Weekend roundup – 13th/14th August

The 1st XI welcomed Heriot’s to Grange Loan and skipper Tom Simpson won the toss and chose to bat first.  Wickets fell fairly regularly and the home side were in trouble at 53 for 4 in the 15th over but Arun Pillai & Neville Madziva stabilized things and put on 49 for the 5th wicket.  Pillai fell for 26 in the 30th over and the wickets started to fall again.  Only Madziva really came to terms with conditions and he was the final wicket to fall for a patient 51 as Carlton were bowled out for 153 in the 46th over.  Heriot’s got off to a fast start before Madziva claimed the first wicket in the 4th over with 30 on the board.  The introduction of spin in the 9th over brought immediate rewards as Angus Beattie struck with his first ball.  He picked up a second wicket in the 13th over to leave the visitors 61 for 3.  Rory Allardice then claimed 3 wickets in 3 overs to tip things the home side’s way as Heriot’s were reduced to 86 for 6 in the 22nd over.  Pillai replaced Beattie and he too struck with his first ball.  He claimed a second at the start of the 27th over to leave the visitors 106 for 8.  The Heriot’s lower order dug in until Ally Evans came back on and picked up the last two wickets to give Carlton a 15 run win in the 36th over.

The 2nd XI travelled to the north of the city to take on Edinburgh Accies at Newfield.  Captain Ben D’Ulisse won the toss and opted to bat first.  Carlton lost 3 early wickets to leave them 26 for 3 after 7 overs but Mo Nauman counterattacked.  He hit a quick 25 but both he and opener Gavin Murray fell with the score on 51.  The skipper and Harry Simpson put on 62 for the 6th wicket but both fell in quick succession.  The lower order managed to take the score to 149 before the visitors were bowled out in the 40th over.  A direct hit runout from D’Ulisse in the second over followed by Ben Stronach nicking off the No 3 next ball left Accies 6 for 2.  Omar Ahmad then claimed 2 wickets in 3 balls to reduce the home side to 20 for 4 after 5 overs. Ahmad struck again in the 7th over and Stronach claimed his second in the 8th.   Ahmad claimed his 4th in the 11th over to leave Accies in all sorts of trouble at 44 for 7.  Adeel Raza was introduced into the attack and struck with the first ball of the 20th over.  Charles Stronach replaced Ahmad and picked up a wicket in his second over and Raza claimed the final wicket the next over to give Carlton a 63 run victory in the 24th over.

The 3rd XI made the short journey to Double Hedges to take on Kirkbrae.  Skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the home side chose to bat first.  Fraser Kentish picked up the first wicket in the 5th over and then claimed a second in the 7th over to leave the home side 38 for 2.  Charlie Kentish was next to strike followed by one each for Dougie Firth and McKay reducing Kirkbrae to 92 for 5 after 27 overs.  Rory Ledingham then took 3 wickets in the space of 3 overs and there was a run out for Firth.  In the end the home side posted 168 for 9 from their 40 overs.   In reply Pete Gill fell early but Ben Thurman and Charlie Kentish put on 65 for the second wicket before Kentish fell for 31.  2 quick wickets made it 69 for 4 but Ledingham and Thurman rebuilt things.  When Ledingham fell for 23 another quick wicket left the visitors 103 for 6 but Andrew Lang joined Thurman and the pair saw Carlton home in the 33rd over for a 4 wicket win.  The pair put together an unbeaten 67 run partnership with Thurman finishing on 66* & Lang 33*.

Also on Saturday the 5th XI entertained Bass Rock 2s at Cavalry Park 2.  Captain Keith Murray lost the toss and the East Lothian side opted to bat first.  A strong opening partnership was eventually broken by Rahul Khadse but the visitors continued to score freely in the compact surrounding of Cav 2.  In the end the visitors racked up 227 for 7 from their 40 overs with Zaara Dancu returning the best bowling figures with 2 for 21.  There were also 2 wickets for Hamish Foley and Rahul Khadse with Aadi Khadse the other bowler to strike.  In reply the 5s lost 3 quick wickets but Robbie Murray and Martin Robertson steadied the ship.  When Murray fell for a well made 33 there was still plenty to do but Robertson found good support from Angus Turner.  Robertson reached three figures for the first time in his long career but was undone next ball to fall for exactly 100.  Turner fell soon after for 30 and the required rate began to climb.  Unfortunately the 5s couldn’t quite find the 6 needed to win off the last ball as they finished on 222 for 7 to lose by 5 runs.

On Sunday morning the Women’s 2nd XI played a Challenger League match against the newly formed Perth & Kinross at Grange Loan.  The visitors batted first and posted a decent total that proved too much for the home side.  There were plenty of positives to take from the game for both sides and it is encouraging to see to the growth of the women’s game across the country.

Later on Sunday the 4th XI took on St Boswells at Grange Loan.  Skipper Al Murray won the toss and chose to field first.  A decent opening stand was broken when Joe Griffin took a good catch down the legside off Abhi Mehta.  Another good partnership developed which was eventually broken when the skipper brought himself on and Isaac Foley took an excellent catch on the hill.  Harry Charman was the next to strike, this time Fergus Foley with the safe pair of hands.  Murray struck again in the 31st over to leave the visitors on 123 for 4 but some good acceleration from the Borderers saw them post 186 for 5.  Fergus Foley picked up the final wicket with the penultimate delivery and the St Boswells skipper finished on 84 not out.  In reply the 4s lost David Simpson early but Murray & Anish Amin put on 55 for the second wicket.  When Amin fell for 23 another 2 wickets fell in quick succession to leave the home side on 75 for 4 as Rory Ledingham joined Murray at the crease.  At drinks the game was delicately poised at 98 for 4 when heavy rain forced the players from the field.  After a 30 minute break Murray (74*) & Ledingham (57*) resumed the chase and a fine 5th wicket partnership saw Carlton over the line with 6 wickets and 7 overs to spare.

The final game of the weekend saw the Mixed Dev XI take on a side from Westquarter at the Inch.  A fine bowling display restricted the Falkirk side to 109 for 8 from their 30 overs.  There were 2 wickets each for Benji Risi, Tomos Hunt & Finlay Thompson and 1 for John Gill plus a run out for Archie Smart.  The Mixed Dev side chased down the total 7 down in the 23rd over with 47 from Hayden Laing and 28 from Risi.