Weekend roundup – 29th/30th July
The 1st XI made the short journey to Inverleith to take on Stewart’s Melville in round 14 of the Eastern Premier League. Skipper Arun Pillai lost the toss and the Arrows were invited to bat first. Carlton lost 3 early wickets but a fine 4th wicket partnership between Daniel Da Costa (41) & Will Hardie (47) put the visitors in a handy position. Although both set batsmen fell, Ru Main (17*) and Ally Evans (10*) took the score to 159 for 5 before rain forced the players from the field in the 35th over. Sadly no further play was possible and the match was abandoned.
At Grange Loan the 2nd XI entertained Morton who went into the weekend at the top of the ESCA Championship. Captain Ben D’Ulisse won the toss and chose to bat first. Wickets fell at regular intervals and the 2s subsided to 37 for 4 in the 10th over. Harry Simpson (38) and Charlie Kentish (44) recovered the situation somewhat, adding 58 for the 5th wicket. However both fell in quick succession as the lower order collapsed to go from 95 for 5 to 103 all out in the 29th over. Morton got off to a fast start and although Omar Ahmad picked up a wicket in the 5th over the visitors were well paced at 52 for 1 in the 12th over. The introduction of Rudy Adair to the attack paid dividends as he struck with his 3rd ball. The tall seamer claimed another in his next over and with Simpson bowling a miserly spell at the other end the pressure mounted on Morton. 5 consecutive maidens culminated in a hattrick for Simpson as the visitors slumped to 56 for 6 in the 17th over. A rain interruption halted the Arrow’s momentum and although Simpson did claim a 4th wicket Morton were able to reach the target once play resumed and ran out winners by 3 wickets in the 32nd over.
Also on Saturday the 4th XI hosted Dunbar at Peffermill. Skipper Al Murray won the toss and inserted the visitors. A good opening partnership was broken by a run out from Hector Murray with the score on 49. That stalled the East Lothian side’s momentum and Shreyas Tekale capitalised with a wicket. Kartic Subr took a sharp caught & bowled to leave Dunbar 58 for 3 at drinks. Tekale claimed a second wicket in the 23rd over and then James Stronach broke a good 5th wicket partnership in the 31st over. Josh Cully was the next to strike and then opening bowlers Hector & Robbie Murray came back to claim 1 & 2 wickets respectively to restrict Dunbar to 118 for 9 from their 40 overs. In reply the Carlton batters struggled to impose themselves on the Dunbar attack. Wickets fell regularly with only Sam Haggo (30*) showing the composure required to take the game deep. In the end Haggo ran out of partners as the 4s were bowled out for 101 in the 38th over to lose by 17 runs.
The 5th XI travelled to Inverleith Park to take on Old Contemptibles in an ESCA Division 7 clash. Captain Keith Murray lost the toss and the home side chose to bat first. A solid bowling & fielding performance saw the OCCCs reduced to 70 for 6 in 28 overs before the rains came and made any further play impossible and the game was abandoned. Angus Turner led the way with the ball with 3 wickets and there were also wickets for James Deakin, Rahul Khadse & John Gill.
On Sunday the heavy overnight rain forced the cancellation of the 3rd XI game at Grange Loan against Kirkbrae. Also falling foul of the weather was the Women’s 2nd XI game away at East Kilbride.
There was better luck for the Carlton U16 side who were involved in Finals Day of the Scottish Cup in Falkland. First up was Glasgow Accies in the semi-final and skipper Max D’Ulisse won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite the early loss of Shreyas Tekale, James Stronach (36) and Oli Stones (40) took the attack to the side from the West. In the end Carlton posted 131 for 5 from their 20 overs. That total proved more than enough as a fine display with the ball bowled Glasgow Accies out for 57 in the 15th over. D’Ulisse & Robbie Murray led the way with 3 wickets each as the junior Arrows made their way into the final with a 74 run win.
In the final Carlton would face Gordonians who had beaten Perth Doo’cot by 22 runs at Freuchie. Max D’Ulisse again won the toss and chose to bat first. This time James Stronach fell early but Shreyas Tekale (45) found good support from Oli Stones (29) and then Ferg Foley (18) to set the side from Aberdeen a target of 139 to take the silverware. Opening bowlers Ben Stronach & Ferg Foley each claimed an early wicket and then D’Ulisse struck to leave Gordonians 36 for 3 in the 10th over. A run out in the next over further tipped things Carlton’s way but a belligerent 5th wicket stand brought the game back into the balance. It was eventually broken in the 17th over by Hamish Foley and with 33 needed off the last 2 overs the dangerous number 6 for Gordonians was run out. Hamish Foley picked up two more wickets as Carlton restricted the young men from the north east to 118 for 8 from their 20 overs to win by 20 runs and lift the cup for the second time in 3 years.
