Weekend roundup – 29th/30th June

On Saturday the 1st XI made the short journey to Myreside to take on Watsonians.  Skipper Arun Pillai lost the toss and the home side chose to bat first.  A blistering start for ‘Sonians was stopped in the 6th over by Ally Evans with 49 on the board.  Lewis O’Donnell then picked up the other opener in the 9th over to make it 56 for 2.  The home side rebuilt but Chris McBride took 2 quick wickets to leave ‘Sonians 124 for 4 in the the 25th over.  Another good partnership for the hosts was broken by Angus Beattie in the 40th over with 204 on the board.  The 6th wicket took the score to 241 before Pillai stuck in the 47th and the skipper picked up 2 more in the 49th. O’Donnell claimed the last 2 wickets in the final over to bowl Watsonians out for 258.  In reply Ru Main fell to the first ball of the innings and fellow opener Ruari Macpherson was bowled in the 5th over with 27 on the board.  McBride was next to go in the 8th over to make it 45 for 3 and when Daniel Da Costa fell in the 16th over the Arrows were in real trouble at 84 for 4.  Things went from bad to worse as Evans nicked off next ball and although captain Pillai kept the scoreboard moving none of the lower order were able form a meaningful partnership with him.  In the end Pillai was the last wicket to fall for 53 in the 31st over as the Arrows lost by 106 runs.

Back at Grange Loan the 2nd XI entertained Watsonian 2s.  Captain Charles Stronach lost the toss and the visitors chose to bat first.  Saif Khan picked up a wicket with the first ball of the 2nd over and then claimed the 2nd wicket in the 10th over to make it 31 for 2.  Harry Simpson got the 3rd in the 14th over to leave the visitors 45 for 3 but a good 4th wicket partnership was developing.  That was broken by Chayank Gosain in the 27th over with 86 on the board.  Will Hardie then picked up the 5th wicket and a runout in the 34th over made it 119 for 6.  A decent effort from the ‘Sonains lower order, despite 2 wickets for Ben Stronach, saw them finish on 180 for 8 from their 45 overs.  In reply the 2s put on 23 before Oscar Waters was caught behind in the 7th over.  Hardie was bowled 2 overs later and when Gav Murray toed one to mid off to make it 49 for 3 in the 12th over things were beginning to look uncomfortable for the home side.  Ben Thurman and Simpson rebuilt things and took the score to 93 before Simpson picked out square leg in the 20th over.  Thurman was next to go for 51 in the 23rd over to make it 99 for 5.  James Stronach and Calum Robertson added 30 before Robertson too was caught at square leg.  Ben Stronach joined his brother at the crease with 52 still needed from 15 overs.  Both batted beautifully, hitting regular boundaries, and saw the 2s home in the 36th over with James finishing on 54* and 22* for Ben.

The 3rd XI also had a short journey as they played MDAFs on the grass at Roseburn.  Skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the 3s were invited to bat first.  The makeshift opening partnership of Dougie Firth & Max D’Ulisse wasn’t successful but Euan Keatinge & Sam Haggo got the scoreboard moving in challenging batting conditions.  Haggo was next to go for 11 but Keatinge was going well.  Unfortunately none of the other batters was able to come to terms with the conditions and the 3s were eventually bowled out in the 39th over for 110 with Keatinge finishing unbeaten on 61.  With the ball Firth picked up 2 early wickets and there was 1 for Hector Murray to leave the home side 22 for 3.  Firth then claimed another and there was 1 for McKay to make the game evenly balanced at 65 for 5 at drinks.  Unfortunately the 3s could only manage 1 more wicket late on for D’Ulisse as the home side got over the line to win by 4 wickets in the 32nd over.

The final game on Saturday saw the 5th XI travel to Newfield Arti to take on Edinburgh Accies 3s.  Captain Keith Murray lost the toss and the home side chose to bowl first.  Murray & Aadi Khadse added 34 for the 1st wicket before Khadse was bowled for 30.  Murray was next to go in the 19th over with 58 on the board.  Wickets fell regularly from then on although the scoring rate did pick up.  Freddie Charman and Ian Thompson added 41 for the 6th wicket before Charman fell for 30 in the 34th over with 122 on the board.  The 5s finished on 153 for 9 thanks to 16* for Thompson and number 11 Tomos Hunt hitting 12 off 9, including 2 4s off the last 3 balls, to ensure maximum batting points for the visitors.  The reply with the ball got off to a poor start, conceding 40 runs off the first 2 overs.  The home side were obviously keen to get on with things and they peppered the boundary at regular intervals.  In the end they knocked off the runs in the 11th over to win by 10 wickets.

On Sunday the 1st XI were on Scottish Cup Quarter Final duty against Heriot’s at Goldenacre.  Skipper Arun Pillai again lost the toss and the home side chose to bat first.  A strong opening stand was eventually broken by Chris McBride in the 17th over with 72 on the board.  Rory Allardice was next to strike in the 20th over and McBride claimed a 2nd the next over to leave the home side 93 for 3.  Lewis O’Donnell then picked up a wicket in the 26th over to make it 106 for 4 and put the Arrows in a good position.  The home side recovered and put on 134 for the 5th wicket before it was eventually broken in the 48th over by Ally Evans.  Despite another Evans wicket Heriot’s posted 269 for 6 from their 50 overs.  In reply Ru Main & Ruari Macpherson got off to a watchful start.  Macpherson was the first wicket to fall in the 10th over with 26 on the board.  Main was the next man out for 24 in the 13th over making it 40 for 2.  A good 65 run partnership between Daniel Da Costa and McBride was broken in the 27th over when McBride went for 25.  2 more quick wickets put the Arrows in trouble at 108 for 5 in the 29th.  The situation got worse when Da Costa went for 53 in the 34th over to make it 123 for 6.  Despite 21 from Will Hardie & 20 from Angus Beattie the Arrows were bowled out for 177 in the 43rd over to lose by 92 runs and end their Scottish Cup run for this year.

Meanwhile at Grange Loan the 4th XI were entertaining Gala 2s.  Captain Al Murray lost the toss and the visitors chose to bowl first.  Both openers fell cheaply and when Sam Haggo was bowled in the 9th over to make it 29 for 3 the home side looked in a spot of bother.  Martin Robertson steadied the ship and despite losing Josh Cully with the score on 48 in the 15th over, Chris Sale joined Robertson in the middle.  The pair added 64 for 5th wicket in good time before Robertson holed out for 38 in the 24th over.  A couple of quick wickets made it 115 for 7 but Stu Dawson (22*) and Sale (57*) batted out the remaining overs taking the score to 166 for 7.  In reply Dawson struck in the 6th over with 24 on the board.  Murray came on in the 11th over and removed the dangerous Gala no 3 to make it 51 for 2.  Another useful partnership for the visitors was broken in the 23rd over with the game evenly poised at 96 for 3.  Unfortunately there was no more success for the home bowlers and Gala got over the line in the 37th over to win by 6 wickets.

Up in Perth the U15s were competing in ECB Qualifying Cup Finals Day, looking to defend the national title they won at Lords last year.  Up first were Aberdeenshire and skipper James Stronach won the toss and chose to bat first.  A watchful start saw the U15s 20 for 3 in the 6th over but a 59 run partnership from Oli Stones & Hamish Foley got things back on track.  Stones was pinned in front for 46 in the 13th over but Foley found good support from the lower order and saw the U15 to a total of 145 for 7 from their 20 overs.  Foley hit the last ball of the innings for 4 to bring up his half century, finishing 51*.  In reply Aberdeenshire kept pace with the Carlton innings and had only lost 1 wicket by the halfway stage, picked up by Finlay Thompson.  They were unable to match the young Arrows acceleration in the second half and finished on 107 for 1 from their overs to see Carlton through to the final by a margin of 38 runs.

In the final the U15s faced Clydesdale who had beaten Livingston by 77 runs in their semi-final.  Stronach again called correctly and chose to bat first.  Both the skipper and Oli Stones fell early but Aadi Khadse and Hamish Turner took the score to 40 before Khadse was out for 12 in the 7th over.  Turner departed for 20 in the next over to make it 46 for 4.  John Gill and Hamish Foley added 19 runs before Gill was caught in the 11th over.  Benji Risi joined Foley and got the scoreboard moving.  Risi was next to go for 14 in the 15th over with the score on 103.  Foley fell in the 18th over for 39 but some quick runs from Tom Hathorn (12) and Fergus McKernan (10) saw the young Arrows post 141 for 9 from their 20 overs.  In reply 2 runouts pegged things back for Clydesdale after a loose start from the Carlton bowlers.  Gill claimed the 3rd wicket in the 7th over to make it 35 for 3 and another in the 9th to leave the Glasgow side 49 for 4.  A decent partnership was forming for Clydesdale but they were not making much impact on the required rate.  Benji Risi broke the partnership in the 14th over to make it 89 for 5 and then Risi struck again in the 16th leaving Clydesdale needing 46 from 28 balls with 4 wickets in hand.  Hamishes Turner & Foley were entrusted with the last 4 overs and each picked up a wicket and a runout as Clydesdale were bowled out for 127 off the last ball of the innings to fall short by 14 runs and see Carlton crowned ECB U15 Champions of Scotland for the second year in a row.  Next up is a home tie against Benwell Hill at Grange Loan on 7th July.