There was a mixture of youth and experience in Carlton’s U10s for the Grange under-10 Kwik Cricket tournament at Portgower Place on Sunday.  We took 10 players and played five matches, each player sitting out one game.   With the sun shining and the field drying out, the early season coaching seemed to have paid off as Carlton won all four group matches, before losing the final to a strong Grange Stags team.

A good batting performance against Grange Bucks got Carlton off to a fine winning start while it was the fielding that really impressed in our second game against Arbroath, with a couple of fantastic stops from Finlay and Zack preventing boundaries.

 The third match against Penicuik was a close affair coming down to the final ball but, with Penicuik requiring four to win and only a single on the cards, a poorly-judged attempt at a second run saw a run out and a Carlton victory.  

The last game, against a Livingston side that was also a mixture of youth and experience, saw a brilliant hat-trick for Gregor who followed up two catches off his bowling by forcing the batsman to play on with his next ball.

The final against Grange’s stronger Stags team was perhaps a game too far after four group games. Several of the Stags’ stronger batsmen were able to score runs, while a couple of superb catching efforts from Zack on the boundary and Finlay off his own bowling were just out of reach.

Well played to Benjamin, Cameron, Gregor, Finlay, Muz, Nina, Robbie, Pete, Sachin and Zack.  Special congratulations go to Cameron, in his first competitive game for Carlton, who was one of the two Players of the Tournament.

Results:

Group Stages

Carlton 234 (2 out) def Grange Bucks 224 (3 out)

Carlton 225 (3 out) def Arbroath 215 (4 out)

Carlton 229 (6 out) def Penicuik 223 (3 out)

Carlton 228 (5 out) def Livingston 206 (5 out)

Final

Grange Stags 239 (4 out) def Carlton 225 (4 out)