Weekend roundup – 1st/2nd June

The 1st XI hosted Grange at Grange Loan in round 5 of the EPL in a match kindly sponsored by Hugh Parker.  Skipper Arun Pillai lost the toss and the men from Stockbridge opted to bat first.  There was an early strike for Lewis O’Donnell but a good second wicket partnership took the score to 84 in the 23rd over before Ally Evans picked up an LBW.  Wickets fell fairly regularly after that with Evans claiming a 2nd quickly followed by 1 for Ruaridh McIntyre.  The skipper came on and took a wicket in the 30th over with 100 on the board.  O’Donnell then came back and picked up 3 quick wickets to leave Grange in trouble at 117 for 8 in the 35th over.  Angus Beattie took the 9th wicket but some late resistance took the game to the 46th over before Pillai claimed his 2nd to bowl the visitors out for 142.  In reply Ru Main and Daniel Da Costa fell cheaply but Ruari Macpherson and Chris McBride added 61 for the 3rd wicket.  In the 16th over Macpherson was bowled for 36 and Pillai joined McBride at the crease.  The pair took the score to 112 in the 21st over before McBride fell for a run a ball 45.  2 more wickets fell, including the skipper for 18, but Charlie Buchannan-Smith (13*) and O’Donnell (12*) saw the Arrows over the line in the 29th over for a 4 wicket win.

The 2nd XI travelled to Kirkhill to take on Penicuik looking to maintain their unbeaten record in ESCA Division 1.  Captain Charles Stronach lost the toss and the home side chose to bat first.  It took until the 12th over for the first wicket to fall as Saif Khan struck with 52 on the board.  Another good partnership formed and was eventually broken by Ben Stronach in the 32nd over with the score on 132.  Stronach picked up 2 more wickets and there was 1 for Max D’Ulisse to make it 143 for 5 in the 36th over.  Although Jamie Beattie claimed another wicket the home side posted 219 for 6 from their 45 overs, helped by 55 extras.  The Carlton reply got off to a disastrous start losing the first 3 wickets for only 7 runs.  It didn’t really improve from that point as none of the batters made it to double figures.  Extras top scored with 25 as the 2s were bowled out for 62 in the 23rd over to lose by 157 runs.

The 3rd XI were due to play Edinburgh Accies 2s but the wet conditions through the week meant the game was called off on Friday.

The 4th XI travelled south the Borders to take on Melrose in ESCA Division 5.  Skipper Al Murray won the toss and chose to bowl first.  Lewis Broster & Abhi Mehta took the new ball and Mehta stuck in the 4th over with 6 on the board.  Stu Dawson replace Broster and Mehta picked up 2 more wickets in the 12th over to leave Melrose 33 for 3.  Dawson then picked up a wicket in the 15th over to make it 34 for 4.  Aadi Khadse replaced Mehta and was next to strike in the 22nd over with 52 on the board before Dawson claimed a second in the 25th.  Kartic Subr came on for Dawson and Shiv Jhala replaced Khasde and they picked up 2 wickets each to bowl Melrose out for 91 in the 34th over.  In reply the skipper fell in the first over but Jhala joined David Simpson in the middle and hit some strong shots before 3 wickets fell with the score on 26 including Jhala for 23.  Chris Sale and Josh Cully steadied the ship and took the score to 42 before Cully fell.  Mehta (11) hit a couple of lusty blows but was caught with 59 on the board.  Khadse (10*) joined Sale (31*) at the crease and saw the 4s over the line in the 33rd over for a 4 wicket win.

The 5th XI travelled East to take on Tranent & Preston Village 4s on the plastic at Meadowmill.  Captain Keith Murray won the toss and the home side were invited to bat first.  Atreya Subr & Robbie Murray had a miserly opening spell conceding only 11 runs off the first 8 overs.  Noah Moncur came on a took the first wicket in the 9th over but some big hitting from the home side took the score to 44 before Rahul Khadse claimed the second wicket.  TPV kept the scoreboard ticking over and although there were further wickets for Khadse, Moncur, John Gill, Angus Turner, 2 for Subr and 2 runouts for Turner the home side were bowled out for 164 from their 40 overs.  In reply 4 wickets fell with only 9 on the board to make it an uphill task for the 5s.  Gill & Martin Robertson rebuilt things and took the score to 24 before Gill was bowled.  Robertson found good support from Turner before he was out for 12 with 42 on the board.  Unfortunately no-one else was able to stay with Robertson (22*) and the 5s were bowled out in the 36th for 69 to lose by 95 runs.

On Sunday the Women welcomed Grange to Grange Loan for round 3 of the WPL.  Skipper Sam Haggo won the toss and inserted the visitors.  There was early success for Eva Lloyd and then Charis Scott picked up 2 important wickets to leave the Stockbridge side in trouble at 39 for 3 in the 9th over.  A good recover from Grange saw them add 96 for the 4th wicket before Lloyd picked up her 2nd wicket in the 22nd over.  Runs continued to flow and although Scott picked up a 3rd wicket Grange posted 174 for 5 from their 30 overs.  In reply Sarah Beith fell early but Scott & Janie Hemsley took the score to 57 before Scott was stumped for 27.  Haggo then came to the crease and she & Hemsley put on 63 for the 3rd wicket before Hemsley was bowled for 38.  Haggo kept going and although 3 more wickets fell she was able to bring up her half century and see her side home in the 28th over for a fine 5 wicket win.

Sadly the other Sunday fixture for the Mixed Development XI fixture was also a casualty of the recent poor weather as Inch Park was out of action for the game against Edinburgh South.