Weekend roundup – 26th/27th June
The 1st XI travelled north to Broughty Ferry to take on league leaders Forfarshire. Carlton were again without captain Ally Evans so Tom Simpson took the reins and he duly won the toss and opted to bat first. An 89 run opening stand from Will Hardie & Shujaa Khan gave Carlton a solid base. Khan was first to go for 58 and none of the new batters really settled as wickets fell fairly regularly. Hardie was the 7th wickets to fall for a patient 52 with the score on 183. In the end Carlton were bowled out for 218 in the 46th over with young Ruaridh McIntyre hitting 18 useful lower order runs. The home side got off to a fast start but were unable to build any meaningful partnerships. McIntyre and Rory Allardice picked up 3 wickets each to stifle the Forfarshire reply and the home side were bowled out for 157 in the 41st over. Another fine away win to back up last week’s victory at Arbroath.
Back at Grange Loan the 2nd XI entertained Edinburgh Accies. Skipper Pete Deakin lost the toss and Accies invited the home side to bat first. Chris McAllister (33) and Gav Murray (27) put on 66 for the first wicket and there was another half century partnership between Deakin (38) and Harry Simpson (17) which helped the 2s post 176. Accies reply never really got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Charles Stronach claimed 4 wickets and there were 2 each for spinners Simpson & Charlie Kentish as the visitors were bowled out for 101 in the 30th over.
The 4th XI hosted Broomhall at Inch Park Arti and captain Brian Kacsynski won the toss and elected to field. Opening bowlers Rudy Adair and Ben Stronach each picked up an early wicket and when Dougie Firth, coming on first change, claimed 3 quick wickets the visitors were in trouble at 56 for 5. Broomhall’s opener Ieuan Ward was still there and well set and proceeded to take the game away from Carlton, carrying his bat for 140* as the visitors posted 215 for 6 from their 40 overs. Iain Hathorn got the reply off to a blistering start hitting 40 in next to no time but when he was pinned in front the scoring rate faltered. None of the other batters were able to impose themselves on the bowling and in the end, the 4s were bowled out for 112 with the last ball of the match.
The 5th XI travelled across the city to Inverleith to take on Stewart’s Melville 4s. John Beattie lost the toss and the 5s were asked to bat first. The 5s mustered 125 for 9 from their 40 overs thanks largely to U13 Fergus Foley’s 48 at the top of the order. Only fellow U13 Oli Stones (10) and the slightly more mature Stu Dawson (28) made it into double figures. The 5s took regular wickets in the reply, including 4 for Freddie Megaw, but the home side chased down the total with 3 wickets and 7 overs to spare.
A remarkable number of Carlton’s Kwik Cricketers assembled at Grange Loan on Sunday morning for a sun-soaked fixture against Murrayfield DAFS. As usual detailed results are hard to decipher in this format of the game but all players from both clubs went home happy. Carlton’s girls team delivered the standout performance of the morning, hitting 127 in 12 overs, spearheaded by Caoimhe and Lindsay’s opening partnership of 54.
Later on Sunday the Women travelled to Barnton for their final Women’s Premier League match of the season against RHC. Annette Aitken-Drummond lost the toss and Carlton were invited to bat first. The loss of early wickets had the visitors up against it but a fine partnership between Charis Scott (58) and Zaara Dancu (26) steadied the ship. That allowed Carlton to post a respectable looking 143 for 8 from their 30 overs. In reply RHC also lost early wickets and with Scott picking up 4 wickets and 3 for Ashley Robertson Carlton were in a strong position. Sam Haggo returned to pick up the final 2 wickets to see the Women home by 24 runs. That result means that Carlton finish top of the league, although if Stewart’s Melville win next weekend the title will be shared.
Also on Sunday the 3rd XI entertained Edinburgh South at Grange Loan. Brad McKay won the toss and chose to bat first. Things did not go according to plan as wickets fell regularly. Only Anish Amin (39) was able to make a meaningful contribution as the 3s were shot out for 86 in the 33rd over. That total was always going to be light and the visitors duly chased it down in the 21st over for the loss of only 1 wicket.
The Mixed Development XI hosted MDAFs at Inch Park and skipper Bob Irvine chose to field first. Carlton restricted the visitors to 133 for 7 from their 30 overs with Irvine leading the way with 3 wickets. Saskia Aldridge, Tom Hathorn and Di Blood also picked up a wicket apiece and there was a run out from Hathorn Jnr. In reply there were good performances with the bat from James Stronach (33) and Robert Rowlands (40) but the Mixed Development side were bowled out in the 29th over 18 runs short of the target.