Weekend roundup – 5th/6th August

On Saturday the 1st XI made the short journey to Myreside to take on Watsonians.  Skipper Arun Pillai won the toss and opted to field first.  The home side got off to a fast start and despite Lewis O’Donnell striking in the 4th over, Watsonians already had 33 on the board.  The onslaught continued until Pillai took a skier off his own bowling in the 12th over with the score on 118.  Angus Beattie then chipped in with 2 wickets  followed by a brace for Shujaa Khan which helped slow the scoring rate.  A runout and another for O’Donnell meant that the home side finished on 223 for 8 from their 44 overs.  The reply got off to a terrible start as the Arrows slumped to 8 for 3.  Daniel Da Costa (20) and Will Hardie (24) added 46 for the 4th wicket but both fell in quick succession to leave the visitors 57 for 5.  Ru Main hit a series of boundaries to try to rescue things for Carlton but he was pinned in front for 35 in the 20th over with 97 on the board.  The tail failed to wag and Carlton were bowled out in the 25th over for 115 to lose by 111 runs.

Back at Grange Loan the 2nd XI were entertaining Gala.  Captain Ben D’Ulisse won the toss and chose to insert the visitors.  The match only lasted 9 overs before the rains came and made an already soggy Grange Loan unplayable.  Gala were 33 for 0 at that stage, but unfortunately no further play was possible.

The 3rd XI travelled to Campbell Park to face Edinburgh 2 on a soft but playable wicket.  Brad McKay was back at the helm and on winning the toss opted to bowl first.  Rain began to fall before the start so the match was reduced to 35 overs. When we did start, Shaun Smith and Ben Stronach bowled well up front and took early wickets. After another rain break, the skipper picked up three wickets and one each for Kyle Burgess and Andrew Lang. Smith and Stronach cleaned up the tail as Edinburgh 2’s were bowled out for 112 in the 33rd over.  A change in the batting order saw the Bruce & Shaun Smith open together and got the 3s off to a decent start before both were out bowled. Ben Thurman helped consolidate with Euan Keatinge before Arrows lost a number of quick wickets in the middle. However, Keatinge batted through and hit the winning runs in the final over in making 42 not out, well supported by Lang and Hamish Foley for a well deserved 3 wicket win.

The 4th XI travelled to North Berwick to take on Bass Rock at Recreation Park.  Skipper Al Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  A strong opening partnership from the home side was eventually broken by Robbie Murray in the 10th over.  The runs continued to flow until the introduction of Shreyas Tekale to the attack in the 19th over brought immediate dividends courtesy of a sharp catch at 45 from Benji Risi.  Later the same over a powerful hit down the ground collided with the hand of the non-striker forcing him from the field and straight to the hospital (best wishes for a speedy recovery George).  Bob Irvine then struck at the other end thanks to another good catch, this time from John Gill.  Tekale continued to weave his magic claiming 3 more wickets and then completed the job with a hat-trick to finish with 7 wickets and bowl the home side out for 153 in the 31st over.  In reply Tekale fell early but the skipper and David Simpson added 67 for the second wicket before Simpson nicked off for 14.  Murray fell a few overs later for 42 and with the rate climbing Risi entered the fray and his quick fire 30 put the 4s in a strong position.  Unfortunately wickets fell at inopportune moments and the 4s fell agonising short, finishing on 152 for 9 from their 40 overs to lose by 1 run.

The 5th XI hosted Marchmont 3s at Cavalry Park 2. With rain falling and more forecast it was agreed to shorten the match to 20 overs a side.  Captain Keith Murray lost the toss and the 5s were asked to bat first.  Another poor display with the bat saw Carlton amass a mere 59 for 8 from their 20 overs.  Youngsters Theo Griffin & Finlay Thompson were the only batters to make it to double figures and 2 runouts did not help their cause.  In reply Atreya Subr picked up 2 wickets but it was never going to be enough as Marchmont knocked off the runs in the 10th over for an 8 wicket win.

On Sunday it was an early start for the Women’s 2nd XI as they took on their counterparts from Grange.  The visitors batted first and posted a score of 109 for 3 from their 20 overs.  Ajitha Rajan and Keira Ansell were the successful bowlers with Diane Blood contributing a runout.  In reply Christina Evans hit 30 and Rajan retired in double figures but the Women’s 2s finished 18 runs short at 91 for 5 from their 20 overs which included a red-inker for Bridget Mitchell on debut.

Later that day the 1st XI were on duty in the National T20 Finals day in Stirling.  Due to overnight rain there was only one pitch playable so the matches were shortened to 18 overs a side.  Carlton took on Falkland in the first semifinal and the Fifers won the toss and chose to bat first.  Lewis O’Donnell struck in the first over and then when Hugo Southwell came on to bowl the 4th over he picked up 2 wickets including the Falkland pro.  Angus Beatie claimed another wicket in the 5th over to put Carlton firmly in control and then struck again in the 9th to leave Falkland 37 for 5.  Arun Pillai then chipped in with a wicket in the 12th over to make it 46 for 6.  David Saul took 3 wickets with his leggies and a runout completed the innings as the Fifers were bundled out for 66 in the 16th over.  In reply Tom Simpson (15); Ru Main (12) & Daniel Da Costa (13) all got starts leaving it to Hugo Southwell (7*) and Shujaa Khan (13*) to see the Arrows into the final with a 7 wicket win in the 14th over.  That final will be against Forfarshire, who eventually got past Prestwick after more rain in Stirling.  The delays meant the final couldn’t be played that day and will now be on September 3rd.

The Women’s 1st XI were also in T20 action in the quarter final of the Beyond Boundaries Women’s Scottish T20 Cup at Grange Loan against Watsonians.  Skipper Masie Maceira lost the toss and the visitors invited Carlton to bat first.  Despite 43 from Ciara Gibson and 20 from only 16 balls from Gabriella Fontenla the Women posted an in-between score of 128 for 3 from their 20 overs.  Fontenla picked up a wicket in the first over and things looked to be on track for the Carlton Women but the Watsonian batters stuck to their task.  Maceira mixed up her bowlers but could not find another breakthrough and the visitors reached the required target in the 19th over to end Carlton’s involvement in the cup for this season.

It was a long weekend for the U15s as they travelled south to Barnsley to play the semi-final of the ECB Vitality U15 National T20 Cup against Leamington CC from Warwickshire.  Captain Ferg Foley won the toss and chose to bat first.  The young Arrows were indebted to 38 from Oli Stones which formed the cornerstone of the a slightly sub-par looking total of 98 for 9 from their 20 overs.  Lewis King (18), the skipper (14) and Aadi Khadse (10) also made useful contributions.  With the ball Ferg Foley struck in the first over and younger brother Hamish claimed a wicket to reduce Leamington to 4 for 2 after 2 overs.  The Warwickshire side consolidated and were well placed going into the 10th over when Hector Murray broke the partnership to leave them 44 for 3 at the halfway stage.  Josh Cully then claimed a wicket and tight bowling restricted Leamington to 78 for 4 with 2 overs to go.  Ferg Foley came back and bowled an excellent over, picking up 2 wickets and giving his brother 19 runs to defend off the last.  That over yielded 2 runouts and a wicket and only 2 runs to give Carlton U15s a 16 run win and the prize of a trip to Lords for the final on September 2nd.