Weekend roundup – 23rd/24th August
The 1s had their final home game of the EPL season taking on Edinburgh South in a match kindly sponsored by the Carlton Legends. Bowling first there was an early strike for Rudy Adair and then 3 wickets fell in quick succession to reduce South to 69 for 4. The visitors dug in for a bit before Rory Allardice took a smart return catch to make it 107 for 5. A good 6th wicket partnership was broken by Olly Davidson in the 42nd over with 196 on the board and then a clatter of wickets fell in the final overs as South were bowled out for 226. Chris McBride finished with 4 wickets and Davidson got 3 plus a runout. In reply the Arrows lost 3 wickets with the score on 25 and then when Davidson nicked off in the 12th over the home side were reduced to 63 for 4. A fine 106 run stand between McBride and Arun Pillai put the Arrows back in the box seat before McBride fell for 86 in the 28th over. James Stronach made his way to the middle and he and Pillai got within 17 runs of victory before Pillai was bowled for 43. Harry Simpson joined Stronach (37*) and saw the Arrows home for a 4 wicket win with 13 overs to spare.
The 2s travelled to the second square at Goldenacre to take on Drummond Trinity in their final match in the ESCA Championship for the season. Batting first the home side got off to a fast start before a runout in the 4th over made it 32 for 1. Jamie Beattie and Charles Stronach each picked up wicket to leave DTs 82 for 3 in the 9th over. A strong 4th wicket partnership was eventually broken by Pavan Yaradi to make it 203 for 4 in the 32nd. Beattie came back and picked up a wicket and Yaradi got a 2nd while 2 more runouts and further wickets from Charles & Ben Stronach bowled out DTs for 277 in the 48th over. In reply the 2s batting woes continued with only Pete Gill (42) able to have any real impact on the scoreboard. 3 other batters got out in the teens and in the end the Arrows were bowled out for 134 just before drinks to end a disappointing season with a 143 runs loss.
The 4s were away at Winterfield Park to play Dunbar in ESCA Division 5. Bowling first Andrew Lang and Raghuram Parasur kept things reasonably quiet but it wasn’t until the introduction of spin twins John Gill & Finlay Thompson that the breakthrough came. It was Gill who struck first and then Thompson effected a runout before then picking up 3 wickets himself to leave the Arrows well placed at 80 for 5 just after drinks. The home side counterattacked well, however, and although there were further wickets for Lang, Aadi Khadse and Parasur Dunbar posted 245 for 8 from their 40 overs. In reply Khadse & David Simpson set a decent base but both fell in the 20s. The rest of the top order struggled to impose themselves on the game and the Arrows were in a similar position to the hosts at drinks. Benji Risi hit 20 off one over but unfortunately couldn’t keep the momentum going and in the end the 4s were bowled out for 132 in 30th over to lose by 113 runs.
The final game on Saturday saw the 5s travel to play Division 7 Champions Musselburgh 2s at Lewisvale Park. They also bowled first and Rohan Kumar Jena struck in the 1st over. It took another 13 overs before the next wicket fell, this time to Rahul Khadse to make it 75 for 2. Tomos Hunt then struck just after drinks to make it 107 for 3 but the home side were keeping the scoreboard ticking over. There were further wickets for Kumar Jena, Aaradhy Khadse and 2 for Elliot Peltenburg but Musselburgh finished on 222 for 7 from their 40 overs. In reply Martin Robertson and Noah Moncur fell early and when Ian Thompson was bowled the Arrows were in trouble at 57 for 3. Skipper Keith Murray was next to go for a patient 33 to make it 61 for 4. Wickets then started to tumble and the situation looked dire at 92 for 8 but Angus Turner (18*) and Kumar Jena (10*) stuck in and secured another batting point as the 5s finished on 118 for 8 to lose by 104 runs.
On Sunday the 3s welcomed Kirkbrae to Grange Loan for the final match in Division 2 for the 2015 season. With the other results in for the Division the 3s needed a minimum of 7 points to stay in Division 2 next season and a win would condemn Kirkbrae to finish 10th. Bowling first the Arrows let the visitors off to a fast start and the breakthrough came from captain Brad McKay in the 10th over with 47 on the board. Hamish Foley removed the other opener just after drinks to make it 86 for 2. Spinners Tom Hathorn and Max D’Ulisse then shared 5 wickets between them to leave the home side well placed at 130 for 7 in the 29th over. A frustrating 8th wicket stand added 65 runs and although it was eventually broken in the penultimate over by McKay, Kirkbrae finished on 196 for 8. The reply got off to a disastrous start when Shaun Smith edged one behind first ball. Euan Keatinge also went cheaply but the young pairing of Tom Hathorn and Hamish Foley got things back on track. Hathorn fell for 38 in the 14th over and then 3 overs later Foley nicked off for 19 to make it 76 for 4. 2 more wickets fell in quick succession and things looked ominous for the 3s at 85 for 6 but Anish Amin and D’Ulisse had other ideas. The pair added 96 runs before Amin fell for a fine 54 in the 38th over. Dougie Firth joined D’Ulisse at the crease still needing 16 runs off 16 balls. Firth hit his first ball for 4 but a series of dots left them needing 10 off the last to win. Some aggressive running made it 4 off 2 and Firth duly hit the cow corner fence to win the game with 1 ball to spare. D’Ulisse finished unbeaten on 46.
The Mixed Dev XI were also on duty on Sunday away at Kirkhill to take on their counterparts from Penicuik. Tom Sweet took the bowling accolades with 5 for 6 as the home side made 111 for 13 off their 30 overs. In reply Ollie McCallum, Euan Murray, Sam Gilmour & Arjun Shelke all retired as the Arrows finished on 174 for 2 with 9 year old Neevan Metha chipping in with a cheeky 10*.