Weekend roundup – 28th/29th May

The 1st XI travelled to Inverleith to take on Stewart’s Melville with a much changed side.  Stand in skipper Ally Evans lost the toss and Carlton were asked to bat first.  Losing the first 3 wickets for only 5 runs was not the ideal start and 2 more wickets fell with the score on 25.  Harris Aslam dug in well but wickets continued to fall.  Aslam was run out for a composed 33 to leave the visitors 110 for 8, and Angus Beattie fell 2 balls later.  Shiv Gupta and Rua McIntyre rescued things somewhat with the largest partnership of the day to take the score to 148 before Gupta holed out for 35 in the 48th over.  In reply Gupta and Evans reduced the home side to 14 for 3 but a 55 run 4th wicket partnership tipped things the home side’s way.  Beattie eventually made the breakthrough but another decent partnership formed.  This was broken by Evans who got another 2 balls later.  With 10 overs to go Stew Mel needed 34 more runs with 4 wickets in hand.  A few good overs for the home side took them close but then Umair Mohammed took 3 wickets in the 48th over to make things interesting again, but in the end the home side made it home with 1 wicket and 5 balls to spare.

Back at Grange Loan the 2nd XI welcomed newly promoted Linlithgow.  Rory Allardice had the reins and won the toss and chose to bat first.  Wickets fell at regular intervals with only Mo Nauman (29) and Calum Everett (23*) anywhere close to coming to terms with conditions.  In the end the 2s were bowled out for 123 in the 36th over in what looked a sub-par total.  3 quick wickets for Charles Stronach reduced the West Lothian side to 10 for 3.  Omar Ahmad then picked up a wicket and Stronach claimed a fourth to leave Linlithgow struggling at 21 for 5.  The 6th wicket put on 53 before Allardice induced a simple return catch to break it.  Everett picked up the 7th wicket the next over and Allardice claimed a second caught & bowled the over after that to leave the visitors 77 for 8 at drinks.  The 9th wicket took the score to 91 before Allardice claimed his 3rd and 3 balls later Nauman and Allardice combined to run out the final batter to record a 30 run win in the 30th over.

Also on Saturday, the 4th XI entertained Holy Cross at Cavalry Park 2. Skipper Al Murray won the toss and opted to bowl first.  Isaac Foley & Ben Stronach reduced the visitors to 32 for 5 but a solid 6th wicket partnership saw Holy Cross to 86 for 5 at drinks.  Oli Stones struck with the first ball after the break and although the 4 continued to pick up wickets the visitors were eventually bowled out for 175 in the 38th over.  Isaac Foley, Stronach & Stones all claimed 3 wickets with Fergus Foley the other successful bowler.  In reply the 4s scored freely, but lost wickets at regular intervals.  Only Lewis King (24) and Oli Stones (16) made it to double figures as they slumped to 83 all out in the 21st over.

The 5th XI were also at “home” at the Meadows, welcoming Edinburg South 3s.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and also chose to bowl first.  Robbie Murray struck early and there was a run out and at the end of the 10th over Hector Murray claimed the 3rd wicket to leave the visitors in trouble at 25 for 3.  Coming on first change Angus Turner took a wicket in each of his first 3 overs to further reduce Edinburgh South to 34 for 6.  Euan Murray was next to strike but South staged a bit of a recovery before the returning Turner Snr completed his second five-for in two weeks.  Robbie then came back to claim the final wicket to bowl the visitors out for 75.  In reply the 5s found conditions tough and were reduced to 29 for 7.  Hamish Foley & Hector Murray took the score to 48 before Foley fell for 9.  Hector & Euan Murray dug in and got the 5 in touching distance of the Edinburgh South total before Murray Jnr went for a hard fought 15.  Euan Murray was able to see the 5s to a batting point, but not able to get them over the line as they fell an agonising 5 runs short in the 40th over.

On Sunday the Women took on Grange at Grange Loan.  Skipper Charis Scott won the toss and chose to bat first.   Scott and Abbi Aitken-Drummond opened the batting and both hitcenturies to help propel the home side to a daunting total of 293 for 6 from their 30 overs. In reply Masie Maceira picked up 5 wickets for 13 runs from her 6 overs to scupper any hope of the visitors challenging the Carlton total. Janie Hemsley also claimed 2 wickets and Gabriella Fontenla, Leanne Farmer and Zaara Dancu got one each as Grange were bowled out for 102 in the 23rd over.

Also on Sunday the 3rd XI entertained Stewart’s Melville 2s at Peffermill. With Brad McKay in his sickbed, Paul Kentish took charge but lost the toss and Carlton were inserted. Wickets fell regularly as the 3 struggled to cope with strong Stew Mel attack. In the end they were bowled out for 73 in the 34th over with only Charlie Kentish reaching double figures. That total proved to be far too low to challenge the visitors as they knocked the runs off in 15 overs for the loss of only 1 wicket from Fraser Kentish.

The final match of the weekend saw the Mixed Dev XI take on Heriots at Cavalry Park 2. Skipper Bob Irvine won the toss and invited the visitors to bat first. The bowlers stuck to their task against an experienced batting line up and there was one wicket for Daniel Mowat and Blair Mackenzie as well as a run out from Benji Risi as Heriot’s scored 179 for 3 from their 30 overs. In reply, Matt Wells hit 52ret and Ian Hunter chipped in with a useful 24 but the Mixed Dev were bowled out for 153 in the 26th over.