It was a day of mixed fortunes for the Carlton Cats and Carlton Cubs at the Penicuik Kwik Cricket festival.  Both team acquitted themselves well, but it was ultimately the host’s top team that took home the trophy.

The U10 Cats were drawn in the strongest group against Grange and the stronger Penicuik Pythons while the U9 Cubs were drawn against the Penicuik Panthers and West Lothian.

The Cubs progressed as winners of their group.  Special mention goes to Zack and Nina for amassing 25 off the last two overs against the host’s Panthers, while in the win over West Lothian Ruairidh took a great caught and bowled, Zack and Brodie both nailed terrific catches and some great fielding by Muz and Saachin resulted in a run out.  Perhaps even more impressive was Gregor, playing for West Lothian as they were a man short, who found himself on a hat-trick ball courtesy of some sharp catching in the field – fortunately it proved to be a dot ball!

The Cats went into the first game against a strong Grange team with high hopes, raised further with a run out from the first ball of the Grange innings. Some tight bowling and regular wickets kept the opposition to an achievable score, although the team could have been sharper in the field. Unfortunately, the Cats could not build up a head of steam due to accurate bowling from Grange, who were also slightly hungrier with their fielding, eventually falling just short at the end when a draw would have been a very fair reflection of the match.  

Next up was a strong and experienced Penicuik Pythons team, who posted an imposing total thanks principally to their last two pairs of big hitters.  The Cats found it difficult to cope with the scale of the task and quickly fell behind the run rate. To their credit the team continued to battle and acquitted themselves well against the better team.

The rest period for both groups was put to good use as the Carlton Cubs and Cats took each other on in what was an unsurprisingly keenly-fought contest which came down to the last ball, the Cubs just squeezing home.

The final game for the Cubs proved a bit one-sided against the Penicuik Pythons. Some big hitting from the hosts, followed by the Cubs failing to capitalise in the middle of their innings and losing a couple of cheap wickets through tight run-outs, left the final pair of Zack and Saachin with too much to do.  Nevertheless, special mention to Billy for some good bowling and Ewan for shot of the day, a delicious hook shot for 4.

The Cats final game was also a more one-sided affair, but this time in their favour. With Penicuik Panthers blooding a number of youngsters (including an impressive 5 year old!), the Cats bowled and fielded well, with the relatively high score posted by the opposition having much to do with the “extras” column and the extremely short boundary.  At times it felt like a 20/20 game and we are sure that Peniciuk’s supplies of cricket balls are now seriously depleted with the numbers of sixes being dispatched into the surroundings trees, roofs and bushes!  The Cats responded with a calm and measured innings, tucking into the poorer balls and running really well between the wickets (notably Gregor W and Callum) to register a comfortable win.  Particular mention should go to (i) Duncan and Euan for some strong batting in the face of testing bowling, (ii) Cameron and Gregor (sorry, can’t remember which one, as every third boy in the team was called Gregor!) for consistent and accurate line and length bowling which troubled most of their opponents, (iii) George for his tenacity in the field and (iv) Callum for the Cats best shot of the day, an imperious six over mid-wicket that threatened the greenhouse in the adjacent garden that clearly expected greater protection than it got from the 10 foot high fence.

Overall it was great to see both teams able to get in a full four games of kwik cricket with the weather staying dry.  Special thanks to coaches Iain and Miles– it was only because both were willing and able to help out that we could field two Carlton teams (after several other clubs pulled out for lack of players).  It is a mark of our strength in depth and a great sign for the future that we have so many competitive players at this age group.Coming up is Carlton’s own Kwik Cricket festival on Sunday 26th August when both teams will be back in action with an extra incentive to win!

RESULTS (U9 Cubs)

Game 1

Carlton Cubs 263 for 3

Penicuik Panthers 246 for 0

Game 2

Carlton Cubs 249 for 4

West Lothian 237 for 5

Game 3

Carlton Cats 253 for 2

Carlton Cubs 256 for 3

Final Game

Penicuik Pythons 263 for 1

Carlton Cubs 231 for 4

RESULTS (U10 Cats)

Game 1

Grange 235 for 2

Carlton Cats 230 for 4

Game 2

Penicuik Pythons 274 for 3

Carlton Cats 221 for 7

Game 3

Carlton Cats 253 for 2

Carlton Cubs 256 for 3

Game 4

Penicuik Panthers 245 for 5

Carlton Cats 258 for 1