284 for 8

Cedric English 127, Fraser Watts 89

home

148 all out
Jason Trembath 4 for 28, Nathan Pietsch 3 for 35

111 all out

Sean

174 all out

Cedric English 37, Fraser Watts 31, Sean Olivier 30

253 for 5

Preston Mommsen 83, Fraser Watts 49, Stevie Gilmour 41, Cedric English 33

251 for 6

83 for 7

Sean Olivier 3 for 12

195 for 3

Jamie Kerr 77, Gordon Drummond 56*, Jason Trembath 32

National T20 champions Carlton began the defence of their title with a comfortable win over East League 2 side Musselburgh.

Jamie and Jason were both promoted to opener and got things off to an aggressive start befoe Jason was dismissed for 32 before the halfway stage. Drummo then joined JK and the pair smashed the bowling to all parts. After Jamie departed for 77, there were 15s form Ced and Sean (unbeaten) with Drummo ending defeated on 56.

The home side then battled their way to 83, with Sean picking up 3 for 17.

261 for 9

Ali Evans 3 for 47, Omar Ahmad 2 for 37, Jason Trembath 2 for 42

262 for 1

Cedric English 119*, Stevie Gilmour 108*

Winning the toss and bowling on a flat one may usually be deemed to be a bit bonkers, however with the potential of rain late in the day chasing seemed like a good option as the 1st XI sought their 4th straight win of the season Vs a Grange side featuring a mixture of youth and experience.

Ali ‘PIPE' (no idea why he is called that) Evans got us off to a great start nipping one back to clip the top of off in the first over. With a 4 step run up Ali continued to terrorise the Grange top order with a gale force wind behind. A great bit of bowling to take the edge of the Grange captain Patel saw Cedy take a comfortable catch at 1st slip, and as the umpire gave the 'out' decision Pipe confirmed the decision with the departing Grange skipper!!

Omar was at his best bowling 10 straight tight overs, picking up the prize wickets of McSkimming and overseas amateur Legga who looked a dangerous player.  The rest of the bowlers battled hard in difficult windy conditions, which may have contributed to our 36 extras! Extras and the extra balls allowed Grange to get to 261 with only one player passing the 50 mark. It could have been more if Sean had not brilliantly run out danger man Davidson without him facing a ball.

Openers English and Hunt set about the run chase in positive fashion with the skies darkening and wind picking up. Huntman did well to concentrate after finding out his phone, wallet and ipod had all been pinched from the dressing room. After lacing an English-esque back foot drive through the covers Nik was unfortunately trapped LBW for 13 by one which didn’t get up.

That brought Gilly to the crease with the score on 59 and the rain starting to fall… horizontally. With Grange using various tactics to try and persuade the umps to go off for rain before the critical 20 over mark Gilly and Ced quietly kept the score ticking over well above the DL score. With Ced and Gilly well set at the crease they set about chasing down the target keeping just above the asking rate the whole way, managing to finish the job with a comfortable 17 balls to spare. A superb partnership of 203 with Ced finishing on 119 n.o. and Gilly 108 n.o.

4 wins in a row, next up Watsonians at Grange Loan….

Scorecard

152 for 2
[DL Target: 149]

Fraser Watts 79*, Preston Mommsen 33

155 all out

Gordon Drummond 3 for 36

Carlton are grateful for the generous support of our match sponsor: Alan Kemp

The skipper reports ...

At last, a toss won!  

Yes, for the first time this year the coin landed the right way up which sent me into a flat spin........I had no idea what to do as I had become accustomed to allowing the opposition skipper to decide.  Anyway, I decided that we would run with the wind and let them have kick off!

Our bowlers hit their straps from the off with Evo bowling a fiery spell that dovetailed perfectly with Preston's flight and guile at the other end.  Wan was standing a fair way back and taking the ball above shoulder heights regularly from Evo which was very nice to see.

 
The first breakthrough came after 4 tight overs when, feeling the pressure, the Watsons openers had a mix up in their running and Euan Stubbs was run out after a sharp bit of work from Rich Metcalfe.  Preston accounted for Pro Weston and Evo got Flannigan gloving one off his nose to the wickie.

Drummo was soon in on the act when, after an inauspicious start to his first over, he nicked the intelligent Ewan Chalmers off with the last ball of his first over.  Omy grabbed a wicket after a tight spell which bought Boyd junior to the crease.  A nervous dad was pacing up and down, eager for his boy to do well (although not too well we hoped!).  

Boydy and Craig Wright set about rebuilding the Watsons innings after the top order was blown away and did a good job of it, building a solid partnership.  It was good to see Boydy doing well in what was a tough situation and showed that he had settled in well at his new club.   Sadly (well, a little bit at least) Fraz was run out after compiling a good 38 which helped get Watson's to some sort of total.

We were on and off for rain throughout the Watsons innings which wasn't good for the old men in our side, all the stop starting isn't good and resulted in some slight tweaks along the way. Ced strained his calf, Preston rolled his ankle and Gillie and I both pulled our hamstrings, it was quite bizarre!  

Anyway, following the reduction of the first innings to 46 overs, Watson's cameback out blazing and ended up getting 155 with Drummo sneaking 2 wickets in the process.

Then we batted, got the runs and watched the footie on the big screen at Carlton.  Happy days.

[Ed's note: a more objective match reporter might have rewrtten the last para as follows: "Then I came out to bat and hit 79 majestic, unbeaten runs to win the game and then we watched the footie on the big screen at Carlton. Happy days."]

Scorecard

Photos

132 for 5

Gordon Drummond 56

Jason Trembath 39

131 for 6

Sean Olivier 3 for 22

Accies got off to a flyer thanks to some lacklustre bowling, before Sean Olivier got the benefit of a couple of lbw decisions to drag Carlton back into the match. Still, 131 was a big total to chase, and it looked bigger still after the first over of the Carlton reply when the home side were 0 for 1.

However, some big hitting from Jason Trembath, incuding two audacious reverse scoops in two balls, got Carlton moving. Playing more correctly, but still scoring quickly, Gordon Drummond combined booming drives with hard running to take Carlton to the brink of victory before he was adjudged lbw for an impressive 56. Although Gilly fell to the best caught and bowled seen at Grange Loan in many a year, Preston and Fraser saw Carlton through to the semi-finals.

348 for 5

Preston Mommsen 152, Gordon Drummond 115*, Jamie Kerr 30

The skipper reports ...

We travelled to Dunfermline to face a side that have a good record against Carlton on their own patch, a tough side to beat and a side who always seemed to lift their game against us.
We won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket that looked hard.   Ced, Gillie and I departed early on a wicket that we all thought would be quite difficult to score on if you put the ball in the right area......................350 runs later!   

Now, I am a really bad 'watcher' of cricket (especially when I am out early), generally spending most of my time fidgeting and irritating those around me, but on Saturday I just sat and marvelled at the exhibition of batting put on by Preston and Drummo.  

In the initial stages, Drummo played second fiddle to Preston.  Following up on his fifty during the week against Edinburgh Accies 'Big Toby' nudged the ball into gaps and ran hard whilst Preston unleashed some booming cover drives and powerful pull shots.

 
I had a few throw downs with Preston prior to the match and I learnt loads in the 20 minutes or so I threw balls to him.  His balance and control of his feet is amazing and I urge any young batsman to take a bit of time to watch him in the nets and try and copy what he does.  He is a player who has transformed himself over the winter, from a stodgy, methodical opening batter to a hard hitting, destructive middle order player capable of taking any attack apart.  He smashed the ball to all parts and when he departed for an outstanding 152 in 40 overs I was almost disappointed that he didn't get a well deserved double hundred that he would have surely made had he stayed in for a few more overs.

On his departure Drummo was joined by Jamie Kerr who was promoted up the order to unleash 'chaos' on the already flagging Dunfermline attack which he did with a quickfire 30 odd. Drummo upped the tempo as he passed 50 and started muscling the ball to all parts of the ground and notched up a well deserved 100 off a trademark hammered straight drive for 4. His innings was brilliantly constructed and had a great mix of delicate touches, fast running and clean hitting.  

In reply, Dunfermline got off to a lively start until Sean Olivier was introduced into the attack and produced a miserly spell of bowling, doing what none of the opposition attack seemed capable of, bowling stump to stump just back of a length.  He removed the dangerous Gautum Rai and Schmitt ...... with straight balls that nipped back a touch and really extinguished any hope Dunfermline had of chasing our mammoth target.  The game was effectively over after about 10 overs with wickets tumbling and the Dunfermline batters almost accepting the inevitable and shutting up shop.

 
All the bowlers performed well and bar a couple of mishaps in the field we had a generally good second half of the clash.   Another win, which is pleasing but still a lot of work to do to get us to our best.........

Scorecard

329 all out

Gordon Drummond 168, Jamie Kerr 60, Stevie Gilmour 35

146 all out

Preston Mommsen 3 for 25, Jason Trembath 3 for 30

Carlton are grateful for the generous support of our match sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous

Clearly not all bankers are awash with bonuses, as skipper Watts had to beg a £ coin from your correspondent ahead of the toss in this potentially tricky Scottish Cup tie. With the toss won, and the easy decision made to bat, the skipper attempted to pocket the quid using the old “lucky coin” line. After some prolonged negotiations, the coin was eventually prised from his reluctant hand and he returned to the pavilion with fellow opener Hunt to pad up.

A few minutes later and both batsmen were back in the hutch with the score on 5 for 2 in the third over. Enter Gordon Drummond, fresh from his maiden SNCL century the day before. He initially looked down his nose at anything short outside the off stump and waited for the bowlers to pitch it up. When they inevitably did, the Scotland skipper invariably unleashed a punishing drive for 4. Taking full advantage of the early power plays, Drummo had the scoreboard racing between the 10th and 15th overs with a series of crashing boundaries – anything full being met with a trademark short-arm drive; anything short being cut or pulled with the full force of the big man’s frame.

With the power play ended, the no 4 changed tactics, picking the gaps and running hard to take full advantage of increasingly ragged fielding from the visitors on a bitterly cold and blustery day. While all this was happening, Stevie Gilmour was happy to play the supporting role at the other end. Indeed, when Gilly eventually perished on 30, the partnership was worth 125 runs.

Pausing for breath in the 90s, Drummo then picked off a single to bring up his second century in as many days, while JK took the initiative at the other end to smash a rapid 50. For once Preston missed out, but Sean provided an aggressive knock while Gordon showed he had got the hang of this batting lark by passing the 150 mark. With just a handful of balls left a tiring Drummond eventually holed out for a superb 168. Anybody who wonders what drives the man should have seen how gutted he was at getting out.

Anyway, Carlton had 329 to defend and the other man of the weekend – Preston – was clearly miffed at being left out of the limelight. After Ali made sure Drummo was still alert by enticing opener Kashif Pervez to edge one straight to him, Preston picked up three early wickets – including two superb return catches – to leave Renfrew reeling at 49 for 4.

As the game approached its conclusion, there were also three wickets for Jason and one for fellow front-line spinner Watts. The coup de grace, though, was delivered by late call-up Fergus Whatley. The leggie started off with a trademark wide to lull the batsman into a false sense of security before picking up the final wicket with his first ever legitimate 1st team delivery. The big man set off on a one-man celebration the like of which has not been seen at Grange Loan for many a year. With a career 1st team bowling average of 1, Ferg has let it be known that he won’t be available for selection in the foreseeable future.

Scorecard

Photos

RAINED OFF

Carlton are grateful for the generous support of our match sponsor: Angus Mair

MATCH ABANDONED

187 for 7

Stevie Gilmour 53, Preston Mommsen 43

188 all out

Ali Evans 4 for 58

Match sponsored in memory of our long-time supporter & friend: the late Frank Millar

Carlton’s relationship with the Scottish Cup has been a long and troubled one. Only twice reaching the final, never winning it and, more often than not, stumbling to a home defeat in the early stages.

Sadly, 2011 turned out to be no exception as Carlton fell to Ayr – this time in a manner that must surely have matched any previous defeats in disappointment value.

Fraser won the toss and invited the visitors to bat on a surface that had sweated under covers for days, bar a brief 12 overs on Saturday before the rain intervened. Ayr pro Michael Papps had scored a fine century during Ayr’s visit in the league a few weeks ago and he got off to a flyer in the first three overs as the Carlton openers bowled too many short balls – meat and drink to one of the best pullers in the Scottish game.

However, once Ali found his length he proved a real handful and he dismissed McElnea, Smith and Johnstone in quick succession to regain the initiative, and when Omar had Rennie caught at slip by Cedric, Ayr had slipped to 45 for 4. What followed was a real ‘dig-in’ operation as Papps (below) went for the slow rebuild option, supported by the obdurate Mitchell, while the wily Omar Ahmad delivered his 10 overs for just 11 runs – a perfect example of how to bowl in the conditions.

After Jason trapped Mitchell in front at 90 for 5, the incoming Borland brought a different approach to the crease and his unorthodox style upped the run rate as he opted for the aerial route. Eventually he perished for 29, but the 56 run partnership was to prove crucial. However, when two further wickets fell on the same score (Scott McIlnea to Preston’s 3rd c&b of the cup – a brilliant one handed diving effort; and Davidson to a superb direct run out from Fraggle) the visitors were looking at a sub 150 score. Number 10 Leck, though, hung around long enough for Papps to reach his 2nd Grange Loan ton of the season before he was castled next ball by Ali.

Some fiery stuff from Ali to deliver 4 wickets, a superb spell from Omar and a very impressive debut behind the stumps from 15 year old Matt Wells. But 188 all out was a good few more than Ayr might have achieved.

Ced and Fraser opened but found timing difficult in the face of an Ayr attack who clearly believed that their best chance of success hinged on bowling a good length. Just when it seemed as if the early storm may have been weathered, both openers fell to Scott McElnea – Ced playing on and Fraser adjudged lbw. The third wicket partnership of the normally fluent Mommsen and Gilmour found it increasingly difficult to get the ball away as timing seemed near impossible and drive after attempted drive invariably found a fielder.

Preston eventually holed out on 43 with 6 an over required and the PowerPlay still to come. Drummo looked to haul the runrate back with a run a ball 24 before he was eventually undone by the slow pitch and skied one off McElnea. Jason then slapped a couple of crucial boundaries before going the same way.

However, with Gilly still there and 7 runs needed from two overs, the smart money was still on the home side. Ayr had other ideas, though, and they seemed to have 22 players on the field. Hard running, though, brought the target down to 4 (3 in reality as a tie would be enough for Carlton) off the last over, bowled by Papps. Another hard run two from Gilly and the prospect of one run off five balls was surely a formality?

What followed will require serious counselling for those who witnessed it. A play and miss. Gilly then tried to hit over the tight field but didn’t make it. Six down, Ali at the wicket and three balls to go. Another play and miss. A mishit that went nowhere. One off one.

Ali then middled one straight to midwicket, whose throw was gathered by Papps and the bails dislodged just as Ali’s full length dive hit the crease. All eyes were on Sandy Scotland who had no hesitation in raising the finger and bringing an end to Carlton’s Scottish Cup hopes for another year.

The kind of game that can only make you stronger. And hopefully that will be the case for a Carlton side that now heads into July top of the SNCL Premiership.

Scorecard

246 for 8

250 for 4

Gordon Drummond 107*, Stevie Gilmour 45

The skipper reports ...

On a typically unscottish day we had a full game of cricket without one interruption for rain - wonders will never cease.

We lost the toss on a hard but green wicket - groundsman Hoffmann was obviously feeling his age and wanted to spice the track up a touch!  In classic Hoffy style he wandered/waddled/trotted in off 6 yards and zipped the ball around off a good length like the Hoffy of old, it was good to see!  His fielding has dropped off a touch, it was especially funny to see him misfield a ball that went very close to him on the fine leg boundary as he rested a pint of water on his Barrattesque roof and chatted to ex groundsman David Duncan.

 
Anyway, Uddy decided to bat first and Hoffy was soon rueing his decision to spice up the deck when he swung for South America first ball only to see the ball wizz off the outside edge to an ever alert Drummo at second slip - good start.

We took wickets at regular intervals but bowled some pretty poor balls in between which kept Uddy alive and in the hunt.  Sean was his usual miserly self, taking key scalps at important times, Amit settled in after a nervous start.  Omy was Omy  - ever wily, Drummo came back well after a difficult first spell and Evo bowled a great set up front but took a bit of tap at the end. Ozzie Trembath was the stand out performer with the ball and bowled with consistency and accuracy for a superb spell of 10 overs 2 for not very many.  It's great reward for him after a couple of difficult weeks on the bowling front.  He has worked hard with the club coach to iron out a few issues and got his just desserts.  He continues to work hard so expect more good returns from that man......

It was also good to get a Tweet from Mrs Trembath at what must have been 4am back in NZ congratulating us on the most recent victory -  I think we have a number of supporters around the world but Mrs T (lets call her Sharon.......Ozzie and Sharon..........ok!) is surely the most remote fan of Carlton CC.  Well a message for you Sharon.....young Ozzie is doing you proud and we are proud to have him with us this year - keep up the Tweeting! [You don't really do much research for these reports, do you? Mrs T is Elaine. You'll need to tweet and apologise now. Ed]

So anyway, Uddy got 246 in their 50 overs which was 30 below par in my book.  
We got off to a solid start with Ced and Huntsman all but seeing off the dangerous Hoffmann and Sri Lankan pro with an amazingly long name.  Ced played some typically sublime Ced shots and Nik dug in to set a good platform from where the rest of the lineup could springboard from.  We were 90ish for 3 off 24 overs, which wasn't ideal but on a good deck and a quick outfield we always had a chance. 

Drummo continued his outstanding form with the bat and smashed a brilliant unbeaten 107 with his hundred coming off 71 balls - a special knock!! His batting is like that of a young Freddy Flintoff with touches of pure class mixed in with some brutal hitting.  He was ably supported by Gillie who made a supporting 45 in a crucial partnership.  They batted with assurity and poise and guided the ship to safe waters before Wan came in (following Gillie's departure) and finished the game off with some lovely straight driving and a distinct lack of sweeping, which was a touch disappointing.

In summary, good win, good responsibility shown by various but still lots of improvement required from all members of our side.  Good news.

Scorecard

137 for 3

Gordon Drummond 47, Fraser Watts 46*

128 for 2

Fraser Watts 60*

124 all out

Jason Trembath 4 for 13

249 all out

Cedric English 109

Carlton are grateful for the generous support of our match sponsor: Alastair Ritchie

Given their successes in chasing this season, skipper Watts was happy to ask the opposition to bat on winning the toss and his decision seemed a good one when Ali got through the defences of Singh in his first over.

Fellow West opener Dougie Lockhart has often been a thorn in Carlton's side and so it proved again as the veteran dug in, determined to make the most of another fine Grange Loan track. In partnership with the experienced Ian Young the visitors made steady progress until Jason enticed a false shot from Young with the score on 120. In hindsight, the home side may have wished that they'd kept Young in as incoming pro Colin de Grandhomme began to make hay with the tiring Carlton attack, racing to 89 off just 62 balls before holing out to Fraser off Sean. Meanwhile, Lockhart continued towards a well deserved century as West finished on 275 for 3.

Fraser opened with Cedric and, despite a steady start, was showing signs of frustration before being bowled by Smith for 6. Preston looked good before falling for 23 trying to push things on. With Gilly adjudged lbw on 0 by umpire Wyllie, the target suddenly seemed a long way away.

Drummo, Nik and Jamie all played cameos before falling as they tried desperately to keep up with the run rate. All the while, though, Ced was still there and when he was joined by Jason there was a brief glimmer of hope when the Kiwi had the visitors rattled with his unorthodox approach. Sadly, Jason, Sean and Ced (for a fine 109) all perished hitting for the long off and long on boundaries as the rate reached 10 an over, leaving Carlton to taste defeat for the first time in the league.

Scorecard

154 all out

Gordon Drummond 3 for 8

212 all out

Gordon Drummond 33, Cedric English 31

The skipper reports ...

The day started badly for me as I had to share a car through to Greenock with two saffa's Mommsen and Olivier (pronounced 'olly fear' according to Preston – go figure!).  Out of the blue Preston presented lovely white chocolate cookies to both me and Olly Fear – unbelievable I thought – Preston is the tightest man alive and for him to give anyone anything without there being some benefit in it for him is unheard of.    Apparently he had been to M&S on Friday night, when they were selling off their stock on the cheap, and picked up a few bargains, amongst these were mine and 'fear's cookies which cost him the princely sum of 10p each.  Things started to make more sense.  The saffa's had lost (were thrashed/humiliated) their tri-nations rugby the night before to the all blacks (who are looking good for another world cup choke #jocksfortheworldcup) so there was fair bit of dissection of that match, the coaching staff and the current state of saffa rugby which was boring.  Apparently both Mommsen and 'Fear had been to school with or were cousins of every member of the saffa squad for the match, amazing! 

Anyway we got to Greenock on a lovely day and warmed up with our usual game of Fraggleball.  We play the youngsters vs the oldsters and the losers buy the drinks after the game.  The youngsters won a tight game 6-1 due to some insipid defence from 'fear and kerr kerr.  I play the lone striker role in the team and the service I got was a disgrace, I have a good mind to sack all the other members of the team and bring in my 92 year old gran who would be more use.  Its going to be a tough selection meeting on Tuesday.

The cricket started on a positive note when I lost yet another toss which, for once, proved to be pretty useful.  We were going to have a bowl first on a deck which looked quite damp but thankfully we were inserted on a pitch that was dry and was breaking up!  I hit the first ball for an imperious cover drive which set the tone for the day.  Having done my job (of setting the tone for the day) I surrendered my wicket soon after and wandered back to the clubhouse to read the paper and do the crossword. 

The wicket was a bit dry from one end and was popping every now and then which wasn’t great.  In the first over Ceddy went forward to a ball that bounced over his head!  We battled to 212 from our 50 overs but should have made 250 and batted Greenock out of the game but we lost wickets at regular intervals (none due to the wicket I might add) which stunted our progress.  Everyone got starts but nobody went on and got the 60 or 70 that would have put the game out of reach.  Kerr redeemed himself after his shambolic Fraggleball performance and played a responsible innings of 27* to give us that final push we needed to post a reasonable score.  I was still quite happy with the score of 212 but it was going to be a fight in the second half. 

After being rubbish last week we were determined to come out firing in the field this week and we did which was very satisfying, everyone did their jobs with the ball and in the field.  Drummo bowled a magnificent spell up front and was unplayable, there were balls flying everywhere, batsmen getting hit, edges flying to all parts and wickets tumbling.  It was good to stand at mid off and watch it happen.  I led admirably and gave the young and inexperienced Drummo helpful advice after each ball -  'well done, do that again' – 'ooh that looked sore, do that again' – 'can we get KFC on the way home [I had negotiated a car swap early in the piece], and well bowled, try and do that again' – 'are you enjoying yourself, good I'm glad, do that again'.  Some of the words of wisdom I passed on.

The dangerous Berrington was removed by the fear (who has that nack of getting the big guns out) with a rasping off cutter that removed middle stump – what a beauty. 

All the other bowlers bowled well and backed Drummo up admirably.  We are lucky to have a superb 3 pronged spin attack [3? Ed] which showed its teeth on a wicket that was taking turn, Jason continued the fine run of form he is in and was unlucky to only pick up two wickets.  He still hasn't smiled on the cricket pitch this summer which is something we hope to see change later in the year.  He and Nick Hunt had had a tough week of work, they had to get up at 8am every day and do Gilmour's cricket camps for 3 hours each morning so it was no wonder they were both a little tired and moody on Saturday.  We had considered resting both as they were obviously suffering from fatigue after a tough week but it was good to see them pull through and make it onto the pitch on Saturday.  Preston bowled well after I promised to buy him a coke after the game and I was my usual economical self…….Omy was as awesome as ever and Rajan bowled well at the other end picking up a wicket in a good spell. 

Anyway, we won by 50 odd runs to get us back on the horse which was very pleasing after last week. 

Man of the match was me for setting the tone so brilliantly.

Scorecard

88 for 5

Gordon Drummond 2 for 21

178 all out

Omar Ahmad 5 for 20, Preston Mommsen 3 for 47

179 for 5

Cedric English, 72*, Jamie Kerr 35*, Nik Hunt 22

120 for 3

Nathan Pietsch 2 for 20

113 for 9

Ross Burns 30

67 for 9

71 for 2

Preston Mommsen 3 for 18