Weekend roundup 3rd/4th July

The 1st XI entertained EPL newcomers Meigle to Grange Loan and skipper Ally Evans lost the toss and the visitors chose to field first.  Rory McCann and Shujaa Khan made a solid start but in the 10th over McCann was pinned in front with the score on 43.  Tom Simpson joined Khan however  the partnership was short lived as the latter fell to a great slip catch having made 41.  Simpson was bowled the next over leaving Carlton in a bit of trouble at 74 for 3.  Hugo Southwell & Ali Shah tried to rebuild but in the 26th over Shah was out with 106 on the board.  This brought Umair Mohammed to the crease and the experienced pair put on 123 for the 5th wicket despite a couple of rain breaks.  Southwell (79) fell in the 46th over and some good acceleration from Mohammed (77*) and Evans (19) helped the home side post 283 for 6 from their 50 overs.   With the weather still threatening Carlton rattled through the overs to try to ensure a game.  Omar Ahmad picked up 4 wickets and Rory Allardice claimed 3 as the visitors slumped to 55 for 7.  With the rain starting again Carlton got to the 20 over mark, making it certain there would be a result.  Only another 3 overs were possible before the umpires took the players from the field for the last time to give Carlton a 146 run win by D/L.

The 2nd XI travelled across the city to Portgower Place to take on Grange 2s in the ESCA Championship.  With the indifferent weather forecast the match was shortened to 40 overs a side.  With regular skipper Pete Deakin away, Harry Simpson took charge but called incorrectly and the home side opted to bat first.    Saif Khan struck early and when Charles Stronach got the big wicket of former Scotland player Ryan Flannigan the home side were on the back foot.  Calum Everett replaced Khan and picked up two quick wickets and when Stronach claimed his second Grange were in all sorts of trouble at 34 for 5.  The home side stemmed the fall of wickets but runs were hard to come by.  Simpson and Will Hardie claimed a wicket each and there was a run out for Callum Sibley before Everett came back and picked up the final 2 wickets to bowl Grange out for 97 in the 34th over.  Hardie (41) and Gav Murray (48*) made short work of the chase, completing a 9 wicket win in the 16th over.

Just down the road at Newfield the 3rd XI took on Edinburgh Accies 2s.  This match was also shortened, this time to 30 overs a side, in an attempt to beat the weather.  Skipper Brad McKay won the toss and invited the home side to bat first.  A wicket each for opening bowlers Ahmad Shah and Cameron Keatinge gave the visitors a decent start but a century stand for the third wicket tipped things in Accies favour.  The partnership was eventually broken by Charlie Kentish who also picked up his second the same over.  Amit Bij also claimed a wicket and there was a run out from Paul Kentish but the home side posted a healthy looking 195 for 6 from their 30 overs.   In reply Adam Richardson and Ben Thurman put on 53 for the first wicket before Thurman nicked off for 29.  Charlie Kentish joined Richardson but fell shortly after, bowled for 13.  Father replaced son and Paul Kentish and Richardson put on 70 for the 3rd wicket but with the weather deteriorating the scoring was becoming more difficult as the outfield slowed.  Richardson fell for 54 with 48 runs still need for victory but Kentish (62*) and Euan Keatinge (12*) weren’t able the get the 3s over the line and the visitors fell an agonising 8 runs short.

The 4th XI travelled over to Fife to take on Dunnikier 2s.  Skipper Brian Kaczynski lost the toss and the home side opted to bat first.  Isaac Foley struck in the first over with Ben Stronach taking a simple catch at square leg.  In the 4th over Stronach took a significantly more difficult chance off Dougie Firth – running back at point and taking a steepling catch over his shoulder.  The new man to the crease took an aggressive approach – clearing the fence on several occasions and almost single-handedly moved the score on 57 before Stronach picked up the other opener with a fine yorker.  The leg spin of Rory Ledingham was introduced at the other end and he immediately struck, removing the danger man to a good catch from David Simpson at long off.  In his second over Ledingham claimed another 2 wickets and a fourth in his third over thanks to a good catch at deep midwicket from Fergus Foley.  The rain the started to fall and in the 22nd over got much heavier forcing the players from the field.  Conditions didn’t improve and the match was abandoned with the home side on 88 for 7.

On Sunday a Women’s side competed in the first Wee Bash of the season at Inch Park.  The team won games against Stewart’s Melville and Edinburgh South and then again against Stewart’s Melville in the final to come out winners.

News also came through that WPL title contenders Stewart’s Melville were unable to play their final league match as Barnton was under water.  That result confirmed Annette Aitken-Drummond’s side as WPL Champions for 2021.

Also on Sunday the 5th XI entertained Watsonians 4s at Grange Loan.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  The visitors got off to a fast start thanks to former Carlton junior Euan Burgess with younger brother Kyle unable to claim the family bragging rights.  A run out from Shuaib Farooq broke the opening partnership in the 8th over and Farooq also picked up Burgess lbw in the 10th over.  The visitors continued to score freely and were well placed at 92 for 2 at the halfway stage.  Stu Dawson broke the partnership and then a run out from the skipper and another lbw for Farooq made sure the visitors didn’t have everything their own way.  There were further wickets for Lewis King, Angus Turner and 2 for Burgess plus another Farooq run out as Watsonians were bowled out for 202 in the final over.   Murray and James Stronach opened up the reply and made a steady start before Stronach was caught on the leg side for 14.  Martin Robertson joined the skipper at the crease  and took the score to 39 for 1 off 10 overs before thunder & lightning and then a deluge of biblical proportions forced the game to be abandoned.