Primary revenge for StewMel

15.06.19 – Carlton Primary Team 87-3 lost to Stewarts Melville 89/5 by 5 wickets

The Carlton Primary Team headed to the familiar ‘home’ ground of the Inch to take on Stewarts Melville, the return match after the Team’s narrow win a couple of weeks ago.

The Primary team were raring to go as Captain Max tossed up and elected to bat first, and he and Jack strode to the crease to open for the Primary Team. They both found the going tough first up, with the low bouncing artificial pitch combined with short bowling – often reaching the batter on the second bounce – a difficult combination. Nonetheless the two batted solidly together, combining good running with a couple of boundaries from Max over the longish grass, with both retiring once they reached 20 balls (we were playing U14 rules, which allowed for more players to get a good bat in).

The next two in were Innes and Liam who formed a left-handed duo, much to the joy of the coach. They batted well together, solidly defending balls on the stumps while enjoying an abundance of wides, possibly due to the sinister nature of the partnership. Liam retiring on 20 balls and Innes out bowled on his 19^th, having made the score 49/1 off 13 overs. Jamie was in next and he played some nice shots, taking the score to 56, before he was run out trying to increase the scoring rate.

This brought the pairing of John and Freddy to the crease, with only three overs left of the innings. Despite this, the two managed to score 30 runs in the final three overs. They ran very aggressively, benefitted from some wides, and hit a couple of fours down to fine leg. John was out on the second last ball for nine, leaving Shourju to face the final ball, with Carlton ending up on 87-3.

After a quick turnaround, Stewarts Melville’s openers headed out to try and chase down the target. Osian and Liam opened the bowling for the Primary Team. A mixture of wides and two wickets for Osian bowled left the score on 18/2 after three overs. Jack came on and picked up another wicket caught, before catching one himself a couple of overs later.

The score was now 41/4 after 7 overs, Stewarts Melville going well but losing a few wickets. However, the opening batter and number six came together well to form an excellent partnership. The number six hit several clean hits all around the ground, for multiple fours. When these two retired the score had reached 80 in the 15^th over with only 8 more runs needed. While the rest of the Carlton bowlers did well and picked up two more wickets, Stewarts Melville reached the target in the 16^th over, winning by six wickets.

Many thanks to Stewarts Melville for the game, who were worthy winners on the day, and played very well throughout. It was a good performance for much of the game from the Primary team, and we batted and fielded well overall on what was a very difficult pitch to play on. Unfortunately, our bowled was wayward at times, and conceded too many extras, especially wides. However it was a good learning experience for all and everyone seemed to enjoy playing.

Angus Beattie