Weekend roundup – 2nd/3rd July

The 1st XI welcomed Falkland to Grange Loan for round 10 of the Eastern Premier League.  Skipper Tom Simpson lost the toss and the home side were invited to bat first.  In tricky batting conditions Simpson & Shujaa Khan put on 106 for the first wicket before the skipper fell for a patient 40.  Khan fell shortly after having just reached 50 and wickets continued to fall although runs were flowing more freely.  Fraser Burnett hit 56 from 52 balls to help the home side reach 222 for 7 from their 50 overs.  A good opening stand from the visitors was broken in the 16th over by Rory Allardice.  Angus Beattie picked up the next wicket and Ally Evans claimed the third.  When Beattie took his second the Fife side looked in trouble at 121 for 4 in the 35th over but the 5th wicket put on 90 runs before a run out in the 48th over left them 211 for 5.  That became 211 for 6 as Neville Madziva castled the new man first ball.  Needing 12 off 12, Evans only conceded 4 from the penultimate over before the visitors scrambled 7 off the last to end the match as a tie.

The 2nd XI travelled to Campbell Park to take on Edinburgh CC.  Harry Simpson had the reins and he lost toss and the home side chose to bowl first.  3 quick wickets had the 2s on the ropes but a mini-recovery from Ruari Macpherson (28) and Matthew Wells (22) was broken in the 20th over with 52 on the board. Mo Nauman (15) hit a couple of lusty blows but no other batter reached double figures as the 2s were bowled out for 89 in the 37th over.  Saif Khan picked up a wicket in the 2nd over but that was the last success with the ball as the home side cruised to a 9 wicket win in the 19th over.

The 3rd XI were due to play Boroughmuir at Meggetland but overnight rain rendered the ground unplayable.

The 5th XI travelled to Cavalry Park 2 to take on Marchmont 3s.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and invited the home side to bat first.  Theo Griffin struck with the last ball of the second over but a decent second wicket partnership was broken by Aadi Khadse, who bowling in partnership with dad Rahul, reduced Marchmont to 74 for 7 after 17 overs.  The last few wickets were hard to come by but Freddie Charman, James Stronach and Benji took a wicket apiece as the home side were bowled out for 164 in the 36th over.  Aadi Khadse was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 22 from 5 overs.  In reply, skipper Murray lost opening partner Stronach in the 7th over but put on 105 with Martin Robertson, hitting a succession of boundaries.  He eventually fell in the 26th over for 90 with just 23 runs needed.  Two more wickets fell in quick succession but Robertson (33*) and Robbie Murray (14*) saw the 5s home with 6 wickets and 10 overs to spare.

On Sunday the Women travelled across town to Barnton to take on RHC knowing that a win would see them retain their WPL title.  Skipper Annette Aitken-Drummond lost the toss and Carlton were asked to bat first.  Early wickets had the visitors on the back foot but Masie Maceira counterattacked.  She fell for 23 and wickets kept falling.  Heather Tait was playing the anchor innings and when she was the 7th wicket to fall for 24 Carlton had 98 on the board.  The tail did not really wag and the visitors were bowled out for 106 in the 22nd over.  Zaara Dancu struck with the first ball of the second over and went on to pick up 2 more wickets and Maceira also claimed one to leave the home side 23 for 4 after 8 overs.  The introduction of Saskia Aldridge paid immediate dividends as she picked up the 5th wicket in her first over.  In her second over she claimed 3 wickets including 2 off the last two balls.  Aldridge completed her hattrick with the first ball of her 3rd over and a run out 4 balls later finished the game as the Women completed a 67 run win in the 14th over to be crowned WPL Champions for the second year in a row.

Also on Sunday the 4th XI welcomed Dunbar to Grange Loan.  Skipper Al Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  A wayward start with the ball saw the East Lothian side get off to a fast start.  In the 19th over Stu Dawson got the breakthrough and there was more success for spinners Joe Griffin & Harry Charman who picked up 2 wickets each to help slow the run-rate somewhat.  With Dunbar chasing runs at the back end Robbie Murray & Abhi Mehta picked up a wicket each but the visitors posted 197 for 7 from their 40 overs.  The 4s batting woes continued with both openers going cheaply.  James Stroanch (20); Joe Griffin (25) and Rory Ledingham (40) gave the innings some momentum but in the end the 4s were bowled out for 139 in the 36th over to lose by 58 runs.