Weekend roundup – 6th/7th June

The 1s travelled to Stockbridge to take on Grange in round 6 of the EPL.  Bowling first there were early strikes for Arun Pillai (sponsored by Umair Mohammed Cosmetic & Sports Dentistry) and Ben Stronach and then Pillai claimed his second to reduce the home side to 39 for 3.  Grange recovered before Pillai struck again to make it 119 for 4.  Another useful partnership was broken by Shovik Chakraborty and Stronach came back and picked up 3 late wickets as the home side finished on 234 for 8.  In reply Chakraborty fell early before Angus Guy (34) went to make it 44 for 2.  Pillai & Daniel Da Costa put on 83 for the 3rd wicket before Pillai nicked off for 35.  Da Costa kept going but wickets kept falling at the other end.  He was eventually run out for 78 leaving too much for the tail to do and the Arrows were bowled out for 199 to lose by 35 runs.

Back at Grange Loan, the 2s hosted Grange 2s in the ESCA Championship.  Invited to bat first the visitors lost both openers early to Charles Stronach & Pete Gill.  Tight bowling and good fielding kept the run rate in check and in the 16th over Aadi Khadse struck to make it 56 for 3.  Khadse picked up the next wicket in the 33rd over to make it 124 for 4 and then Max D’Ulisse struck shortly after.  The visitors managed to accelerate a bit towards the back end before a wicket for Rory Ledingham and a run out saw Grange finish on 210 for 7.  Pete Gill went early but Oli Stones and Stevie Gilmour got the scoreboard moving. With the score on 92, Stones fell for 31.  Gavin Murray joined Gilmour and took the score to 170 before Gilmour fell for 76.  There was a flurry of late wickets, including Murray for 40, but the Arrows got over the line in the 41st over for a 3 wicket win to make it 6 wins in a row.

The 3s were away at Leith Links taking on Leith FAB in round 7 of ESCA Division 2.  Skipper Brad McKay lost the toss and the Arrows were inserted on a pitch that offered plenty to the bowlers.  They struggled to come to terms with the challenging batting conditions with only Euan Keatinge (31) finding any sort of form.  In the end they were bowled out for 73 in the 30th over with Lewis Broster (11) the only other batter to make double figures.  That total proved well short although Broster & McKay both picked up 2 wickets each, the home side romped home in the 14th over for a 6 wicket win.

The final game on Saturday saw the 5s take on MDAFs 4s on the plastic at Roseburn.  The home side batted first and put on 93 for the first wicket before John Carpenter struck in the 18th over.  Skipper Euan Murray picked up the second wicket an over later but MDAFs kept the scoreboard moving.  Arjun Shelke then claimed a wicket to make it 124 for 3 but a big 4th wicket partnership ensured 5s would be chasing a big total.  Tom Sweet picked up 2 wickets at the death but the home side finished on 277 for 5.  In reply Martin Robertson (60) and Sam Gilmour (46) put on 109 for the first wicket, but both openers fell in quick succession.  Vijay Raghavan hit 53 but in the end the Arrows fell short, closing on 213 for 8 from their 40 overs to lose by 64 runs.

On Sunday the Women’s 1s were hosting RHC Lynx at Grange Loan in the WPL 40.  The match saw Charis Scott (sponsored by Michell Glass) make her 50th appearance for the Arrows, the first woman to reach that milestone.  Samantha Evans won the toss and invited the visitors to bat.  RHC started well before Agnes Foley picked up the first wicket with 62 on the board.  Wickets fell regularly after that with Scott the destroyer in chief taking 6 for 41 from her 8 overs.  Foley claimed a second and Flora Corbin also took 2 wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 144 in the 25th over.  In reply Holly Sladen was run out early but Sarah Beith (24*) and Scott (90*) saw the Arrows home to a convincing 9 wicket win in the 26th over and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

The Women’s 2s were also in action against MDAFs on the main square at Roseburn.  The home side won the toss an chose to bat first.  The inning got off to a disastrous start with a run out off the first ball of the match and a Lindsay Thompson wicket off the second.  The home side recovered somewhat before Ajitha Rajan took 2 in 2 in the 4th over to make it 27 for 4.  Rajan claimed a 3rd in her next over before Sonia Amin made it 43 for 6 in the 8th over.  Another run out 3 overs later followed by a wicket for Shobha-Viorica Reddy Kallamadi reduced DAFs to 62 for 8 in the 15th over.  The final wicket fell to Abi Caton with the last ball of the 16th over as the home side were bowled out for 63.  A watchful start from Rajan & Amelia Beatie took the score to 31 before Beattie fell for 11.  Rajan was out shortly after but Caton & Amin got the scoreboard moving.  With the finishing line in sight Amin was trapped in front but Sarah Law joined Caton and saw the Arrows over the line for a 7 wicket win.

The final game of the weekend saw the 4s at “home” to Edinburgh South 3s on grass at the Inch.  Having been inserted, Al Murray (28) and Basil Khan (27) put on 61 for the first wicket.  Wickets fell regularly after that but a fine counterattacking innings from young Ollie McCallum (42) ensured full batting points as the Arrows finished on 157 for 9 from their 40 overs.  South also got off to a decent start with the bat before Raghuram Parasur picked up both openers in successive overs to leave South 38 for 2.  Jake Heller was next to strike to make it 53 for 3 and at drinks the match was evenly poised at 73 for 3.  A strong 4th wicket partnership for South took the game away from the Arrows and although Stu Dawson did pick up a wicket South eventually ran out winners by 6 wickets in the 33rd over.