Weekend preview – 8th/9th July

It’s the eleventh round of league cricket this weekend and the Arrows have a double header against the Nails on Saturday. 

On Saturday the First XI will welcome Edinburgh rivals Heriot’s to Grange Loan. The match is kindly being sponsored by Jim Fiddes. Heriot’s currently reside at second place in the table, having lost only the two games so far this season. The two sides are also scheduled to meet in the Masterton Trophy semi-final next Tuesday after two washouts this week. Rain appears to be a common theme this season when facing the Nails. In the game played earlier this season the Arrows won the toss and opted to bat first.  A decent opening stand was broken when Ruaraidh Main (16) nicked off with 41 on the board.  Daniel Da Costa didn’t last long but Pillai joined Finn Thornton at the crease and rebuilt things until, with the score on 88, Thornton fell for 48 from only 41 balls.  That sparked an almighty collapse as Carlton lost the remaining 7 wickets for only 20 runs as they were bowled out for 108 in the 29th over.  Lewis O’Donnell, making his debut for the Arrows, struck in the 4th over to reduce the home side to 6 for 1 and in the 9th over Omar Ahmad removed the other opener.  At the end of that over the umpires called for the tarpaulin sheet and no more play was possible and the game was abandoned with Heriot’s 39 for 2.

The 2nd XI are the other side taking on the Nails this weekend as they will face Heriot’s 2nd team at Goldenacre. The north side team are 3 places below the Arrows in 7th place. The game at Grange Loan was another casualty to the rain however some play did occur. The Arrows won the toss and inserted the visitors.  Heriot’s put on 58 before Harry Simpson made the breakthrough.  Chayank Gosain claimed the next wicket and Simpson picked up his second to leave the visitors 97 for 3.  The introduction of David Saul to the attack saw the leggie claim a wicket in his second over which prompted a mini-collapse with Saul & Fergus Foley picking up 2 & 3 wickets respectively.  Heriot’s were 129 for 9 but a stubborn last wicket stand saw the visitors eventually bowled out for 153 with Jamie Beattie taking the final wicket in the 39th over.  The Carlton reply got off to a terrible start, losing Gosain second ball.  The 5th over saw 2 more wickets go down and then one more in the 6th & 7th overs to leave the 2s in all sorts of trouble at 12 for 5.  The weather then came to the rescue as the umpires took the players from the field at the end of the ninth over as this match was also abandoned.

The 3rd XI will head south to the borders where they will face off against Kelso at Shedden Park. Kelso are in 5th place, 4 positions above the 3s. Earlier this season the sides met at Grange Loan where skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the home side were asked to bat first.  James Stronach fell in the first over and although Chris Sale & Vijay Nagarajan steadied the ship wickets fell at regular intervals.  Several batters got starts but nobody was able to go on and make a meaningful score.  In the end the 3s were bowled out for a below par 116 in the 37th over with Ferg Foley top scoring with 23.  Shaun Smith and Kyle Burgess took the new ball but could not find the breakthrough.  Ferg Foley struck with his first legitimate delivery to leave Kelso 18 for 1.  Dougie Firth replaced Smith and he too picked up a wicket, bowling the other opener with 61 on the board.  McKay then turned to spin with Nagarajan the next to strike and a run out soon after left the borderers 89 for 4.  Despite a further wicket for Nagarajan, Kelso cruised to a 5 wicket victory in the 31st over.

To conclude action on Saturday the 4th XI are hosting Leith FAB’s seconds at Peffermill. Leith FAB currently sit two places above the 4s in 8th place, having registered 3 wins from their 9 games so far this year. In this season’s first meeting between the sides Carlton were invited to bat first.  The skipper fell early but John Beattie and Paul Kentish consolidated in the face of some good bowling on a pitch that offered plenty assistance to the bowlers.  Kentish brought up a well deserved half century but was undone by a ball that kept low to fall for 52.  Beattie was next to go for 23 trying to push the score along and there then followed 4 run outs as the 4s posted 130 for 8 from their 40 overs.  In reply, with the weather closing in, Dan Mowat & Hamish Foley troubled both openers with Foley striking with the last ball of the 2nd over thanks to a good running catch from Stu Dawson.  The Arrows were right in the game when Foley took 2 more wickets in the 6th to reduce Leith to 19 for 3.  The home side consolidated and when Dawson was introduced to the attack he picked up a wicket in his first over.  52 for 4 became 77 for 6 as Dawson claimed a further two wickets in consecutive deliveries.  Conditions were worsening, however, and the skippers agreed to abandon the game in the 19th over with Leith needing 41 more runs and Carlton 4 wickets.

The Women’s game versus West of Scotland has been conceded by the Glasgow side and therefore will not take place on Sunday.

The 5th XI are back at Grange Loan for the second Sunday running. This week they welcome fellow promotion candidates Clackmannan County 2s. The away side are currently 2nd place in ESCA Division 7, one spot below the 5s. In the reverse fixture at The Arns, Carlton won the toss and chose to bowl first. Lewis Broster & Josh Cully opened the bowling and Cully claimed an early wicket.  Aadi Khadse was introduced to the attack and he removed the other opener in his second over.  Gus Turner came on pegged back the run rate and also picked up a wicket to leave the home side 59 for 3 at drinks.  Rahul Khadse then came on and picked up 4 wickets for only 8 runs from his 8 overs.  Tom Hathorn also claimed a couple with his leg-breaks and Aadi Khadse finished the innings with a run out in the final over with 113 on the board.  In reply the 5s lost 2 wickets early and then the skipper fell to the first change bowlers.  A clatter of wickets left them struggling at 39 for 6 but Cully came to the crease and settled quickly, putting away any wayward deliveries.  He got good support from Tom Dweck and then Turner (15) & Khadse Snr but the latter fell in the 36th over with 26 more runs still required.  Broster joined Cully at the crease and despite a few scares they got it down to 8 needed off the last over.  That became 3 of the last ball but the final pair could only manage a 2, so the game was tied, thanks in no small part to Cully’s 36 not out.

Also on Sunday the Women’s 2s team are back in action, this time at Grange Loan against MDAFS for a 9.30am start.