Weekend preview – 22nd/23rd July

It’s the thirteenth round of league cricket this weekend and the Arrows have another lot of seven senior fixtures.

On Saturday the First XI will welcome Stondeywood Dyce to Grange Loan fresh off a Masterton Trophy Final victory. The Aberdeenshire side currently sit one place above the relegation spot, in 9th place. In the game played earlier this season the Arrows lost the toss and were invited to bat first on a wicket that offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers.  Early wickets fell and only Tom Simpson (43) came close to coming to terms with the tricky conditions.  The visitors were in trouble at 47 for 4 but Simpson and Ally Evans dug in for what turned out to be the biggest partnership of the day at 31.  Wickets continued to fall and 97 for 6 became 97 all out thanks in no small part to a hattrick.  The home side got off to a steady start but the introduction of Ruaridh McIntyre paid dividends as he claimed 3 wickets to leave Dyce 51 for 3.  Evans picked up a wicket and then there was 1 for Rudy Adair to reduce the home side to 64 for 5.  Then Evans produced a hattrick of his own to make it 78 for 5.  Adair then claimed 2 wickets in 2 balls to secure an 18 run victory in the 23rd over. Daniel Da Costa will captain the side for the first time in Arun Pillai’s absence.

The 2nd XI are playing city rivals Grange 2s at Fettes due to Portgower Place being tied up with a full schedule of international fixtures. The Stockbridge side are 2 places below the Arrows in 8th place. The game at Grange Loan in round four was won comfortably by the Arrows. Carlton won the toss and opted to bat first.  There was an early run out but most of the top order got starts however no-one went on to make a significant score.  David Saul top scored with 41 and there was a useful cameo from Omar Ahmad (23 off 15) to help the home side post 212 for 9 from their 50 overs.  Armaan Bedi picked up both openers to leave the visitors 20 for 2 after 6 overs.  The next over Ahmad claimed 2 wickets in 2 balls and Grange were in real trouble at 28 for 4.  Bedi took a further 2 wickets to reduce the Stockbridge side to 55 for 6 and then Charles Stronach & Harry Simpson picked up 2 wickets apiece to complete the win and bowl Grange out for 81 in the 23rd over.

The 3rd XI will head north to Alloa where they will face off against Clackmannan County at The Arns. Clacks are currently in pole position in ESCA Division 2, 8 positions above the 3s. Earlier this season the sides met at Peffermill where the Arrows lost the toss and took to the field.  Jamie Beattie and Kyle Burgess made early inroads with 2 & 1 wickets respectively to reduce Clacks to 32 for 3.  McKay claimed the next wicket and Tom Ritchie picked up another with his offspin to leave the visitors 87 for 5.  Dougie Firth was the next to strike and there were 2 more for Ritchie as well as a 3rd for the returning Beattie as Clacks were restricted to 134 for 9 from their 40 overs.  The home side lost wickets at the top but were handily placed at 75 for 3.  A clatter of wickets, however, saw Carlton slump to 83 all out in the 31st over with Paul Kentish top scoring with 21.

To conclude action on Saturday the 4th XI are heading west to Boghall where they will face Linlithgow 2s. The most recent journey to Boghall for the Arrows was a fruitful one as that was where the First XI lifted the Masterton Trophy on Wednesday night. Linlithgow 2s currently sit five places above the 4s in 5th place, having registered 5 wins from their 10 games so far this year. In this season’s first meeting between the sides the Arrows lost the toss and the West Lothian side opted to bowl first.  The skipper fell early but a good second wicket partnership between Chris Sale & Euan Keatinge saw Carlton well placed at 63 for 1 at drinks.  Keatinge (20) fell first and then a few overs later Sale (24) went in the face of some tight bowling from the home side.  Shreyas Tekale (16) injected some urgency to the innings but the 4s couldn’t produce the required acceleration and posted 115 for 7 from their 40 overs.  An aggressive start from the home side was pegged back when Dan Mowat claimed the first wicket to leave Linlithgow 34 for 1 after 9 overs.  Benji Risi & Robbie Murray both bowled well and picked up a wicket each to drag things back the Arrows way with the home side 67 for 3 after 20 overs.  Unfortunately Carlton couldn’t match the bowling performance of the West Lothian side to defend a sub-par total and in the end Linlithgow cruised to a 7 wicket win in the 26th over.

The Women’s side are in action for the second weekend in a row after defeating Northern Lights by 10 wickets last Sunday. This week they are set to take on Grange at Peffermill. Grange have registered 1 win and 1 loss from their 2 split fixtures so far. In the regular season game at Portgower Place Carlton were invited to bat first after losing the toss.  3 wickets fell early to leave Carlton in a spot of bother at 46 for 3 in the 10th over.  Haggo and Priyanaz Chatterji then put on 152 for the 4th wicket before Chatterji eventually fell for 92 in the 24th over.  Haggo (88*) kept going and helped her side post a commanding 270 for 5 from their 30 overs.  The Arrows didn’t have it all their own way with the ball as Grange made 189 for 5 from their 30 overs.  Masie Maceira & Chatterji claimed 2 wickets each and Gabriella Fontenla took 1 as Carlton completed an 81 run victory.

The 5th XI are back at Grange Loan for the third time in the past four weeks. This week they will welcome fellow Edinburgh side Watsonians. The away side are currently sitting rock bottom in ESCA Division 7. In the reverse fixture at Craiglockhart, the Arrows lost the toss and were asked to field first.  There was an early wicket for Stu Dawson but it took to the 23rd over for the next wicket to fall with Oli Stones the successful bowler.  He also claimed the next wicket thanks to a great catch from Kartic Subr to leave the home side 100 for 3.  Tom Hathorn then picked up a wicket and runouts from Oli Stones & John Beattie helped restrict Watsonians to 131 for 6 from their 40 overs.  In reply Murray & Hathorn Jnr put on 74 for the first wicket before the skipper played on for 39.  Iain Hathorn joined his son and put on 48 for the second wicket before Tom was pinned in front for 45.  Stones (4*) & Hathorn Snr (24*) saw the 5s home to an 8 wicket win in the 25th over.

Also on Sunday the Women’s second team are entertaining Edinburgh South in a morning game at Grange Loan in the Eastern Women’s Challenger League.

Having won the Scottish Region of the Vitality ECB U15 cup, the side will head south of the border where they will take on Chester-le-Street CC at Ropery Lane. The two sides met in 2021 in the further stages of the Vitality ECB U13 cup where the Arrows squeaked home in an incredibly tight affair at Grange Loan.