Weekend roundup 7th/8th August

The 1st XI were due to travel to Barnton to play RHC, but overnight rain rendered the pitch unfit and the match was cancelled.

The 2nd XI entertained Edinburgh CC at Grange Loan and with poor weather forecast the game was shortened to 40 overs a side.  Skipper Pete Deakin lost the toss and the 2s were asked to bat first.  Will Hardie fell in the first over but fellow opener Gav Murray & Hayden Laing put on 54 for the second wicket before Laing departed for an aggressive 33.  Murray was next to go for 30 and then a flurry of wickets left Carlton in trouble at 86 for 7.  Charlie Kentish steadied the ship and found good support from fellow U16 Rua McIntyre to take the score on to 127 before the latter holed out.  Callum Sibley  joined Kentish and the pair added a further 43 runs to take Carlton 170 for 8 from their 40 overs with Kentish on 48*.  Edinburgh CC also lost a wicket without a run on the board as Harry Simpson and Charles Stronach combined for a run out.  A solid second wicket partnership was broken by Calum Everett who claimed a second shortly after.  The spin of Simpson and Hardie caused the visitors all sorts of problems and as they picked up 5 wickets between them.  McIntyre then returned to clean up the tail and Edinburgh were bowled out for 119 in the 34th over.

The 3rd XI travelled across town to Goldenacre to take on Heriot’s 3s.  Brad McKay lost the toss and the 3s were inserted.  Adam Richardson and Zaki Yusaf got Carlton off to a fine start before the former was run out for 37.  Ruari Macpherson, making a welcome return after a hamstring injury, joined Yusaf and Carlton continued to score freely.  Macpherson made 55 and Yusaf 94 with Mo Nauman (23); Euan Keatinge (20*) and Rory Ledingham (34*) also chipping in with some useful runs to help the 3 to an imposing 277 for 5 from their 40 overs.  Ahmad Shah and McKay then knocked over the Heriot’s top order, claiming 2 and 3 wickets respectively.  Gav Rittoo and Max D’Ulisse then bowled miserly spells, including 11 consecutive maidens, picking up a wicket apiece.  There were also wickets for Ledingham and Nauman as the home side were restricted to 95 for 9 from their 40 overs.

The 4th XI made the short journey to Craiglockhart to play Watsonians 3s.  Skipper Al Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  The home side made a steady start although there were several chances created by Mark McKay & Fraser Kentish with the new ball.  Sam Haggo replaced McKay and picked up 2 wickets, both pouched by Mike Kennedy behind the sticks.  Watsonians numbers 2 & 4 upped the tempo and it took Shuaib Farooq, returning for his second spell, to break the partnership with a delivery that bamboozled the opener, bowling him 4 short of his century.  Farooq also picked up the other set batsman and with the opening bowlers returning Kentish also claimed a well deserved wicket.  A run out from Joe Ward was the final wicket as Watsonians finished on 213 for 6 from their 40 overs.  The Carlton reply never really got going – only 4 batters made it into double figures against an attack that was able to extract more out of the surface.  McKay top scored with 18 and had the highest partnership of 34 with Nahum Appleton (17*), but the 4s fell well short, bowled out for 115 in the 33rd over.

The final game on Saturday saw the 5th XI entertaining Stewarts Melville 4s at Cavalry Park 2.  Keith Murray lost the toss and the visitors opted to bowl first.  A good opening partnership of 54 from Murray and James Stronach was broken when the youngster was bowled for a sprightly 35.  Dougie Firth joined the skipper and put on a further 32 runs before Murray nicked off for 18.  Firth fell shortly after, also for 18, and with Paul Stones going cheaply U13s Harry Charman and Oli Stones took the 5s to 118 before both fell in quick succession.  The lower order was able to put on another 26 runs to set the visitors a target of 145 for victory.  Harry Charman struck early as did Kyle Burgess and Charman picked up 2 more wickets to leave the visitors in trouble at 34 for 4.  A decent 5th wicket partnership was broken by Oli Stones and then Aadi Khadse picked up a wicket on debut. Freddie Charman claimed 2 wickets and Euan Murray did the same to bowl Stewarts Melville out for 117 in the 33rd over for a 27 run win for the 5s.

On Sunday the 1st XI travelled to Arbroath for the Scottish T20 Cup finals day.  First up was winners of the Rowan Cup, Ferguslie.  Skipper Ali Evans lost the toss and the Paisley side chose to bowl first.  Tom Simpson and Arun Pillai, after a reasonably quiet start, started to accelerate nicely.  Simpson brought up his 50 in the 12th over with the score on 86.  Pillai (42) was the first wicket to fall in the 15th over with the opening stand worth 114.    Carlton lost 4 more wickets, including Simpson run out for 80 from 57 balls, but posted a healthy looking 161 for 5 from their 20 overs.  Ferguslie set off like a train but 2 quick wickets for Rua McIntyre and 1 for Evans slowed their progress.  The game was still in the balance, but when Angus Beattie had Ferguslie skipper Riyaad Henry caught by McIntyre and another wicket 3 balls later, Carlton were firmly in control. Rory Allardice claimed another wicket and the Paisley side were restricted to 134 for 6 from their 20 overs.

In the final, Carlton faced Forfarshire who had chased down Gala’s 104 for 6 in 11 overs for the loss of 3 wickets.  Evans again lost the toss but this time Carlton were asked to bowl first.  The innings got off to the perfect start with Allardice inducing a sweep from Craig Wallace that only found Ali Shah at short fine leg.  In the second over Evans bowled the other opener and then Beattie dismissed Michael Leask with the first ball of the 3rd over.  Forfarshire recovered and at the halfway stage were 58 for 3 but 2 wickets in 2 balls left the Broughty Ferry side 67 for 5 after 12 overs.  A 4th wicket for Beattie in the 14th over left Forfs 75 for 6 and when Evans returned to bowl the 18th over he struck to leave the score 99 for 7.  Shujaa Khan then picked up 2 wickets in the 19th over and Evans closed out the innings, claiming the last wicket to bowl Forfarshire out for 103.  In reply Simpson fell without scoring but Hugo Southwell joined Pillai and the pair put on 34 before Southwell was bowled for 21 in the 8th over.  Khan was the next man in and he and Pillai and added 17 more runs before the opener skied a ball which was well caught at long off.  Shah joined Khan and eased the nerves of the watching supporters, putting on 35 for the 4th wicket.  Khan (24) did fall in the 16th over but with only 22 needed Fraser Burnett came out and he and Shah (28*) guided Carlton home with 10 balls and 6 wickets to spare.

Back at Grange Loan the Women were taking on Stewarts Melville in the Quarter-Final of the Scottish T20 cup.  Before the match started, Carlton were presented with the Women’s Premier League Trophy which they had won early last month.

Skipper Annette Aitken-Dummond won the toss and invited the visitors to bat first.  A bright start from Stewarts Melville was dented with wickets from Ashley Robertson and Sam Haggo.  A strong 3rd wicket partnership had the visitors well placed at 70 for 2 after 8 overs when Zaara Dancu got the big wicket of Katie McGill for 24.  A big total still looked on the cards but when Charis Scott trapped Katherine Fraser in front with the score on 94 it prompted a spectacular collapse.  The last 6 wickets fell for only 10 runs as Carlton bowled out the visitors for 104 in the 16th over.  Dancu was the most successful bowler with 4 for 22.  In reply Abbi & Annette Aitken-Drummond opened up for the home side and saw their side home in the 16th over without loss, finishing on 49* & 38* respectively.  Carlton now move through to Finals Day in Dumfries on 5th September.

The final game of the weekend saw the Mixed Development XI entertain Tranent & Preston Village 3s at the Inch.  Batting first the visitors reached 139 for 8 from their 30 overs.  Shourjo Dutta Roy was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 28; Gus Turner took 2 for 38 and Blair Mackenzie and Theo Griffin also claimed wickets.  In the second innings there was a good opening partnership from Paul Bailey and Hamish Turner and Joe & Theo Griffin also combined well in the middle as well as a very positive debut with the bat from Janie Hemsley.  However, in the end the Mixed Dev side were bowled out in the final over, 20 runs short of the target.