Weekend roundup – 18th/19th June

The 1st XI travelled north to Forthill to take on Forfarshire.  Captain Tom Simpson won the toss and chose to bat first.  The skipper fell early but Shujaa Khan and Arun Pillai took the score past 50 before both were bowled in successive overs.  Harris Aslam and Ali Shah followed soon after and Carlton were in some trouble at 80 for 5.  Ally Evans and Neville Madziva put on 108 for the sixth wicket before Evans went for 72.  Hayden Laing was the next to fall but Madziva kept going and his 68* helped the visitors post 227 for 7 from their 50 overs.  Madziva took a wicket with the first legitimate delivery of the reply and there was run out in the 7th over to leave Forfarshire 30 for 2.  A couple of good partnerships from the home side had them in the box seat but wickets continued to fall.  At 166 for 4 at the end of the 34th over the game could have gone either way, and despite Carlton picking up 3 more wickets, the home side got over the line in the 46th over.

The 2nd XI entertained ESCA Championship leaders Morton to Grange Loan. Skipper Ben D’Ulisse lost the toss and the visitors opted to bat first.  Charles Stronach struck with the 4th ball of the match and fellow opener Saif Khan picked up the second wicket in his second over to leave Morton in trouble at 6 for 2.  The visitors stablised things somewhat but Khan struck again in the 10th & 12th overs to leave them at 32 for 4.  3 overs later Stronach claimed his second and then Khan picked up a fourth.  In the 17th over Stronach claimed another 2 victims and Khan completed his 5-for in the 20th.  Ruari Macpherson picked up the final wicket in the 23rd over to bowl Morton out for 72.  In reply Mo Nauman hit a brisk 24 and despite losing Murray Whitaker cheaply, Kyle Macpherson and Ru Main saw Carlton home for an eight wicket win in the 18th over.

The 4th XI travelled to Inverleith Park Arti to take on Drummond Trinity 3s.  Al Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  There was early success for Kyle Burgess but the home side was scoring freely, helped by an unsually fast outfield.  Andrew Lang was the next to make a breakthrough and he picked up 2 further wickets to leave the home side on 121 for 4 after 23 overs.  Gregor McIntyre claimed a wicket next over and a good 6th wicket partnership was broken by Murray in the 33rd over.  Burgess returned and claimed a further 2 wickets but the home side posted 219 for 8 from their 40 overs, helped by some sloppy fielding in the final few overs.  John Beattie & Oli Stones opened up but Beattie fell early on.  Bruce Smith (20) hit some lusty blows to give the chase some momentum, but the rest of the top order struggled to impose themselves on the bowling.  Mike Kennedy hit a brisk 19 but of the others only Andrew Lang (44*) really settled.  In the end the 4s finished on 170 for 9, falling 49 runs short.

The 5th XI entertained Murrayfield DAFS 4s at Cavalry Park 2.  Skipper Keith Murray lost the toss and the 5s were inserted.  A decent batting display led by the skipper (42); Martin Robertson (23); Hamish Turner (18) & Stu Dawson (24) and useful late order runs from Euan Murray (17*) and Daniel Mowat (15) allowed the 5s to post a total of 189 from their 40 overs.  In reply Robbie Murray picked up a wicket with the second ball of the match, but the 2nd wicket put on 92 before Hamish Foley dismissed the other opener in the 19th over.  Euan Murray got rid of the dangerous No 3 in the 22nd over but runs continued to flow.  Dawson claimed the next wicket and Robbie Murray chipped in with his 2nd.  Dawson claimed 2 more and there was one for Mowat and a Robertson run out but in the end the visitors reached the total with one wicket and 3 overs to spare.

On Sunday the Women made the long journey north to Aberdeen to take on the Northern Lights.  Annette Aitken-Drummond won the toss and chose to bowl first.  There was early success for Masie Maceira but the home side put on 89 for the 2nd wicket.  That partnership was broken by Charis Scott and then Gabriella Fontenla took 3 quick wickets to leave the Northern Lights 106 for 5.  Sam Haggo was the next to strike followed by a run out.  Haggo claimed a second and Fontenla a fourth as the home side were restricted to 171 for 9 from their 30 overs.  In reply Scott (28) set a positive tone and there were useful contributions from the skipper (13);  Zaara Dancu (20) and Maceira (20) who gave support to Haggo who hit 61 to take Carlton to the brink of victory.  Despite the loss of 2 wickets with the scores level, Sarah Beith hit the winning run to give the Women a fine 2 wicket win with 9 balls to spare.

The 3rd XI entertained Westquarter & Redding at Grange Loan on Sunday.  Skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the Falkirk side chose to bat first.  The visitors got off to a fast start until Cameron Keatinge made the first breakthough.  The introduction of Charlie Kentish’s offspin slowed the scoring rate and he also picked up the other opener.  A strong 3rd wicket partnership was broken by Fraser Kentish who also claimed the next wicket.  Zaki Yusaf chipped in with a couple of wickets and one from Anish Amin before the returning Keatinge claimed the final 2 wickets and Westquater were bowled out for 216 off the final ball of the 40th over.  In reply both openers went early but Yusaf looked in good touch until he knicked off for 28.  The middle order struggled in the face of some accurate bowling and wickets fell regularly as the home side slumped to 90 for 9 after 23 overs.  Fraser Kentish and McKay dug in and pounced on anything loose, adding 58 for the final wicket before Kentish was bowled for an entertaining 41 as the 3s fell to a 68 run defeat in the 34th over.

Also on Sunday the U13s were in action in the ECB Vitality Cup at Inverleith.  First up they played Gordonians and the Carlton youngsters put on 151 for 7 from their 20 overs.  Oli Stones hit 33ret and there were good contributions from skipper James Stronach (15); Hamish Foley (19); Freddie Charman (23); Hamish Turner (14) & Noah Moncur (22*).  With the ball they restricted the Aberdonians to 72 for 8 with spinners Stones (4-1-8-4) & Tom Hathorn (3-2-1-2) the most succesful bowlers.  In the final they faced Livingston who had won a close semi-final against Uddingston.  The West Lothian side batted first and despite a good start were bowled out for 55 with Stones bagging 5 wickets.  Carlton were clinical with the bat and chased down the Livingston total in just under five overs to take the trophy and see them through into the next round against English oppostion.