Weekend roundup 6th/7th August

The 1st XI made the short journey to the West of the city to take on RHC at Barnton. Skipper Tom Simpson lost the toss and the home side opted to bat first. Shiv Gupta picked up the first wicket with the score on 29 in the 9th over and then Calum Everett claimed 2 in 3 balls to reduce RHC to 46 for 3 in the 13th. Angus Beattie was the next to strike, picking up the next two wickets and Everett claimed a 3rd to leave the home in trouble at 77 for 6 in the 23rd over. Ruaridh McIntyre came back into the attack and picked up 2 wickets in successive overs to leave RHC 102 for 8 but a good rear guard action from the home side took them to 130 before Rory Allardice broke the 9th wicket partnership. More lower order resistance followed before Everett came back and claimed his 4th to bowl RHC out for 150 in the 43rd over. The Carlton reply got off to a disastrous start as Shujaa Khan, Arun Pillai and Hayden Laing all departed without scoring. Simpson was holding firm but Will Hardie fell next to leave the visitors struggling at 11 for 4 in the 5th over. Neville Madziva gave Simpson some support but he was bowled for 10 in the 12th over. Gupta didn’t last long but Allardice and Simpson put on 59 for the 7th wicket before the former was pinned in front for 32. Beattie joined Simpson and the pair eased Carlton home in the 38th over for a 3 wicket win with Simpson finishing with a fine unbeaten 68.

The 2nd XI welcomed Heriot’s 2s to Grange Loan. Captain Ben D’Ulisse lost the toss and the visitors invited the home side to bat first. After 14 overs Carlton were is a spot of bother at 48 for 3 but a 52 run partnership between Kyle Macpherson and Mo Nauman recovered the situation. When Nauman fell for 21 wickets kept falling fairly regularly including Macpherson for 38. Shaun Smith was the only other batter to reach double figures as the home side were bundled out for 160 in the 40th over. Charles Stronach picked up an early wicket but runs were beginning to flow. Ben Stronach at the other end then picked up 3 wickets to leave Heriot’s 65 for 4 after 11. The fifth wicket put on 52 before Max D’Ulisse struck twice in the 22nd over to tip the game the home side’s way. The young offspinner claimed a third in his next over and then Smith picked up the 8th wicket in the 29th over with the score on 142. With just 19 runs needed the visitors crawled towards the target until Stronach Jnr returned to claim the 9th wicket in the 37th over with 8 runs still needed. 3 balls later D’Ulisse picked up the final wicket to see the home side claim the 20 points by a margin of 6 runs.

The 3rd XI were at “home” at Cavalry Park 2 as they entertained RHC 2s. Skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the visitors chose to bat first. A good bowling and fielding performance restricted RHC to 187 for 8 from their 40 overs in the diminutive surroundings with Gregor McIntyre picking up 3 wickets and one each for Kyle Burgess, Mark McKay, Isaac Foley and the skipper plus a run out. In reply the 3s lost McIntyre early but a decent partnership between Ben Thurman and Zaki Yusaf steadied the ship. Thurman fell for 17 and then 3 more wickets fell in quick succession before Foley joined Yusaf at the crease. With 109 still need to win and limited batting resources in the shed the sixth wicket partnership had a fair bit to do. As it was the pair batted beautifully and saw the home side over the line in the 36th over with Yusaf finishing on 89* and Foley 46*.

The 4th XI were away to Edinburgh CC 3s on a game played at Meadows 3. Captain Al Murray lost the toss and the 4s were invited to bat first on a surface that looked to offer assistance to the bowler. Murray & John Beattie made a slow start trying to ensure they used the full allotment of overs, but both fell in quick succession with only 25 on the board. David Simpson and Bruce Smith then took the game to bowlers. Putting on 95 for the 3rd wicket before Simpson was bowled for 31. Smith kept going and was out in the 37th over to an excellent caught & bowled for 68 with the score on 141. Joe Griffin (20) and Fergus Foley (7*) upped the pace as the 4s finished on 167 for 5 from their 40 overs. Fraser Kentish picked up an early wicket but good second wicket partnership was forming. It was eventually broken in the 16th over by Stu Dawson with the score on 66. Foley claimed a wicket in the next over and then Dawson took a second the over after that to leave the home side 72 for 4 in the 18th. Edinburgh CC regrouped and despite Smith claiming the 5th wicket the home side punished some wayward bowling and ran out comfortable winners in the 33rd over.

On Sunday the 5th XI entertained Drummond Trinity 5s at Grange Loan.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and opted to bowl first.  Robbie Murray took an early wicket but it took until the 16th over for the next wicket to fall.  Angus Turner took two in an over and then a third in his next over to leave DTs 66 for 4 but the visitors regrouped.  The fifth wicket added 74 before the introduction of James Stronach broke the partnership.  Fergus Foley then came back and picked up two wickets followed by two more for Stronach and a run out of the last ball of the innings saw DTs bowled out for 193.  The skipper and Stronach put on 51 for the first wicket before the youngster fell for 26.  Foley joined Murray Snr and put together another half century partnership before the skipper was caught for 58 with Nelson on the board.  Despite losing Robbie Murray and Martin Robertson cheaply, Foley continued to score freely and found good support from Oli Stones.  In the end Foley and Stones chased down the DTs total in the 38th over with Foley making an impressive 84 for only 68 balls.

Also on Sunday the Women’s 2nd XI played a Challenger League match against Edinburgh South at the Inch Artificial.  The Carlton side ran out comfortable winners with Sarah taking 3 wickets and there were 2 for Holly and 1 for Anna.  Good fielding from Amelia saw her contribute a catch and a run out.  With the bat Holly top scored with 28 while Maira chipped in with 19 and Keira hit 15.

Also playing at the Inch on Sunday was the Mixed Development XI against a strong Penicuik outfit.  The experienced visiting batters hit 202 for 6 from their 30 overs with Finlay Thompson the most successful bowler as he picked up 3 for 10 from his first 4 overs.  Unfortunately the Mixed Dev side fell well short with the bat although Joe Griffin did hit 27.