Weekend roundup – 22nd/23rd July

The first game got off to a delayed start as the 1st XI entertained Stoneywood Dyce at Grange Loan in a match kindly sponsored by Colin Campbell.  Daniel Da Costa was at the helm and lost the toss and the home side were invited to bat first.  Da Costa fell in the second over but Tom Simpson and Gav Murray put on 52 for the second wicket before Simpson was caught for 21.  Will Hardie joined Murray at crease and took the score to 149 before Murray was bowled for 68 in the 29th over.  With the game shorted to 39 overs a side due to a rain break the home side accelerated and although wickets fell, including Hardie for 76 off only 63 balls, Carlton made 239 for 7.  After crunching the numbers through the D/L system, Dyce were set a target of 261.  The Aberdonians got off to a decent start before Lewis O’Donnell picked up the first wicket in the 8th over.  Rudy Adair was the next to strike in the 12th over to keep the visitors behind the rate and the youngster picked up a second wicket in the 20th to leave Dyce 99 for 3.  Harry Simpson & Angus Beattie picked up wickets before O’Donnell came back an removed the dangerous Dyce opener.  There were further wickets for David Saul (2), Simpson and a runout as the visitors were dismissed for 215 in the 38th over to give the Arrows a 46 run victory.

The 2nd XI travelled to Fettes to take on their counterparts from Grange.  Skipper Charles Stronach lost the toss and the host chose to bowl first.  The 2s batting issues continued from last week as only Zaki Yusaf (19) and Ruari Macpherson (11) made it to double figures.  In the end they were bowled out for a very sub-par 64 in the 27th over.  In reply Grange made light work of the chase, going past the Carlton total in the 16th over for a 10 wicket win.

The 3rd XI travelled north to Alloa to take on Clackmannan County at the Arns.  Paul Kentish took the reins for this match and lost the toss and the 3s were inserted.  3 of the top 4 got starts but no-one was able to go on and the visitors soon found themselves 52 for 4.  Kentish (18) & Isaac Foley (32) recovered things a bit but both fell to leave Carlton 93 for 6.  The last 4 wickets could only add 1 more run as the visitors were bowled out for 97 in the 29th over.  Hamish Foley & Jamie Beattie each took an early wicket to leave the home side 0-2 and give the Arrows hope but a strong 3rd wicket partnership took the game the home side’s way.  Kyle Burgess eventually made the breakthrough and there was another wicket for Beattie but Clacks got over the line in the 31st over for a 6 wicket win.

The 4th XI were away to Linlithgow 2s at Boghall, scene of Wednesday’s triumph in the Masterton Trophy.  Skipper Al Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  Dan Mowat and Andrew Lang opened the bowling and kept things tight, regularly troubling the batsmen.  Lang picked up two wickets and when Robbie Murray replaced Mowat he struck immediately to leave the home side 32 for 3 in the 11th over.  That became 53 for 6 at drinks as Lang claimed another and Murray 2 more.  A decent 7th wicket partnership was broken by a run out from David Simpson and then Aadi Khadse claimed the last 3 wickets to bowl out Linlithgow for 105 in the 29th over.  The chase never really got going with Lewis King (14) and Lang (14) the only top order batters to reach double figures.  A typically enterprising 27 from Benji Risi kept the Arrows in the game but in the end they were bowled out for 81 in the 30th over to lose by 24 runs.

On Sunday the action started early as the Women’s 2nd XI took on Stewarts Melville in a WPL Challenger – East match.  The visitors batted first and scored 86 for 5 from their 20 overs.  Holly, Di, Charlotte, Sonja & Libby were the successful bowlers, each claiming a wicket.  In reply the home side chased down the total in the 16th over for the loss of two wickets, Beith top scoring with 26ret as well as 3 other retirals.   This was a great result for a team featuring 3 debutants.

Later on Sunday, fresh from being crowned WPL Champions for the 3rd season in a row, the Women took on Grange at Peffermill.  Captain Sam Haggo won the toss and chose to bat first.  Some good bowling from the Stockbridge side had Carlton in trouble early on and they never really recovered.  In the end they were bowled out for 86 in the 27th over with Masie Maceira top scoring with 32.  That total proved to be well short of par as the visitors chased it down in the 20th over for a 9 wicket win.

Back at Grange Loan the 5th XI were entertaining Watsonian 4s.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and elected to bat first.  Wickets fell at regular intervals with only Martin Robertson (34) and Stu Dawson (21) showing any fluency with the bat.  The home side eventually were bowled out for a disappointing 107 in the 36th over.  The 5s needed early wickets to have any chance of defending that total but it took until the 12th over for the first wicket to fall – claimed by James Deakin on debut.  John Gill then struck next over to leave the visitors 40 for 2 but ‘Sonians rebuilt.  With the winning line in sight Dawson did claim another wicket, well caught by Mike Kennedy, but the visitors reached the target in the 36th to record a 7 wicket win.