Weekend roundup – 1st/2nd July

The 1st XI travelled to Perthshire to take on Meigle at Victory Park.  Skipper Arun Pillai won the toss and opted to bat first.  Tom Simpson & Shujaa Khan opened up and, despite a rain delay, put on 38 before Simpson fell in the 7th over.  Daniel Da Costa joined Khan and the pair put on 44 for the second wicket before Da Costa was out to the last ball of the 16th over.  Khan was going well but wickets continued to fall at the other end.  The opener brought up a well deserved century in the 42nd over but fell shortly after for 103 with the score 187 for 7.  The lower order added some useful runs to finish on 225 for 8.  With the ball Ruaridh McIntyre took an early wicket and there was another for Khan to leave the home side 13 for 2 in the 5th over.  A strong 3rd wicket partnership from Meigle’s overseas players looked to be taking the game away from Carlton but it was eventually broken in the 31st over by Charlie Buchanan-Smith with 139 on the board.  The home pro was still going well but in the 40th over Lewis O’Donnell had him caught at 3rd man with Meigle still needing 47 to win.  Wickets then tumbled with 2 to Pillai & O’Donnell and 1 to McIntyre and in the end the home side finished on 191 for 9 giving the Arrows a 35 run win.

The 2nd XI entertained Edinburgh CC at Grange Loan.  The start was delayed due to rain, and eventually reduced to 45 overs a side.  Captain Ben D’Ulisse won the toss and elected to bat first.  That looked to be a brave decision as the home side were reduced to 20 for 4 in the 13th over.  That soon became 41 for 5 but Euan Keatinge (37) and Ben Stronach (33) dug in to ensure the 2s were able to post some sort of score.  Some enterprising hitting from the lower order, Charles Stronach (20) & Armaan Bedi (25), helped the home side to 162 for 9 from their 45 overs.  In reply Bedi picked up an early wicket but it took until the 14th over and the introduction of Charles Stronach for the second wicket fall.  Edinburgh CC took the attack to the bowlers but in the 17th over Bedi claimed another to make it 73 for 3.  Stronach claimed his second shortly after and the game was evenly poised at 76 for 4 in the 18th.  Chayank Gosain came into the attack and picked up 2 quick wickets to turn the game Carlton’s way.  A good 7th wicket partnership tipped things in favour of the visitors but a run out from Dan Potter brought things back in the balance.  2 more wickets fell and that left 11 needed of the last with one wicket in hand.  Two 2s made it interesting but Jamie Beattie castled the Edinburgh batter for a fine 6 run win.

The 3rd XI were at Peffermill for the visit of Tranent & Preston Village.  Skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and Carlton were inserted.  Several of the top order got starts but the pitch was challenging and no-one was able to go on and make a big score.  James Stronach (23) and Cameron Moore (29) led the way with the bat and there were useful cameos all down the order as the 3s posted 124 for 8 from their 40 overs.  After tea, McKay picked up one of the openers and the other fell to Shaun Smith.  Another McKay wicket made it 31 for 3 but then a useful 4th wicket partnership developed.  That was broken by Hamish Foley and then Kyle Burgess picked up 3 quick wickets to reduce the East Lothian side to 64 for 7.  There was no way back for TPV and Dougie Firth claimed the last 3 wickets to bowl the visitors out for 87 and secure a 37 run win for the Arrows.

The 4th XI travelled south to the Borders to take on Melrose at Huntlyburn.  Captain for the day Keith Murray won the toss and invited the home side to bat first.  A strong opening partnership was eventually broken by Aadi Khadse and then Josh Cully removed the other opener.  Shreyas Tekale then entered the fray and returned the remarkable figures of 6 for 21 from 7.4 overs.  Dan Mowat came back for a second spell and claimed 2 wickets to help bowl out the home side for 127 in the 38th over.  In reply both Carlton openers fell early and despite 22 from Iain Hathorn and 27 from Chris Sale the 4s fell 36 runs short as they were bowled out for 91 in the 35th over.

On Sunday the 5th XI welcomed MDAFs 4s to Grange Loan.  Stand in skipper Al Murray lost the toss and the visitors decided to bowl first.  Murray & Freddie Charman made a positive start before Charman was pinned in front in the 8th over with 39 on the board.  Marc Dweck joined Murray in the middle but the skipper soon departed for 28.  Jamie Boyce fell not long after for a sprightly 11 to bring Stu Dawson to the crease.  He and Dweck put on 89 for the 4th wicket before the giant Yorkshireman was bowled for 28.  Bob Irvine entered the fray and added another 38 runs with Dweck to help Carlton post 200 for 4 from their 40 overs.  Dweck, the mainstay of the 5s innings, ended on an unbeaten 92.  In reply Lewis Broster picked up an early wicket and then chipped in with a direct hit runout in the 6th over to reduce MDAFs to 30 for 2.  The dangerous MDAFs No 3 was undone by Kieran Glass’s first ball and then Magnus Hay picked a wicket to leave the visitors 79  for 4 in the 18th over.  Noah Moncur then chipped in with a wicket just before drinks and there was another for Hay to leave MDAFs 106 for 6 in the 24th.  Moncur picked up 2 more and Dawson 1 before Broster came back to claim the final wicket and bowl MDAFs out for 145 to give the 5s a 55 run win.

Also on Sunday the U15 were in ECB Cup action in Glasgow.  In the semi-final against Perth Doo’cot Carlton batted first and posted an impressive 157 for 3 from their 20 overs.  James Stronach led the way with 49, well supported by 22 from Shreyas Tekale, 31 from skipper Fergus Foley and 32 from Oli Stones.   A solid bowling & fielding performance ensured their passage to the final as the young Arrows restricted Perth to 48 for 9 from their 20 overs.  Lewis King picked up 3 wickets and there were 2 each for Harry Charman & Dan Mowat as well as 1 for Hamish Foley and a runout from Stronach.

In the final Carlton faced Gordonians, with the Aberdonians batting first.  Another excellent display with the ball limited Gordonians to 69 for 9 from their 20 overs.   Harry Charman took 3 wickets and there was 1 each for Robbie Murray, Lewis King, Dan Mowat and Hamish Turner as well as 2 more runouts.  With the weather closing in the Carlton openers got off to a positive start and were on 34 for no loss when the rain forced the players from the field at the end of the 5th over.  Unfortunately no more play was possible and the young Arrows lifted the cup on account of their superior run rate.  Having won the Scottish leg of the competition the side now travel south to Durham in 2 weeks time to take on Chester-Le-Street.