Weekend roundup – 21st/22nd June
A damp and misty Saturday saw the 1s make the short journey to Inch Park to take on new EPL outfit Edinburgh South. Having been inserted on a challenging pitch the Arrows struggled with conditions and were eventually bowled out for 138 in the 33rd over. Skipper Daniel Da Costa top scored with 28 and Arun Pillai (19); Shiv Jhala (18) and Rory Allardice (12) were the only other batters to make double figures. The home side also struggled with the bat and were reduced to 49 for 5 in the 15th over chasing a DLS target of 133 in 45 overs. 3 wickets for Allardice put the Arrows in the box seat at 100 for 8 but some big hitting from the home no 10 saw Edinburgh South over the line to win by 2 wickets in the 37th over.
The 2s welcomed Drummond Trinity to Grange Loan and the visitors were 89 for 1 after 24 overs when the rain came. Unfortunately too much time was lost and there was no prospect of the overs being completed so the match was abandoned.
The 3s were on duty at Double Hedges to take on Kirk Brae. The home side chose to bat first and were reduced to 43 for 5 thanks to 4 wickets from Raghuram Parasur and 1 for Lewis Broster. Max D’Ulisse then picked up a wicket and there were 2 for Aadi Khadse to leave the 3s well placed but the weather intervened. With Kirkbrae 92 for 8 after 28 overs the rain began and unfortunately no more play was possible and this match was also abandoned.
Due to lack of pitch availability in Edinburgh the 4s played their home game against Dunbar at Winterfield Park. Batting first the Arrows struggled in the face of some accurate bowling but some much needed impetus from David Simpson (39) and Benji Risi (41) helped them post 160 for 8 from their 40 overs. The rain came at teatime and after a lengthy delay conditions in East Lothian picked up and the game restarted. An early strike for Abhi Mehta gave the 4s hope but some wayward bowling and hard hitting from the Dunbar batters saw the “visitors” coast home in the 26th over for an 8 wicket win.
The final game on Saturday saw the 5s also in East Lothian for a “home” game against Musselburgh 2s on the artificial at Neilson Park in Haddington. A good performance with the ball restricted Musselburgh to 160 for 7 before the heavens opened in the 37th over. Wickets were spread around with 2 for Aaradhy Khadse, Angus Turner and Dilan Amin with Tom Sweet the other successful bowler. An early tea was taken but the rain continued to fall and the skippers shook hands as this game too was abandoned.
Weather was still a factor for the games on Sunday as the 1s welcomed Arbroath to Grange Loan for the quarter final of the Scottish Cup. The visitors won the toss and chose to bat second as it was always likely that DLS would be a factor in the game. A bright start from Angus Guy (24) & Ruari Macpherson (28) put the Arrows in a good position but 3 quick wickets left the home side in a spot of bother on 57 for 3 in the 13th over. Despite being on and off with the weather Daniel Da Costa and Olly Davidson turned things around and put on 156 for the 4th wicket. Da Costa eventually fell for 91 but Davidson (71*) and Arun Pillai (10*) took the score to 238 for 4 from their allotted 35 overs. Arbroath were set a target of 253 from their 35 overs but their chase got off to a terrible start when Conor Regan picked up a wicket with the 3rd ball of the innings. Davidson and Jamie Beattie then each picked up wickets to leave the visitors reeling at 13 for 3. It went for bad to worse for Arbroath as Regan kept getting wickets, completing his 5-for in the 13th over to make it 49 for 7. That soon became 49 for 9 as the big man from Portsmouth picked up 2 more to finish with figures of 7 for 17 from his 7 overs. All that was left was for Rory Allardice to claim the final wicket and Arbroath were bowled out for 56 to see the Arrows to a home semi-final against Heriots in 2 weeks time.
The final game of the weekend saw the Women make the long journey north to take on Grampian Thistles at Peoples Park in Dyce. Batting first Samantha Evans’ side made 143 for 5 thanks to 42* from the skipper as well as useful runs from Emily Rose (29); Abbi Aitken-Drummond (20) and Maisie Maceira (18). With all the rain delays the home side were given 17 overs to bat before the rain calculator would be applied to determine the result. After 12 overs the Thistles were 52 for 3 with wickets for Maceira (1) and Sonia Amin (2). Going into the final over the home side were 68 for 3 which give them a target of 70 as long as they lost no more wickets. They reached that point halfway through the over but the next ball Sarah Beith effected a run out from behind the stumps. That meant the target was now 75 at the end of the 17th and the home side failed to get the extra runs meaning the Arrows travelled back south with the points in the bag.