played 30. In the final overs Kieran was caught for 1. This left Harry, in his first U13 game, along with Finlay to close out the innings for a respectable 118 for 5

 

Ethan and Charlie opened the Carlton bowling attack. Charlie was first to strike by clean bowling their opener. Ethan joined in by doing the same in his second over to claim his ‘overdue’ 1st Carlton wicket. Not to be outdone Charlie claimed his second wicket to leave Stewarts at 8 for 3.

A change in the Carlton bowling brought Kieran and Angus B into the attack. Both bowlers bowled tightly, with Kieran picking up a wicket, being caught by Angus H. This resulted in a further change with the introduction of youngsters Harry and Callum. Again tight bowling, Harry bowling a maiden, resulted in Stewarts looking to defend rather than attack the bowling. Both Harry and Callum bowled well against more senior batsmen.

Further bowling changes brought  a collection of spinners into the game. Murray picked up wicket in his first over, to make it 5 down. At this point S Gibson retired with 30, which was the backbone of the innings. The last two off-spinners, Ollie and Angus, bowled ok, however need to concentrate on bowling slower. At the end of the 20 overs Stewarts were 71 for 5 in reply.

On a pleasant evening all boys participated and bowled. The only  exception being  Sam, who is keeping himself for the weekend 4th Xl game !

Carlton u13's travelled to West Lothian to enjoy a summers evening. Batting first Carlton made good progress with Calum and Angus having a solid start with Angus finding the boundary on a regular basis, before retiring at 30. A change in the West Lothian bowling brought an immediate result with Anderson bowling Calum, Ollie and Murray in quick succession.

Thankfully Gregor restored some balance and batted sensibly. His innings of 31 included several boundaries, along with his first competitive 6. Tom and Maxwell batted sensibly, however the tail surrendered quickly with 2 of the last 3 wickets stating ' I need to work on my batting'. An additional bonus was that of the return of Angus, adding to his initial 30 with an additional 26, leaving him on 56 not out. The Carlton total of 133 from 20 overs seemed ok.

The West Lothian innings got off to a slow start, due to good bowling from Tom and Angus. The first wicket fell in the 5th over, with Tom clean bowling the opener. Good accurate bowling from all the Carlton bowlers led to limited runs with West Lothian being 31 off 10 overs. This led to some more stroke play from West Lothian with Blumski and Szkudupek both getting 24. Given the tight bowling the West Lothian innings reached 81 for 5 in reply to Carlton's 133. The Carlton bowlers that did get wickets were Tom 1 for 18, Angus B 1 for 6, Maxwell 1 for 8 and Calum 1 for 0.

A big thank-you for the parents who travelled through and to Ian Shand who provided a kids picnic, or at least we think it was for the kids !