Weekend roundup – 14th/15th May

The weekend got underway with the 1st XI travelling across town to Stockbridge to take on Grange.  Skipper Tom Simpson lost the toss and Grange decided to bat first.  Despite Ally Evans picking up a couple of wickets early on the home side looked set for a big score.  Spinners Umair Mohammed, Rory Allardice and Angus Beattie all took wickets to peg back the scoring rate and Evans and pro Neville Madziva came back picking up one & two wickets respectively.  There was also a run out which restricted Grange to 264 for 9 from their 50 overs.  The Carlton reply got off to a terrible start with both openers going early.  Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as the visitors struggled to build any meaningful partnerships.  In the end Carlton were bowled out for 131 in the 32nd over with Madziva top scoring with 41.

Back at Grange Loan the 2nd XI hosted their counterparts from Grange.  Ben D’Ulisse won the toss and opted to bat first.  Openers Murray Whitaker & Harris Aslam fell early but Fraser Burnett and Kyle Macpherson consolidated with a 56 run partnership.  When Macpherson fell for 24, Hayden Laing joined Burnett and the pair put on 52 for the 4th wicket before Burnett was out for a well made 50 at the end of the 29th over with 129 on the board.  The 2s were not really able to capitalise on the base and were bowled out for 213 in the 48th over with Laing (41) the only other batter to make a telling contribution.  The Grange reply never really got going with Shiv Gupta picking up 6 wickets and a Macpherson run out to leave the visitors all at sea at 38 for 7.  A decent 8th wicket partnership was eventually broken by Macpherson who went on to claim two more wickets as the 2s bowled Grange out for 134 in the 38th over.

Brad McKay’s 3rd XI entertained Hawick & Wilton at Peffermill.  McKay lost the toss and the visitors decided to bat first. Kyle Burgess picked up both openers early on and the Borderers dug in.  Dougie Firth made the breakthrough and picked up a second soon after to leave the visitors in trouble at 45 for 4.  Amit Bij claimed the next wicket followed by one for Ben Thurman.  Zaki Yusaf then removed the set batsman and Thurman (2) and Burgess (1) got the last men to bowl the visitors out for 97 in the 39th over.  In reply, Yusaf went early but Euan Keatinge (26) and Thurman (36*) broke the back of the chase as despite losing Ruairidh Main for 0 Harry Hardie (19*) and Thurman saw the 3s home with 7 wickets to spare in the 23rd over.

The 4th XI hosted RHC 3s at Cavalry Park 2.  Captain Al Murray lost the toss and the 4s were invited to bat first.  A poor batting display saw the 4s lose 6 wickets to the opening bowlers leaving them 34 for 6 after 16 overs. Scoring became easier with the change bowlers but wickets kept tumbling and in the end the 4s were bowled out for 79 in the 22nd over.  Despite a good tight start with the ball, the experienced RHC openers saw their side over the line in the 16th over.

The 5th XI travelled north to take on Clackmannan County 2s at the Arns.  Stand in skipper Euan Murray lost the toss and the 5s were asked to bowl first.  The home batting line up proved a little too strong for the rather makeshift bowling attack and the home side amassed 238 for 4 from with 40 overs.  That was always likely to be a tough total to chase but the 5s dug in well and batted out their overs and were able to claim maximum batting points, finishing on 152 for 9.  Stu Dawson (27) and Shuaib Farooq (22) were the top scorers but young John Gill’s 12 not out was vital to get the extra point.

On Sunday the 1st XI welcomed Greenock to Grange Loan for a Scottish Cup first round tie.  Tom Simpson won the toss and chose to bat first.  The home side got off to a fast start but also lost wickets.  After 13 overs they were 56 for 3 with Neville Madziva and Ali Shah at the crease.  The pair put on 61 runs in the next 7 overs but then Shah holed out for 42.  The scoring rate slowed and wickets began to fall again and despite 58 from Madziva, Carlton were bowled out for 224 in the 44th over.  The visitors got off to a fast start but when Madziva claimed the first wicket the scoring rate slowed.  5 wickets then fell in the space of 6 overs to leave Greenock in trouble at 48 for 6 and although they recovered a little, 2 wickets in an over from Rory Allardice put them further in the mire at 83 for 8.  Harry Simpson then chipped in with one and Evans came back to finish things off and bowl the visitors out for 105 in the 33rd over.

Also on Sunday the Women played a joint Carlton/Watsonians match against the Eastern Knights U18 Women at Myreside.  There was a strong Carlton feel to the opening exchanges as Gabriella Fontenla and Masie Maceira opened the bowling against Annette Aitken-Drummond and Sarah Beith with the batters prevailing on this occasion.

The final match of the weekend saw the Mixed Dev XI take on their Edinburgh South counterparts for the third Sunday in a row.  Bob Irvine was back at the helm and Carlton restricted South to 119 for 8 from their 30 overs.  Highlights with the ball were Benji Risi who took 3 for 11 and Lewis Broster with 2 for 13.  Euan Murray scored a career high 30ret and 28 from Joe Ward helped the Mixed Dev side chase down the total for the loss of 5 wickets.