Weekend roundup – 8th/9th July

The 1st XI entertained Heriot’s at Grange Loan in a match kindly sponsored by Jim Fiddes.  Umair Mohammed was at the helm but he lost the toss and the visitors chose to bat first.  A steady start from Heriot’s was undone by Lewis O’Donnell removing both openers in successive overs.  Ruaridh McIntyre then took 2 wickets in the 10th over to reduce the Nails to 31 for 4.  Charlie Buchanan-Smith was introduced to the attack and he too picked up 2 wickets in successive overs to leave Heriot’s in all sorts of trouble at 53 for 6.  Angus Beattie then claimed the big wicket of the Heriot’s skipper quickly followed by another to make it 75 for 8.  McIntyre came back into the attack and picked up a third wicket and Beattie closed out the innings with a sharp return catch to bundle Heriot’s out for 95 in the 35th over. In reply Tom Simpson fell first ball but Daniel Da Costa and Gavin Murray put on 35 for the second wicket before Murray had his furniture rearranged.  2 more wickets fell with the score on 36 including Da Costa for 24.  Buchanan-Smith & Harry Simpson staged a bit of a recovery but wickets continued to fall.  At 72 for 7 there was a rain delay with Carlton 4 behind on DL.  Fortunately play was able to resume and O’Donnell & Beattie got the home side within sight of victory before both fell with the score on 90.  McIntyre & Rory Allardice managed to scamper the remaining runs to secure a thrilling 1 wicket win.  That result sees the Arrows move to third in the EPL table, level on points with Heriot’s.

The 2nd XI travelled to the north of the city to take on their counterparts at Heriot’s at Glodenacre.  Skipper Ben D’Ulisse lost the toss and the home side opted to bat first.  Armaan Bedi bowled 4 successive wicket maidens to leave the home side 10 for 4 after 8 overs.  Omar Ahmad also picked up a wicket to put the Nails further in the mire at 18 for 5.  The home side recovered and a good sixth wicket partnership was eventually broken by Max D’Ulisse with 101 on the board before Chayank Gosain claimed 3 wickets to reduce Heriot’s to 122 for 9.  The last wicket proved hard to come by until the returning Bedi completed his 5-for as the host were boweld out for 148 in the 49th over.  The Carlton reply got off to a poor start losing 4 wickets for only 18 runs.  Charlie Kentish & Rory Ledingham stabilised things somewhat and took the score to 37 for 4 after 11 overs when rain forced the players from the field.  No further play was possible and the match was abandoned.

The 3rd XI made the long journey south to Kelso looking to make it four wins in a row.  Captain Brad McKay lost the toss and Carlton were invited to bat first.  3 early wickets fell but Cam Keatinge (28) & Isaac Foley (37) took the score to 92 before Foley was caught behind.  The lower order failed to really fire as wickets fell regularly as Carlton were bowled out for 134 in the 26th over.  In reply Shaun Smith picked up an early wicket and a run out from Isaac Foley left the home side 14 for 2 after 6 overs.  Ferg Foley came into the attack and struck in his first over and again in his third to reduce Kelso to 32 for 4 after 14.  A decent 5th wicket partnership was broken by Andrew Lang and then Dougie Firth picked up a wicket to make it 64 for 6.  The home skipper dug in and got his team in sight of victory before Ferg Foley came back to pick up the vital wicket.  With only 15 needed from 23 balls and 3 wickets in hand the Arrows had to be on top of their game to have any chance.  Smith picked up his second wicket in the 38th over and then with 8 needed off the last Isaac Foley restricted the home side to 5 and a wicket to give Carlton a hard-fought win by 2 runs.

The 4th XI were at “home” at Peffermill for the visit of Leith FAB 2s.  Skipper Al Murray lost the toss and the visitors chose to bowl first.  Iain & Tom Hathorn put on 25 for the first wicket before Hathorn Jnr fell for 13.  Marc Dweck joined Hathorn Snr at the crease and took the score to 58 for 1 at drinks.  Hathorn fell for 29 just after the break and Dweck followed shortly after.  Oli Stones hit a few big shots before holing out on the challenging surface.  That brought Chris Sale & Murray together and the pair managed to add some momentum to the innings.  Sale went for 31 and Murray for 28 and there was a flurry of wickets towards the end as the lower order chased quick runs.  In the end Carlton posted 153 for 9 from their 40 overs.  A fine opening spell from Hector Murray & Hamish Foley reduced Leith to 31 for 5 after 10 overs.  Foley claiming 4 wickets and 1 to Murray.  A solid 6th wicket partnership for the visitors threatened to turn the game their way but Tom Ritchie bowled an excellent spell to contain the scoring and then picked up the wicket to break the partnership.  Stones then chipped in with 2 wickets and a run out from Tom Hathorn left Leith all at sea at 83 for 9 after 27 overs.  All that was left was for Foley to return and claim his fifth wicket to round off a fine 66 run win for the 4s.

Early on Sunday morning the Women 2nd XI hosted MDAFS Women at Grange Loan for the first time in a pairs-format Challenger League.  The game was played in glorious sunshine, after a bit of mopping up of puddles early doors. Carlton won by 15 runs with two wickets for Keira, one each for Holly, Abby and Ajitha and the top scorers were Holly and Caitlin.

Later on Sunday the 5th XI took on Clackmannan County 2s at Grange Loan.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and chose to field first.  A 40 run opening partnership for the visitors was broken by Aadi Khadse in the 13th over.  It took until the 26th over before there was more success for the bowlers as Shreyas Tekale struck with the score on 102.  Another decent partnership was broken by Tekale in the 34th over and in the 38th over he completed his 5-for to leave the Alloa side 149 for 6.  An eventful 39th over from Khadse saw 2 runouts and a wicket and in the final over Tekale claimed a 6th to bowl out Clacks for 163.  That was the second week in a row that Tekale has taken 6 wickets with his legspin.  The Carlton reply got off to a poor start as the home side slumped to 20 for 3 in the 10th over.  Mike Kennedy, making only his second outing of the season, was the only batter to get to grips with the bowling, hitting a sprightly 29 before missing a straight one.  In the end the 5s were bowled out for 80 in the 29th over, to lose by 83 runs.