Weekend roundup – 2nd/3rd August
The 1s travelled to Perthshire to take on Meigle in round 14 of the EPL. Batting first the Arrows lost Ruari Macpherson early but Olly Davidson & Chris McBride took the attack to the bowlers. Davidson was next to go for 32 with the score on 106 in the 18th over. Skipper Daniel Da Costa and McBride then added 105 runs for the 3rd wicket before the latter offered a return catch to the bowler 5 runs short of a century. Chasing quick runs at the end wickets started to tumble, including Da Costa for 56 as the Arrows were bowled out in the final over for 258. With the ball, Davidson struck in the 2nd over and then Conor Regan claimed another with the score on 23. Davidson got 2 more to make it 28 for 4 before Regan also picked up another couple to leave the home side in all sorts of bother at 61 for 6. Some stubborn resistance was broken by Rudy Adair who claimed the last 3 wickets to bowl the home side out for 115 to set up a 143 run win.
The 2s welcomed Linlithgow to Grange Loan in the ESCA Championship. The Arrows bowled first and captain Charles Stronach made a couple of early breakthroughs to leave the West Lothian side 38 for 2 in the 7th over. Ferg Foley then picked up a wicket to make it 63 for 3 before the spinners took over. Rory Ledingham struck next and then Max D’Ulisse chipped in with a brace to leave the visitors in trouble at 100 for 6. Another for Ledingham and 2 more for D’Ulisse made it 124 for 9 and Shreyas Tekale took the final wicket to bowl Linlithgow out for 128. In reply Pavan Yaradi went cheaply but Ally Evans was seeing the ball well. Ben D’Ulisse fell in the 11th over to make it 69 for 2 but Kyle Macpherson joined Evans and took the score to 101 before Evans was bowled for 67. Charlie Kentish joined Macpherson and the pair knocked off the remaining runs in short order for a comfortable 7 wicket win.
The 3s were at Newfield to take on Edinburgh Accies 2s. Bowling first there were 2 early strikes for Dougie Firth and then Aadi Khadse picked up a wicket to make it 55 for 3. The Arrows managed to keep the scoring in check and in the 27th over John Gill struck to leave Accies 108 for 4. The home batters then started to accelerate and although there were more wickets for Gill, Hamish Foley (2) as well as a run out from Cam Moore behind the stumps, Accies finished on 204 for 8 from their 40 overs. A disastrous start with the bat saw the 3s reduced to 20 for 7 in the 10th over. Shaun Smith (27) led a bit of a fight back but both he and Dougie Firth fell with the score on 56. Some stubborn resistance from the final pair of John Gill (13*) & Lewis Broster (13) ensured the 3s got a couple of losing batting points but in the end the Arrows were bowled out for 90 to lose by 114 runs.
The final game on Saturday saw the 5s host MDAFs 4s on the artificial at Myreside. Bowling first Rohan Kumar Jena removed both openers and then Aaradhy Khadse got in on the act to pick up the 3rd wicket. Khadse Jnr also got the 4th and the Arrows were well placed at drinks with the visitors 101 for 4. Tomos Hunt was next to strike and when John Carpenter picked up 2 wickets in an over it left MDAFs 138 for 7. Some lower order resistance was eventually broken by the returning Kumar Jena who picked up another 2 wickets and a runout to bowl the visitors out for 170. In reply David Simpson and Martin Robertson put on 89 for the 1st wicket before Simpson fell for 40. Robertson was runout for 40 but a brief and entertaining cameo from Mike Kennedy (38 of 20 balls) took the 5s to within sight of victory. The 5s duly got over the line for a 4 wicket win with more than 6 overs to spare.
On Sunday the Women’s 2s were hosting Prestwick in the semi-final of the CS Women’s Challenger Cup at Grange Loan. Bowling first the Arrows restricted the Ayrshire side to 60 for 5 from their 20 overs. Amy Yang picked up 2 wickets as did Abby Caton with Evie Miller the other successful bowler. In reply Ajitha Rajan fell early and then 2 quick wickets made it 29 for 3 in the 7th over. When Agnes Foley was bowled the next over the home side still needed 19 runs but Amelia Beattie (15*) and Sonia Amin (11*) steered the Arrows home with 6 wickets and 7 overs to spare. The final is next Sunday at Brechin where the Arrows will face either Strathmore or Meigle.
Also on Sunday the 4s were due to host Melrose, but unfortunately the Borders side could not raise a team. Similarly the Mixed Dev XI opponents scratched so rather than let a good wicket at Grange Loan go unused 2 teams of players from both sides played 2 T20 matches once the Women’s 2s were finished. After an enjoyable afternoon in the sun, honours were even with some of the highlights being 2 for 7 from 3 overs for young Lindsay Thompson and the Club President being bowled by a 12 year old.