Weekend roundup – 16th/17th August
The 1s travelled north to Lochlands to take on Arbroath in round 16 of the EPL. Bowling first Rudy Adair struck twice early on and then Chris McBride also chipped in with 2 wickets to leave the home side in trouble at 34 for 4. Arbroath recovered a little until Olly Davidson broke the partnership to make it 88 for 5. McBride claimed a 3rd wicket shortly after and then Davidson struck again to make it 109 for 6. Adair came back into the attack and picked up a 3rd wicket before Davidson also claimed another to leave Arbroath 115 for 9. Adair then took the final wicket to bowl out the home side for 125 in the 34th over. In reply, Arun Pillai fell early but Ruari Macpherson and McBride took the score to 64 for 1 at tea. On resuming, McBride fell first ball for 29 and then skipper Daniel Da Costa went without scoring to leave the Arrows with some work left to do. Macpherson and Davidson got things back on track but with Nelson on the board Macpherson was run out for 42. Davidson then fell with 6 runs still required but Ben Stronach and Harry Simpson saw the Arrows home with 5 wickets and 27 overs to spare.
The 2s were at home to ESCA Championship winners Watsonians. Bowling first captain Charles Stronach picked up 2 early wickets but a good 3rd wicket partnership was broken thanks to a fine grab at midoff from Isaac Foley off Dougie Firth’s bowling. The visitors continued to keep the scoreboard moving and although the Arrows kept picking up wickets Watsonians were eventually bowled out for 285 in the final over. Stronach, Firth & Fergus Foley all finished with 3 wickets and Rory Ledingham was the other successful bowler. A good opening stand from Isaac Foley (49) and Pete Gill (48) set a platform but unfortunately none of the middle order could capitalise. It took a final wicket partnership from Firth (30) and the captain to take the game to the final over as the Arrows were bowled out for 197 to lose by 88 runs.
The 3s were away at Campbell Park playing Edinburgh CC 2s. Lewis Broster picked up 2 early wickets before 2 runouts left the home side 107 for 4 in the 23rd over. Edinburgh then went on the attack and took the score to 232 before Broster came back to break the partnership in the 36th over. Skipper Brad McKay then chipped in with 3 wickets and another runout saw the hosts finish on 255 for 9 from their 40 overs. In reply Shaun Smith fell early and then 2 quick wickets left the Arrows in trouble at 56 for 3. Anish Amin was going well but none of the middle order was able to impose themselves on the game and give him the support to really challenge the home side’s total. Wickets fell at regular intervals and when Amin was the final wicket to fall for a patient 59 the 3s were bowled out for 133 in the 33rd over to fall short by 122 runs.
The 4s took on Morton 3s at the Meadows. With Chris Sale delayed en route from Spain captain Al Murray opted to field first with the hope that Sale would get there in time to bat. There was an early strike for Daniel Mowat but the home side made it to drinks at 72 for 1. Stu Dawson struck immediately after the break and then Mowat produced at great catch at midwicket off the bowling of Finlay Thompson. Dawson struck twice more to put the Arrows in a good position at 85 for 5 but some sensible batting from Morton started to take the game away from the 4s. Atreya Subr did pick up a wicket but the home side finished their 40 overs on 188 for 6. The Arrows looked to be in trouble at 49 for 4 but a fine 5th wicket partnership from Benji Risi & Tomos Hunt added 54 runs. Risi holed out for 21 and although 2 quick wickets fell after that, Sale had hot-footed it from airport and made his way to the middle. Hunt was next to go for 37 but Sale (38*) and Kartic Subr batted out the remaining overs to ensure the 4s got maximum batting points as they finished on 167 for 8 to lose by 21 runs.
The final game on Saturday saw the 5s entertain Drummond Trinity 5s at Neilson Park in Haddington. Bowling first the Arrows struggled to make a breakthrough although it eventually came through Rahul Khadse in the 16th over with 101 on the board. Khadse picked up another in his next over and Arjun Shelke also claimed 2 wickets to leave DTs 114 for 4 after 21 overs. Another good partnership for the visitors was broken when Shelke got his 3rd wicket in the 35th over but the score had moved on to 185 for 5. Rohan Kumar Jena then picked up a wicket in the penultimate over and Khadse claimed 2 in the final over to leave DTs 216 for 8 from their 40 overs. Keith Murray & Martin Robertson put on 54 for the 1st wicket before Murray was bowled for 10. Robertson followed shortly after for 40 and wickets fell regularly after that. When Vijay Raghavan (38) was the 6th wicket to fall the Arrows still needed 76 runs and it looked a tall order. Shelke & Elliot Peltenburg had other ideas and put on 38 runs in short order until Shelke was run out for 20. The tail could not wag quite enough as the home side finished 5 runs short despite Peltenburg finishing with an unbeaten 25.
On Sunday Grange Loan was given over to the annual Junior 6s competition. 6 teams, made up a players drawn from Girls U16, U12, U14 & U16 hardball teams competed over 12 games on a beautiful sunny day. Sonia Amin’s Team Yellow came out on top after an exciting final with Team Blue which was a fitting end for a fun-packed day of junior cricket, expertly organised once again by Martin Firth.
