Weekend roundup – 28th/29th June
The 1s welcomed Heriot’s to Grange Loan on Saturday for what was a dry run for the Scottish Cup semi-final this coming Sunday. The match was kindly sponsored by Paul Bailey. Batting first the visitors got off to a strong start, not helped by Rudy Adair dislocating a finger in the field in the 6th over. Heriot’s took full advantage of the depleted bowling resources amassing a total of 312 for 4 with only Olly Davidson and Conor Regan returning respectable bowling figures. In reply a couple of early wickets pegged the Arrows back but Angus Guy and Daniel Da Costa kept the home side in touch. Wickets continued to fall and when Da Costa was pinned in front for 65 in the 25th over Carlton were really up against it. They needed a big partnership but kept losing wickets and eventually finished on 227 for 8 despite a run-a-ball 32* from Shiv Jhala.
The 2s were over at Goldeacre to take on their counterparts at Heriot’s. The home side batted first and there were 2 early strikes each for Charles Stronach and Hector Murray to leave them in trouble at 33 for 4. Dougie Firth then pitched in with a brace of his own before spin twins Rory Ledingham and Max D’Ulisse picked wickets to make it 96 for 8. Aadi Khadse then cleaned up the tail to bowl Heriot’s out for 114 in the 33rd over. In reply Calum Robertson fell early but fellow opener Pavan Yaradi was seeing the ball well. Isaac Foley and Yaradi took the score to 103 before Foley mistimed one. There were no further mishaps as Yaradi fittingly hit the winning runs to finish on 72* and give the 2s a fine 8 wicket win.
Also on Saturday the 3s entertained Edinburgh Uni Staff at Peffermill. Uni Staff batted first and got off to a good start, putting on 67 before skipper Brad McKay got the breakthrough. Maisie Maceira then picked up 2 wickets to hand the initiative to the Arrows. There were wickets for Finlay Thompson, Lewis Broster & John Gill as well as a 3rd for Maceira as Uni Staff were restricted to 159 for 7 from their 40 overs. A makeshift opening partnership of Euan Keatinge and Kyle Burgess didn’t last long as Burgess fell in the 2nd over. That brought Robbie Murray to the crease and he and Keatinge laid a solid foundation to the chase taking the score to 72 before Murray went for 43. Wickets then started to fall, including Keatinge for 36, but Benji Risi (18) and Raghuram Parasur (24) kept the 3s on track. Parasur’s knock was particularly important but he fell with just 2 runs needs, leaving Broster & Maceira to see the Arrows home for a 2 wicket win.
The final game on Saturday saw the 5s make the short journey to Meadows 2 to take on Edinburgh CC 3s. Bowling first the Arrows bowled out the home side for 103 with Angus Turner leading the way with 4 wickets. Tom Sweet and Fergus McKernan picked up 2 wickets each and there were single strikes for Elliot Peltenburg, Aaradhy Khadse and Arjun Shelke. Unfortunately the batting effort struggled to cope with the accurate Edinburgh CC attack as the top 8 batters were all out bowled with no one making it to double figures. In the end the 5s were bowled out for just 23 with the first ball after drinks to sink to a heavy 80 run defeat.
On Sunday, the Women had their final WPL outing away to RHC Lynx at Scroggie Park looking to end the league season on a high. Batting first the Arrows posted 181 for 6 from their 30 overs. Captain Samantha Evans led from the front, top scoring with 47, well supported by 39 from Flora Corbin. With the ball Maisie Maciera struck in the 5th over and fellow opening bowler Keira Ansell claimed the 2nd wicket in over number 6. Ansell claimed 2 more in the 8th over and then Maceira got her 2nd to make it 37 for 5 in the 9th. The next over Ansell claimed a 4th and the introduction of Corbin to the attack produced a triple wicket maiden. All that was left was for Ansell to complete her 5-for and bowl out RHC for 46 in 12 overs to secure a comprehensive victory.
Also on Sunday the 4s hosted MDAFs 3 at Grange Loan. Bowling first the Arrows kept things reasonably tight before Stu Dawson struck in the 14th over with 58 on the board. John Carpenter then got rid of the other opener but runs were beginning to flow for the visitors. Tomos Hunt chipped in with 2 wickets to help slow the advance and a Jake Heller run out also helped the home side. Benji Risi then claimed a simple caught & bowled and another run out, this time from Abhi Mehta, saw MDAFs finish on 211 for 7 from their 40 overs. In reply skipper Al Murray fell early bringing young Hamish Foley to the crease. He and David Simpson took the score to 60 before Simpson went for 24. 3 quick wickets fell before Metha found some form with the bat and was able to provide good support to Foley. Things began to tip in favour of the Arrows as both Foley & Metha brought up half centuries. 1 run short of a hundred partnership Metha was bowled for 50 to make the score 176 for 6. Heller joined Foley and the pair chipped away at the remaining runs. Heller holed out with 7 needed to win but Foley saw the 4s over the line with an unbeaten 89 for a fine 3 wicket win with 16 balls to spare.
The final game of the weekend saw the Mixed Dev Team complete another successful fixture in the sunshine at Myreside. Super bowling from Tom Sweet, Aaradhy Khadse (1 wicket each playing their third cricket match of the weekend), Reuben van der Merwe, and senior debutants Abby Caton (6 overs unchanged 2-34 👏) and young Rajveer Shelar 0-17. Sarah Law and Elliot Bagger shared keeping duties while President Bob Irvine showed the way with two miserly overs, a top score and the highest partnership with Rajveer.