Weekend preview – 27th/28th May
It’s the fifth round of league cricket this weekend and the Arrows have 5 teams out this Saturday.
On Saturday the First XI will entertain Stewart’s Melville at Grange Loan. Last season Stew Mel finished in 7th place, 3 spots below the Arrows. The side currently have 1 win from 3 games in this year’s campaign. In last year’s league season both sides won one game against each other, both of them being won by the side playing at home. In the game at Grange Loan the visitors won the toss and elected to bat first, putting 204 on the board largely thanks to an unbeaten century from overseas professional Shaylen Pillay. Rory Allardice picked up 3 wickets on the day, with Ali Evans and Ruaridh McIntyre also claiming 2 each. In reply the Arrows chased down the target with 2 wickets and 4.1 overs to spare. Evan’s 64 and Shiv Gupta’s 41 helped ensure the Arrows claimed full points.
The 2nd XI will travel to Loretto to face Morton in the ESCA Championship. Morton finished 2nd in last year’s edition, 2 places above the Arrows. Morton have won 2 and lost 2 so far this season, whilst the 2s have won both of their completed matches. With Morton unable to find a suitable ground for their home game, the sides only met once last year with the Arrows running away with an 8 wicket victory. In that game Morton won the toss and opted to bat first but were bowled out for 72 at Grange Loan. Opening bowlers Saif Khan and Charles Stronach picked up 5 and 4 wickets respectively. The Arrows made light work of the chase and reached their target in the 18th over for the loss of 2 wickets.
The 3rd XI will head to Double Hedges for their fixture against Kirk Brae this Saturday. The hosts finished two spots above the 3s last year, ending up in 4th place. The sides met twice last year and picked up a win each. In the match at Double Hedges last time out, the Arrows lost the toss and were sent out into the field. The visitors restricted Kirk Brae to 168 for 9 off their allotted overs. Wickets were shared around but the pick of the bowlers was Rory Ledingham, taking 3-31 off his 8 overs. In response opener Ben Thurman (66*) carried his bat and guided the 3rd XI home in the 33rd over. Andrew Lang (33), Charlie Kentish (31) and Ledingham (23) all provided useful contributions.
The 4th XI are on the road again this weekend as they visit Winterfield Park for their match against Dunbar. In last year’s ESCA Division 4 campaign, Dunbar finished joint 6th place whilst the Arrows narrowly avoided the drop in 8th place. Last season Dunbar did the double over the Arrows, winning both of their fixtures against the men from Grange Loan. In last year’s game in East Lothian the away side won the toss and inserted the hosts. Dunbar were bowled out for 127 with spin duo Joe Ward and Joe Griffin both picking up 3 wickets each. 30s from Alan Murray and Griffin were not enough as the Arrows fell 7 short, being bundled out with only an over to go.
To conclude action on Saturday the 5th XI will welcome Old Contemptibles to Merchiston Castle School. OCCC are newcomers to ESCA Division 7 having failed to retain their place in Division 6 in 2022. The last meeting between a Carlton side and OCCC was in 2018 when the 4s met them in ESCA Division 5. OCCC won the toss and batted first, which looked to be a strong decision having put 173 on in their 40 overs. However Paul Kentish (62) and Oli Raine (32) helped Carlton on their way to a 4 wicket victory as Alan Murray and Ruaridh McIntyre (both 15*) knocked off the remaining runs.
On Sunday the Women’s First XI were scheduled to be playing against Dumfries and Galloway at Grange Loan in the WPL, however the away team have unfortunately withdrawn from the league. However the Women’s Second XI game versus Stewart’s Melville in the challenger league is still set to happen, starting at half past nine at Grange Loan.