Weekend roundup – 20th/21st July
The 1st XI welcomed Arbroath United to Grange Loan for week 12 of the EPL. Daniel Da Costa was again at the helm and won the toss and chose to bat first. Angus Beattie was unable to recreate his form with the bat from last week and was pinned in front with the 1st ball of the game. Chris McBride and Da Costa added 98 for the 2nd wicket before McBride was caught in the deep for 64 in the 17th over. Da Costa continued to accumulate but wickets started to fall at the other end. Gav Murray (20) was the 5th man out in the 27th over with 157 on the board bringing Will Hardie to the crease. He and Da Costa added 69 for the 6th wicket before the skipper fell for 93 in the 42nd over. Hardie then went for 30 but Ally Evans (26*) marshalled the tail to see the home side post 271 for 9 from their 50 overs. With weather closing in the visitors got off to a fast start, racing to 102 for 0 off 12 overs before the rain forced the players from the field. Conditions did not improve and the game was abandoned before a result was possible.
The 2nd XI travelled east to take on Musselburgh at Lewisvale Park. Captain Charles Stronach lost the toss and the home side chose to field first. Shreyas Tekale fell early but Ben Thurman and Charlie Kentish took the score to 73 before Kentish departed for 38. Thurman was next to go for a 43 in the 21st over with 93 on the board. Wickets fell regularly after that but there was a useful contributions from Oli Stones (18), James Stronach (34) and Rory Ledingham (16) as the 2s finished on 194 for 9 from their 45 overs. During the interval heavy rain descended on the wicket and with no covers available the match was called off.
The 3rd XI entertained RHC 2s in an ESCA Division 2 encounter at Peffermill. Skipper Brad McKay won the toss and inserted the visitors. Early strikes from Dougie Firth reduced RHC to 20 for 2 in the 9th over. The visitors consolidated and started to score more freely until in the 25th over Dan Curwen struck with 81 on the board. Andrew Lang picked up a wicket shortly after to make it 89 for 4 but RHC began to pick up the pace. In the 35th over McKay got the breakthrough to leave the visitors well placed at 157 for 5. Although there were 2 more wickets for Lang, 1 for Robbie Murray and 2 runouts RHC finished on 182 from their 40 overs. That total proved well beyond the 3s batting line up as only Curwen (10) made it to double figures. In the end the 3s were bowled out for a paltry 39 in the 18th over to lose by 143 runs.
The 4th XI made the short journey south to take on Penicuik 2s at Kirkhill. Skipper Al Murray won the toss and invited the home side to bat first in a game reduced to 30 overs a side with rain forecast for late afternoon. A strong opening partnership from the home team was eventually broken by Finlay Thompson in the 19th over with 119 on the board. 2 more wickets fell with the same score on the board – a 2nd for Thompson and Aadi Khadse knocking the other openers off stump back the next over. Another decent partnership developed for Penicuik which was broken by Khadse in the 26th over with the score on 154. Benji Risi claimed a 5th wicket in the 28th over and then Kyle Burgess claimed 2 more in the 29th as the home side finished on 178 for 7 from their 30 overs. In reply the skipper and Khadse put on 34 before Khadse holed out for 17. Murray was next to go for 21 in the 12th over with 56 on the board. A couple of quick wickets fell before Josh Cully and Risi found their feet and started getting the scoreboard moving. The pair put on 56 for the 5th wicket before Risi missed a straight one to go for an enterprising 17 to leave the Arrows 125 for 5 after 26 overs. 2 more wickets fell as the 4s finished on 148 for 7 from their 30 overs with Cully left unbeaten on 57 for the home side to run out winners by 30 runs.
The final game on Saturday saw the 5th XI host Old Contemptibles at Myresdie Arti. Captain Keith Murray won the toss and inserted OCCC. The 1st wicket came from a runout in the 5th over with 16 on the board. Alan Ansell was next to strike in the 12th over to make it 41 for 2 and then in the 18th over he picked up 2 more to leave OCCCs 60 for 4. That became 61 for 5 as Rahul Khadse struck the next over and in the 22nd over Ansell claimed a 4th to make it 77 for 6. Angus Turner replaced Ansell and picked up a wicket in the 26th over to leave OCCC 82 for 7 but some late order hitting took the visitors into 3 figures and then some. Turner did claim a 2nd wicket in the 34th over to make it 116 for 8 but there was no more joy for the bowling side and OCCC finished on 150 for 8 from their 40 overs. In reply the captain went early but Martin Robertson and Stu Dawson took the score to 23 before Dawson was bowled for 13 in the 11th over. Wickets continued to fall in deteriorating conditions but Robertson was keeping the scoreboard moving. He eventually found some support from Ansell but the 5s were always behind the rate. When Roberston fell for 47 followed by Ansell for 14 the Arrows ended up being bowled out for 122 in the 36th over to lose by 28 runs.
On Sunday the Women hosted Watsonians/Dumfries at Grange Loan for Round 6 of the WPL. Skipper Sam Haggo won the toss and chose to bowl first. A tight opening spell from Masie Maceira and Gabriella Fontenla kept the openers quiet and Maceira made the breakthrough in the 5th over to leave the visitors 12 for 1. Fontenla then claimed 3 quick wickets to leave Watsonians/Dumfries in trouble at 23 for 4 after 8 overs. The visitors recovered somewhat until Saskia Aldridge took the 5th wicket in the 13th over to make it 43 for 5. Aldridge claimed a 2nd in the 17th over to reduce the visitors to 59 for 6 and then Charis Scott made it 62 for 7 the next over. Flora Corbin was next to strike in the 26th over with 84 on the board and then Maceira claimed the final 2 wickets in the 29th over to bowl out Watsonians/Dumfries for 101. In reply Abbi Aitken-Drummond and Sarah Beith put on 39 for the 1st wicket before Beith was bowled for 14 in the 8th over. Scott went without scoring in the 10th over to leave the Arrows 41 for 2 as Haggo joined Aitken-Drummond in the middle. The experience pair knocked off the remaining runs in the 21st over with Haggo finishing on 41* and Aitken-Drummond 29* as the Women cruised to an 8 wicket win.
The 3rd XI had a double-header weekend as they travelled to Fife to take on Dunfermline Carnegie at McKane Park in a game rescheduled from week 8 due to a Challenge Cup fixture clash for the opposition. Captain Brad McKay won the toss and chose to bat first. A clatter of early wickets left the 3s in trouble at 23 for 3 after 6 overs. Shreyas Tekale and Cam Moore dug in and took the score to 55 before Tekale was out caught for 39 in the 16th over. Ashish Parlani joined Moore and the pair added 42 runs in 8 overs before the new man was pinned in front for 23. Moore was the next man out in the 29th over for 27 to make it 109 for 6 but the lower order didn’t really fire which saw the 3s bowled out for 128 in the 37th over. In reply Conor Regan took 2 early wickets to leave the home side 13 for 2 after 7 overs. A decent 3rd wicket partnership was broken by Tekale in the 24th over with 52 on the board. The next over Rory Ledingham took 2 wickets to make it 63 for 5 and then in the 30th over Tekale got a 2nd to leave the home side in trouble at 80 for 6. That became 83 for 7 when Ledingham took an excellent catch off his own bowling in the 31st over. 3 overs later a smart stumping by Moore off Tekale saw the home side slump to 92 for 8 and things got worse for the Fife side a Ledingham claimed a 4th in the 35th over with no more runs on the board. All that was left was for Ledingham to complete his 5-for as the Arrows bowled out Dunfermline Carnegie for 94 with the last ball of the over to win by 34 runs.
The final game of the weekend saw the U15s travel south of the border to take on Carlisle CC in the next round of the ECB U15 Club T20 Cup. Skipper James Stronach won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite losing Oli Stones to the 1st ball of the match the skipper and Tom Hathorn added 65 in good time before Hathorn fell for 23 at the start of the 10th over. Aadi Khadse joined Stronach and took the score to 81 before the skipper retired on 50 in the 12th over. Khadse (8) was the next to fall in the 16th over with 103 on the board but some excellent acceleration from Hamish Turner (32) and John Gill (16*) saw the young Arrows to a total of 141 for 4 from their 20 overs. The home side got off to a watchful start and the 1st wicket fell in the 4th over thanks to a runout from Tom Dweck with only 8 on the board. In the 7th over Khadse struck to remove the other opener to leave Carlisle in trouble at 14 for 2. Things got worse for the home side as Gill claimed a wicket in the next over and then Khadse got a 2nd in the 9th over to make it 17 for 4. In the 12th over Stones picked up 2 wickets to reduce Carlisle to 21 for 6 and in the next over Finlay Thompson got in on the act to make it 26 for 7. There was a bit of late order resistance and although Hathorn picked up an 8th wicket for the young Arrows the home side finished on 49 for 8 from their 20 overs to see the U15s win the contest by 92 runs. Next up is a trip to Neston CC on 29th July for the Northern Region Finals Day.