Weekend roundup – 15th/16th June

The weekend got off to a delayed start as overnight rain impacted the 1st XI’s hosting of Royal High Corstorphine at Grange Loan in a match kindly sponsored by Angus & Ann Mair.  The game eventually got going at 1:50pm with a 40 overs a side contest and skipper Arun Pillai won the toss and chose to field first.  Lewis O’Donnell claimed the first wicket in the 8th over with 35 on the board.  The visitors rebuilt but Chris McBride picked up 3 wickets in successive overs to reduce RHC to 104 for 4 in the 23rd over.  Pillai then claimed a wicket to make it 136 for 5 in the 30th over.  Smart work from Tom Simpson behind the stumps brought the next wicket as he effected a runout at the bowlers end with a direct hit.  Rudy Adair took the 7th wicket in the 37th over with 173 on the board.  RHC added some quick runs at the back end and although O’Donnell picked up 2 more wickets the visitors finished on 200 for 9 from their 40 overs.  In reply Ruari Macpherson got the Arrows off to a flying start and despite losing fellow opener Ruairidh Main cheaply.  With 69 on the board after 11 overs Macpherson ran past one and was stumped for 48.  The home side lost 3 wickets in quick succession to leave them in a bit of bother at 82 for 5 in the 15th over.  Will Hardie & Gav Murray consolidated and added 40 runs before Hardie fell for 11.  Tom Simpson joined Murray at the crease and the pair took the score to 165 before Murray was pinned in front for 39.  Wickets continued to fall and when Simpson picked out short 3rd man for 28 Carlton were bowled out for 178 on the 35th over to fall short by 22 runs.

The 2nd XI game at Campbell Park was called off after water got under the covers and the 3rd XI fixture was postponed due to Dunfermline & Carnegie being on Challenge Cup duty.

The 4th XI made the journey over the bridge to McKane Park to take on Dunfermline & Carnegie 2s in ESCA Division 5.  Due to forecast heavy rain the match was shortened to a 30 overs a side contest.  Captain Al Murray won the toss and inserted the home side.  The Fifers got off to a fast start with some aggressive running and that ultimately led to the 1st wicket in the 9th over as Tom Hathorn & Hamish Foley combined for a runout with 38 on the board.  Stu Dawson claimed the next wicket in the 12th over and then another in the 14th over to make it 60 for 3.  Kartic Subr came into the attack and picked up 2 wickets in the 15th over to tip things the visitors way at 61 for 5.  The introduction of John Gill paid instant dividends as his first delivery induced the batter to clean out his own stumps.  Subr then claimed a 3rd in the 22nd over to make it 91 for 7 but the home numbers 8 & 9 added 59 for the 8th wicket.  Aadi Khadse bowled an excellent last over to pick up the remaining 3 wickets and only concede 2 runs as D&C were bowled out for 152.   In reply Al Murray & Tom Hathorn opened up for the Arrows and added 33 for the 1st wicket before the captain was bowled for 21.  Gill joined Hathorn and took the score to 61 before the opener holed out for 22.  Gill fell shortly after for 17 and when Dougie Scott was bowled the visitors were in trouble at 74 for 4 in the 19th.  Hamish Foley & David Simpson took the score to 106 before Foley was run out for 26 off the final ball of the 25th over.  With the required rate above 9s Simpson & Khadse tried hard to get the Arrows within sight of the win but ultimately had to settle for maximum batting points as the 4s finished on 138 for 5 from their 30 overs to lose by 14 runs.

The final game on Saturday saw the 5th XI make the short journey to Roseburn Arti to take on MDAFs 4s.  Skipper Keith Murray won the toss and invited the home side to bat first.  Alan Ansell picked up the 1st wicket in the 6th over with only 12 on the board.  Robbie Murray & Benji Risi came on first change and Murray struck in the 13th to make it 30 for 2.  Risi then claimed a wicket in the 18th over to leave MDAFs 52 for 3.  The home side then started to accelerate and Ansell came back and picked up 2 wickets to make it 106 for 5 in the 29th over.  That became 108 for 7 when Angus Turner picked up 2 in the next over but the home side were starting to hit out.  Murray came back and took a wicket in the 33rd with 129 on the board and then Risi claimed the last 2 wickets to bowl out MDAFs for 157 in the 39th over.  In reply the skipper and John Beattie put on 25 for the 1st wicket before Beattie fell in the 11th over.  Harry Charman joined Murray in the middle but both fell in the space of 4 balls to leave the 5s in trouble at 34 for 3 in the 17th over.  Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the visitors were staring down the barrel at 65 for 8 in the 33rd over but Ansell & Harrison Fontenla added 28 for the 9th wicket.  Ultimately it was not enough as both fell with the score on 93 as the 5s were bowled out for 93 in the final over to lose by 63 runs.

Unfortunately the Scottish summer got the better of the Mixed Dev XI game due to be played against Stew Mel on Sunday.