Weekend preview – 11th/12th May
It’s the second weekend of cricket in May and the Arrows have a blockbuster two days of cricket coming up with 8 fixtures occurring.
On Saturday the First XI welcome Meigle to Grange Loan for a 12pm start. The match is kindly being sponsored by Paul Bailey. Last year the Perthshire side avoided the drop by 1 place. In this fixture last year skipper Arun Pillai won the toss and chose to bowl first. A decent start from the visitors was undone by a direct hit run out from Rory Allardice and then shortly after Ally Evans pinned the other opener in front. Meigle consolidated and a rain break saw the game reduced to 45 overs a side. The 3rd wicket partnership was eventually broken by Allardice to leave the visitors 108 for 3 in the 22nd over. Another handy partnership was broken by a run out from Finn Thornton and Allardice collected another run out shortly after to leave Meigle 144 for 5 in the 33rd. Evans returned and picked up 2 wickets and Allardice claimed 2 more leaving Rudy Adair on debut to pick up the final wicket to bowl out the Perthshire outfit for 179 in 43 overs. In reply, Ru Main fell in the first over but Thornton and Daniel Da Costa ensured there was no more drama until the 17th over when Thornton holed out for a well made 40, just short of a 100 run partnership. Pillai joined Da Costa at the crease and with 75 runs still needed the skipper was content to push the ball about and let the well-set Da Costa make the running. The plan worked perfectly as the young South African brought up his century in the 26th over. All that was left was for Pillai to launch the ball for a straight 6 to wrap up an 8 wicket win with more than 18 overs to spare. The Arrows have picked an unchanged side from last weekend’s fixtures.
The Second XI, having successfully chased 262 last week, will head east to Cavalry Park where they will play against Marchmont. Last year the Edinburgh side finished 8th in ESCA Division 1. Like the Arrows they are also 2 from 2 this season in the league. In this fixture two years ago in the ESCA Championship Ben D’Ulisse won the toss and chose to bowl first. The 2s also had an early run out and opening bowlers Omar Ahmad & Saif Khan picked up a wicket each to leave the home side at 46 for 3 after 13 overs. Calum Everett then claimed 3 quick wickets to make it 52 for 6. Spin was introduced and Max D’Ullisse struck first, soon followed by one for Rory Ledingham and a second for D’Ulisse to leave Marchmont 75 for 9. The final wicket proved hard to come by and it wasn’t until the introduction of Kyle Macpherson that the home side were bowled out for 102 in the 34th over. With the bat, none of the top order really came to terms with the conditions and wickets fell regularly. Only Harris Aslam (19); Ben D’Ulisse (13) and Omar Ahmad (13) made it to double figures and in the end the 2s were bowled out for 79 in the 34th over. Charlie Kentish, Zaki Yusaf and Rory Allardice are all back in league action for the first time this year.
The Third XI are hosting Kelso at Peffermill on Saturday. The borders side finished 5th in last year’s ESCA Division 2, three places above the Arrows. The visitors were washed out last weekend but comfortably defeated Leith FAB in round 1. Last year skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the home side were asked to bat first. James Stronach fell in the first over and although Chris Sale & Vijay Nagarajan steadied the ship wickets fell at regular intervals. Several batters got starts but nobody was able to go on and make a meaningful score. In the end the 3s were bowled out for a below par 116 in the 37th over with Ferg Foley top scoring with 23. Shaun Smith and Kyle Burgess took the new ball but could not find the breakthrough. Ferg Foley struck with his first legitimate delivery to leave Kelso 18 for 1. Dougie Firth replaced Smith and he too picked up a wicket, bowling the other opener with 61 on the board. McKay then turned to spin with Nagarajan the next to strike and a run out soon after left the borderers 89 for 4. Despite a further wicket for Nagarajan, Kelso cruised to a 5 wicket victory in the 31st over.
The Fourth XI will meet Drummond Trinity’s 4th team at Goldenacre on Saturday. Both sides lost their first encounters this season. The hosts finished 6th in ESCA Division 5 last time out with 5 wins and 7 losses. The 4s have never played against Drummond Trinity 4s but have watched DT’s 2nd and 3rd team progress past them through the ESCA League system. Robbie Murray, Daniel Mowat and Andrew Lang are all due to make their first league appearances of the season.
The Fifth XI will host Leith FAB 3s on the artificial pitch at Myreside. The north Edinburgh side were promoted last year from Division 8 and currently have 2 wins from 2 games in 2024. In round 1 they breezed past Peebles, however had a tougher win over MDAFS 4s in round 2, chasing down 130 in 32 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. Again the sides have never met before as Leith FAB only formed a 3rd team in 2023.
On Sunday the WPL gets underway for 2024 as the Arrows welcome Stewart’s Melville to Grange Loan. Last year the side from Inverleith finished 5th in the WPL, four spots below the Arrows. In last year’s match at Inverleith skipper Sam Haggo lost the toss and Stew Mel opted to bat first. A good display with the ball restricted the home side to 140 for 4 from their 30 overs with 2 wickets for Ashley Robertson and 1 each for Charis Scott and Ciara Gibson. In reply Holly Sladen fell early, followed not long after by Gibson, but a fine 3rd wicket partnership between Scott (55*) and Haggo (57*) saw the Arrows home in the 19th over for an 8 wicket win.
The Women’s 2s will make their debut in the East Challenger League as they travel to Inch Park to face Edinburgh South on Sunday morning. The East Challenger League consists of 7 Edinburgh based clubs with a mixture of first teams and second teams. Edinburgh South are off the back of their first ever win in a women’s fixture as they defeated Stewart’s Melville on Wednesday evening.
The Development XI will make the journey down to Kelso for their second fixture of the year. Bob Irvine returns to the helm and Lewis O’Donnell will feature as well.