Scorecard

Photos

The skipper reports ...

First things first. We all wish Alan McLeod a speedy recovery from a very serious accident on Sunday. We hope things are bearable at the moment and everything goes well  with your next round of check ups, from everyone at Carlton.

The privilege of playing at Grange Loan was not lost on Carlton 3rd Xl ,with the first fixture of the year against near neighbours Kirk Brae. Everyone turned up early, with Ollie winning the award, by having pre-warm up throw downs.

Tactics around the toss and whether Carlton should bat or bowl where discussed in great detail, views like weather, strength of opposition, quality of wicket were discussed, however temperature seemed to be the most important factor. This all quickly became irrelevant, as Kirk Brae won the toss and asked Carlton to bat.

Chris and Feds opened up with the clear instruction to enjoy the afternoon, make sure we played some shots and see what happened. With 9 off the first over, things started well and resulted in the comment, ‘I’ve never hit a 4 in the first over before this’. Both batsman settled in well and saw off the openers. Bruce Smith, also known as a Carlton kids’ coach, was first change and immediately bowled Feds. This brought Ollie (below) to the crease. After a couple of quiet overs, where Chris seemed to be timing the ball very well (unfortunately at fielders) disaster struck. Chris ran himself out, on the basis he was frustrated about the last over!

Murray and Ruairidh were both bowled by Gupta and both players looked very unhappy with their dismissals. At this stage Kevin (below) and Ollie batted away to ensure that we had some kind of total that justified the quality of the pitch. As you will see from the pictures of the game they have 2 very different styles. Ollie batted really well, playing properly and this complemented Kevin’s more direct approach. The partnership was exactly 100 when Kevin was dismissed. This saw a minor collapse with Ollie and Spike  going in quick succession. Nick Thomson brought some proper shots back to the innings and Carlton reached 183 for 8 off the allocated 45 overs.

Tea was the usual fine serving, with even the Banoffie Pie being consumed by the end of the day. (note to Allison on cakes and taste, all about presentation!). The only thing that got more interest than the tea was a collection of hand warmers that were auctioned off prior to going out to field.

Just as Carlton were getting ready to bowl the first ball, the heavens opened and the players left the field for what was a very short downpour. Once, we all had a lesson on covers etiquette, the second  innings was underway.  What can only be described as the tallest opening partnership in the East League, Messrs’ Colvin & Smith, settled in nicely against Carlton’s opening bowlers. Nick Thomson and Mike Brown, (first game for Carlton), who bowled well keeping both the openers quiet.

After 8 overs, there was a change of bowling to Alan McLeod. For those familiar with Alan, you will be well used to the stylish left arm spin. Sadly, the 4th ball got smashed back and caught Alan in the face. Initial thoughts, feared the worst, however it appears that he is ok at the moment. Everybody at Carlton wishes you all the best.

This incident took the wind out of the Carlton sails, however Ruairidh took up the spin challenge and got Smith out caught a couple of overs later. This was quickly followed by the no.3 batsman to the same bowler. The seam bowlers worked away, however the quality of the pitch and the fast outfield, made for a hard shift bowling seam. Ruth, Nick and Mike, stuck to the task well and will get more reward away from Grange Loan. Thankfully the spin option of Murray, 2 wickets, and Paul, 1 wicket, gave Carlton some return for all the hard work. The only thing that interrupted the bowling endeavours was snow. I am not sure how you come off for a shower but not for snow?

Ultimately Kirk Brae comfortably passed the Carlton total and fully deserved their win.

It felt like a decent start to the season; a recognition that Grange Loan is a road needs to be factored in when batting and bowling. I would like to thank everyone that helped out and no doubt the 3rd Xl will be wishing they were playing at Grange Loan, several times this season.

Scorecard

Chris Patterson reports ...

Carlton 3s headed across to Boroughmuir for the second game of the season. After a rigorous warm up demonstrating a total lack of footballing skill, news came that we would bowl first. A frantic search for jumpers and hoodies commenced with only Mikey braving the cold conditions in his playing shirt.

Before a ball was even delivered, disaster struck as Leicester scored after 38 seconds leaving a distraught Geordie at mid off!

Callum Sibley and Elder opened up both bowling an excellent line and length and were both rewarded with the wickets as Carlton ripped through the top order to leave the hosts 50-5. Special mention must go to Paul’s captaincy when Stevie Elder was brought in under the helmet, only to get a catch the very first ball after. Beat that Kev! This elation was quickly reduced when news reached that Leicester had in fact scored another, we still won’t go down……..

A good partnership between the number 6 and 7 brought Boroughmuir back into the game, before we turned to the spinning due of Whitaker and Main to regain some control. A great spell by both lads restricted Boroughmuir to a total of 207, many more than was expected earlier in the day. Overall a great fielding effort, with no catches going down, good job lads! Special mention must go to Callum Sibley for his returning figures of 8.4 overs, 4 for 43, and for returning to bowl even though you couldn’t move your fingers!

After tea, Carlton's innings started in disastrous circumstances. Needing a positive start, Chris was bowled first ball, a poor shot but im blaming Mike Ashley just because I can….. This brought Arsal to the crease and he and Ian steadied the ship slightly before Ian was adjudged L.B.W for 3. Murray strode to the crease, something which he seemed ready to do from the meet as he turned up with his pads on! He and Arsal played some lovely shots, manoeuvring the ball around the field with ease, whilst keeping up with the required run rate. Just as things were going well, Arsal was bowled, for a well composed 18. R Main (can’t spell his first name, why can’t it just be Rory) entered. His aggressive nature showed, hitting a couple of glorious fours before falling to the Siller. He had to go for it as it was his old coach, his words not mine!

Not to worry, however, as Stevie Elder was next in, and his calming influence showed, rotating the strike well, and punishing any loose deliveries. He and Murray continued in this nature until Murray fell L.B.W first ball after drinks for an excellent 34. Paul was next, showing his worth to the team hitting a good 16 before being well caught by the keeper standing up. This brought Feds to the crease, with sufficient rest from his keeping duties, as requested. He unfortunately fell for a duck, to a ball that seemed to keep a low. A bit unlucky some would say.

Whilst all of this was going on, Elder continued to bat, driving the ball beautifully, whilst comfortably scoring runs elsewhere keeping our hopes of victory alive. Tom Kujawa, possibly the best name in the club, joined Stevie, and another partnership ensued. Tom scored an excellent 19, showing his promise as an all rounder, before being bowled by the returning opener. Unfortunately with 10 runs an over required heading into the final five, the game looked lost. However, Elder and Sibley ran two’s after two’s putting great pressure on the fielders, allowing for the tension to grow once more. Unfortunately for us, we just couldn’t get over the line falling 17 runs short. Elder finishing on 67*, a fantastic effort, showing that he really is a Fantasy Bargain, how many points was that today Stevie?

Overall, an excellent game played in good spirit, with many players showing plenty of promise. Next week we head down to the borders to play Selkirk, hoping to pick up the first win of the season, and hopefully play in less artic conditions.

Finally, defeat shouldn’t deter us because it could always be worse, you could always be a Newcastle fan!

Scorecard

Arsal reports ...

Game 3 of the season saw the Carlton 3s head south to face Selkirk. Despite the overnight showers and the overcast weather, the group appeared in good spirits and were hopeful of a game ahead of the short car journey. It should be noted here that the car ride albeit short shed some light on the musical tastes of some of the club’s stalwarts with Ollie Rae and skipper Kev talking up the talents of One Direction and Emeli Sandé respectively. Other highlights included debating the footballing ability of Andy Carroll (absolute legend!) and a lesson in the duties of a scrum-half on a rugby pitch (still not sure I understand).

The toss was held soon after we arrived and we were to bowl first on what looked to be a damp, sluggish surface. Sibley and Saif opened the bowling and a combination of the pair’s tight lines and lengths and the pitch’s aforementioned sluggishness meant the hosts got off to a slow start. The miserly opening spells were followed up by similarly tight spells by Angus Beattie and Nick Thompson and drinks were called for with the hosts at a score of 43 for no loss after 22 overs.

The slow run-rate meant that the openers had to try to play some expansive shots to up the run rate and young Beattie was the first to benefit getting Skeldon caught at mid off for 39. This led to a flurry of wickets with Beattie striking again and some excellent fielding leading to a series of run-outs. The highlight of the fielding effort was a bullet throw by Chris from deep midwicket right over the stumps which found the opposition captain well short of his ground. The hosts finished on 115- 7 with Beattie’s 2-19 and Sibley’s 1-13 being the stand out figures.

Tea was had (sorry no Gav Rittoo scale ratings here) and it was up to Rob Atkin and Chris Patterson to lead the Carlton reply. The pair got off to a flyer with Atkin in particular making a mockery of the perceived slowness of the pitch with some fantastic pull shots and drives. Chris played some fine shots himself but perished for an aggressive 11 after pulling one straight to square leg.

This brought myself to the crease and I was uneasy with the slow nature of the wicket edging the first few I faced and struggling for timing. Atkin however was still going strong and continued to score quickly until he was dismissed trying to cut a wide half tracker and instead sent it high into the air. This brought Nick to the crease and we consolidated the innings by being watchful and taking the odd single. Progress was slow after Atkin’s dismissal but the looming presence of threatening clouds overhead and skipper Kev’s annoyance at having to watch this from his umpiring position meant that Nick and I decided to get a move on. Nick got a few quick runs playing some excellent pull shots but was dismissed after playing one too many for a solid 18.

R Main was the next man in and was greeted by the opposition captain with the words (and I quote) “He thinks he’s a professional or something” because young Ruairidh had the audacity to warm up as he walked in. We were now close to the target and a few hits from both myself and Ruairidh brought us closer to the target. 14 runs were required when I missed a straight one and got bowled for a patient (torturous for those watching) 27. Ollie Rae walked in and her and Ruairidh took us to the brink before he was stumped trying to hit the winning runs. Young Angus walked in but he wasn’t in for long as 2 wides gave the 3’s their first win of the season!

Overall it was an enjoyable game of cricket and the combination of youth and experience bodes well for the season ahead.

Scorecard

Angus reports ...

On a cool, blustery morning the 3s travelled to the Arctic wasteland that is Peffermill to play Leith FAB. After the customary warm up of one bounce the toss was made with Kevin winning and electing to bat first. While most were scrambling to find extra layers, Chris was complaining about having to wear a top at all.

Sibley and Dougal opened the bowling, and both performed well despite the strong crosswind. However neither of them could find the breakthrough, and with one of the openers looking well set a wicket was needed.

On came the returning Alan MacLeod and with all his experience and guile claimed the wickets of the top three batsmen within his nine overs, two of them mirror image catches to mid-off. Spike was well supported by Nick Thomson bowling economical left-armers at the other end, claiming the wicket of the opposition captain.

However, the dangerous Shah was still in and looking to hit with the tail. Ruairidh was on a hat-trick after a catch from Chris “the arm” Patterson and an LBW.  Angus was brought on and helped finish the innings whilst only going at 1 run an over. The ninth (and last) wicket came from a run out by Chris after a mix up between the batsmen, leaving Shah stranded on 53 and the total on 149.

Tea was taken in the (relatively) unexposed space behind a Sibcas container, with a great range of sandwiches, cakes and Tunnock’s products. Ollie and Chris were to open the batting with a pleasing target of 150 exactly.

Both openers started carefully, working the opening bowlers around and keeping on top of the rate. However Chris soon accelerated with a mixture of cover drives and jabs. Ollie continued rotating the strike well, playing a supporting role to Chris who reached his first ever Carlton fifty and was in such a state of joy he was bowled soon after.

This brought Arsal to the crease who was unlucky to be LBW to the same bowler for 1. Ruairidh strode out with 50 or so runs still required. Ollie and Ruairidh formed a solid partnership to bring Carlton home with Ollie accelerating towards the end of the game to bring up fifty with 4 required. A four from Ollie finished the game, seeing Carlton comfortably home in the 27th over.

Overall it was a good (albeit freezing) match - many thanks to Leith for the game. Next week is a Sunday game against Haddington at Grange Loan.

Scorecard

Nick reports ...

To start with, the warm up of the two teams was distinctively different. Corstorphine fired through three detailed catching & fielding drills, baseball mitt and stumps included, while Carlton opted for the more sedate footie warm up, seniors vs the youngsters. Seniors racking up a 2 nil win.

Corstorphine won the toss, and elected to bat first. The wicket was green and with the wind at Mo’s back offered some fine pace bowling conditions. Mo was straight on the mark with some good attacking lines, and getting good bounce through to the keeper. Two brilliant wickets followed fairly early, on both batsmen getting their stumps uprooted.

Stevie got the short straw and had the difficult challenge of bowling up the hill and into the wind. After the first ball of Stevie’s spell Kevin Whitaker decided it best to stand up to the stumps. Stevie bowled gallantly and was almost rewarded with a wicket, but unfortunately Nick Thomson dropped a good chance at deep mid off. This drop catch proved costly as the opening bat went on to score 58. Both opening bowlers however bowled economical 9 over spells and reduced the visitors to 54 runs in the first 18 overs. 

The bowling change brought on Gavin and Angus. Gavin bowled good lines and was unlucky not to get more out of the wicket with quite a few flying just past the edge, ending on 6 overs for 23.

Angus showed some good discipline from the other end bowling neat left arm overs and turned out a tidy spell of 6 overs for 23 runs with some close LBW shouts. All the while the pressure mounting on the slow run rate...

2nd change brought on Spike and Nick. Spike got the breakthrough after tea with a sharp turning ball bowling M Kelly around the legs for 19 and later a good catch by Kevin behind the stumps to remove D Lawrie on 21. Nick after a shaky 1st over of 11 runs, then managed to get the batsmen excited and out the crease, rewarded with two more stumpings, and finally getting rid of the danger man A Sathiy on 58. Kevin clearly having a good day behind the wicket.

Carlton did create some opportunities for what would have been excellent catches but unfortunately the lie of the field and some high velocity shots meant they were always going to be 50/50 chances. Paul did some tumbling over the ball and Nick let one or two through the legs with what can only be described as senior fatigue after the footie warm up (Kevin clearly not affected).

The target was set at 175. The Carlton opening batsmen showed some good promise early on, hitting clean drives through the covers and making the most of the odd lose delivery offered whilst also seeing off the brunt of the pace attack. Corstorphine, was clearly on a drive to adjust the field based on the previous ball of every delivery marking out where fielders should stand and turning the game into something resembling a chess board with hawk eye on every pawn move. Rudriah probably thinking of how to castle his king ended up edging a good length delivery and went down to a great catch by 1st slip. This brought in Kevin to the crease. Kevin and Craig built a great partnership of 73 runs playing every ball on merit and punishing any loose deliveries. 

Craig eventually succumbed LBW for a well worked 42. Kevin eventually got out to a sharp yorker possibly a bit light headed from all the running between the wickets for an entertaining innings of 69.

The game did slow down with the loss of Paul, Murray and Stevie in quick succession as they all tried to up the tempo. This left Angus to see through the win playing some classy shots and well worked 1’s and 2’s in the gaps. The winning runs came off a boundary hit by Angus in the last over with a strong drive over the bowler’s head.

All in all an entertaining game right to the last over. That leaves the 3s with 4 wins on the trot, and confidence levels high.

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Photos

What do you need to have a pleasant game of cricket?

·         A lovely ground.

·         A nice tea.

·         A good scorer.

·         Opposition.

·         Some runs.

Yes you guessed it we had 4 out of the 5 and unfortunately missed out on 1 of the more important ones. With having the good fortune of being able to play at home at Grange Loan, Carlton 3s did not make the most of the opportunity.

We welcomed Murrayfield DAFS to Grange Loan on a Sunday afternoon. The first mistake was winning the toss and deciding to field. People should listen to Shaun. Bat.

Carlton opened the bowling with G Mac and Mikey Brown, combined age of 27. Both bowlers had a problem with wides, however that didn’t stop us from having DAFS 49 for 3 after 10 overs, with all wickets being caught 1st slip bowled Mikey Brown. Unfortunately the 3’s didn’t take the 4th wicket until the 22nd over when the score was 109. This seemed to give Carlton a renewed sense of purpose and further wickets fell with DAFS being 136 for 7 after 31 overs. The real damage was done when we took the 8th wicket leading to the no.10 batsman coming to the crease.

Mr Peters took 5 balls to play himself in and then started to smash his way (below) to 37 off 33 balls and more importantly play a leading role in an 9thwicket partnership of 66 of the last 10 overs, effectively taking the game away from Carlton. The MDAFS captain Shiels was the backbone of their innings and remained undefeated on 71*, albeit I am not sure how long it will take him to recover.

The Carlton bowling was ok, with the main contributors being Mikey Brown, 3 for 53, and Paul Kentish, 4 for 34. Ironically 217 would be about par for Grange Loan and a 3rd XI game, however the 40 extras would not be.

Given the fact we were at home, good wicket, fast outfield, Carlton 3rd XI felt reasonably confident of getting the job done. However getting it done is the hard part.

Rob and Keshav opened up and never got going and we lost Keshav in the 4th over. Steady progress from Zaki and Rob (below) got us to 38 off 10 overs, before Zaki was caught. Slow progress was made over the next 10 overs and unfortunately at the expense of wickets. At 20 we were 60 for 5, with the loss of Rob, Paul and Kevin. 2 to LBWs. We quickly lost 2 more wickets making it 80 for 7 and effectively game over.

This did not stop the lower order batsman, (younger members of the team) showing the early order how it should be done. Tom K (18), Ben D (15), M Brown (10) and Dougal 16* leading the way in how to apply yourself. However, it was all a little too late given the lack of runs in the top 6 batsman.

This was a disappointing performance on a nice day for cricket.

Lessons learned would be never to take anything for granted and make sure you take all 10 wickets.

Thank you to Ken for scoring and showing us how it should be done. Hopefully better next time.

Scorecard

Carlton 3rd XI travelled to Dunfermline to complete this ESCA Div 3 game. First hurdle was 10 players in 2 cars. This led to a comfortable journey and a reduced warm up game of football.  We don’t actually know who won the toss, however Carlton took to the field.

With Mikey and Callum opening the bowling Carlton got an early breakthrough in the 3rd over, with Mikey getting the wicket caught behind. The perception of the wicket, a slow outfield and some tight bowling from Carlton, meant slow progress from the home team. Angus took 2 wickets in the 20th over, leaving Dunfermline at 53 for 3.

As has been the case in most of the 3s’ fixtures, someone gets runs down the order for the opposition. However for a side to go from 53 for 3 after 20, to 196 for 8 after 45, would suggest more than good batting.

Do Carlton 3’s have a rest for the middle overs, are we attacking enough? Are the bowlers bowled for too long? Or is it just the way things sometimes go.

Whatever the reason it felt like a long day in the field and not that rewarding.

This was soon forgotten about with a good tea, in a nice pavilion, with a bar and Sky Sports.

Rob & Angus opened up. Unfortunately we lost Angus early, quickly followed by Tom K. Ruairidh. Rob knuckled down and took the score to 78 before Ruairidh holed out, With the middle order of Steve, Dougal  & Kevin contributing very little between them, this left Carlton’s response some way short. It was a shame that no-one could support Rob’s 50 (well played Rob, it will be a 100 one week) in a meaningful way, with only Ruairidh (20) and Nic (25) giving themselves a chance.

With Carlton all-out 131, this was probably on par with the MDAFS performance as the low point of the season so far.

Given the facilities and hospitality, we watched the final overs of the ODI from Durham and were shown how to do it by J Bairstow. What could have been. There’s always next week.

Scorecard

One of the joys of being involved with Carlton 3rd XI, is that no matter which players get selected (more on that later) there is a consistent good feeling about playing the game of cricket with like-minded individuals.

In addition to this, all participants are fully aware of the variety of opposition, quality of pitches, random facilities and offering described as tea that exist. Nobody ever sees any of these items in a negative way and assume it's all part of the day.

Carlton 3rd XI put together a new look team for the fixture against Sekirk on Meadows 3. (If the definition of the Meadows 3 means anything to the reader, then you will have a better understanding of the rest of the match report ). We welcomed Ferg & Zaki from Bob’s fantasy XI, Mo, back from injury, and David Main and John Beattie from their weekend BBQs.

The team left Grange Loan with the departing call of ' Are you sure you’ve got enough bowlers?'

Given the size of the changing rooms at the Meadows, it was decided to toss early to allow people to get changed in full knowledge. Selkirk won the toss and quickly decided to bowl. “Why?” asked Kevin. “We’re a better bowling team”was the answer. Fair enough.
‘
With Carltons regular no. 1 enjoying the good weather and horse racing at York, a new opening partnership was required. Dougal and Kevin it was, with a quote from one of them, after being told Carlton was batting and he was opening, of ' Do I need to get ready?'

The anticipation was for a full firework start based on any of the cricket in the world at the moment, 20/20, ODI, test matches, Last Man Standing, Bob’s Fantasy XI, Carlton 1st team.

However Meadows 3 took care of that.

A watchful and considered start would be the best way to described Carlton's openers, backed up by a quote from the umpires, ' It's not easy'. Having reached 20 off 9 overs, Dougal (5) mis-timed a drive and departed. 2 balls later Murray (0) went the same way, with Kevin (20)following shortly thereafter LBW.

Zaki & Ruairidh played very sensibly with both players really taking the bowlers on in a sensible way. The Selkirk bowlers stuck to the task and continued to make it difficult for the Carlton batsmen. Their approach paid off by getting the wicket of Ruairidh (18). Ferg (1) followed quickly after, due to the nature of the pitch.

At this stage the Carlton batsmen's conundrum was one of should we stick or twist and this was clearly in the batsman’s mind. The middle order played very sensibly and unfortunately when we did look to open up, Zaki (20) and Mo (10) both fell to great/good catches at deep mid wicket by the Selkirk captain Banks. Nic (16) continued to think about the conundrum, before being dismissed LBW.

Spike (5), David (2) and John 1* completed the innings. All 3 showing a lot more constraint than their recent performances in Last Man Stands.

With 117 off 38 overs, the game was well balanced given the nature of the pitch (priceless), and the length of the outfield (+30 runs). Needless to say Selkirk probably felt ahead at Tea.

It is clear from Selkirk's season that they rely heavily on Everitt & Banks for a lot of their runs. Mo opened the bowling for Carlton, bowling down the hill, and bowled Everitt, off stump, first ball of the game with a great ball. The pressure that put on the rest of the Selkirk team and particular Banks coming in at 3 was very clear to see.

The next 8 overs from Nic & Mo were very good and continued to build the pressure on Selkirk, with only Banks being able to score at all. Nic stepped in and got Skeldon well caught by Dougal Main at square leg.

At this stage the game was all about Banks and when Mo bowled him for 21, when the score was 22, Carlton felt well on top. A continuation of very good bowling from Mo and Nic, led to a procession of wickets, mainly bowled, with the final wicket being taken in the 18th over.

To say Mo (9 overs, 5 maidens, 5 for 6 runs) & Nic (8.2 overs, 4 maidens, 5 for 21 runs) got their wickets in a different way, would be an understatement. From a Carlton perspective, it was a great 18 overs to be part of and thoroughly more enjoyable than the time spent batting.

Selkirk were 27 all out, with R Banks getting 21. With regards how many bowlers you need, we’ll never know!

Thank you to Selkirk for an enjoyable game, along with the after game pint at Grange Loan. Good Luck for the rest of the season.

Scorecard

The Carlton 3s arrived at Leith Links optimistic of a win with the knowledge that Leith FAB were bottom of the table. After the routine warm up of one bounce the attention turned to the toss. Most players were in favour of batting first. Armed with this knowledge acting skipper Paul Kentish went out to the middle, won the toss and elected to field first. 

Mikey and Angus opened up the bowling on an interesting wicket which could cause the ball to bounce at head height or to roll along the ground. Mikey took the first wicket when the opening batsmen decided he wasn't going to hang around and skied the ball right down the throat of Matt Edwards at mjd off in the 3rd over. Calum Everett came on first change and quickly had effect and found the batsman's off stump with his first delivery. Matt Edwards came on the other end at first change and bowled tight, not allowing any space for the batsmen. He got the wicket he deserved in his fifth over when the remaining opener played around a great ball which found the top of off.

Ferg then took over at Calum's end to allow a change of ends for him. Ferg struck in his first over, trapping the batsmen on the back foot and finding middle stump. He then struck again in his second over with the batsman chipping one up for an easy catch. Calum Everett came back at the opposite end now and found an edge which travelled quickly to Ferg at second slip who demonstrated a great juggling performance making contact with the ball 3 times before heading it in the direction of Paul at first slip. Unfortunately it didn't carry and landed between the pair. Wickets then came at regular intervals after the departure of the reincarnated Brigadier Block who Spike finally managed to remove after some serious dotting up. The opposition were bowled out for 89. Spike finished with 3-15 and Calum with 2-19.  

The teas were enjoyed whilst watching the tennis. The teas were fairly average but at least after the ordeal with egg sandwiches a few weeks ago Ruairidh Main was glad to tuck into his egg free tea.

Angus and Dougal opened up the batting both getting us off to a good start with a quick 10 from Angus and a steadier 18 from Dougal. Murray came in next, scoring 12 and then skipper Paul Kentish came in batting well. Ruairidh Main made a brief appearance with 6 and then in came Ferg. Paul had been scoring steadily and had got the total up with 14 off one over. After a big six into the wind from Ferg we needed 2 to win. Ferg was ready to hit the winning runs but then managed to pick out the man standing at square leg who according to Ferg just appeared. No matter however as in came Ben D'Ullise and scored a glorious four from a top edge which he knew absolutely nothing about. Carlton 3s win. Paul Kentish 29*. 

Scorecard

Ferg reports ...

Like most Saturday mornings during the summer months, a group of teenagers were spotted hanging about the gates of Grange Loan waiting to get in the back of Kevin Whitaker’s BMW. Coming off the back of 4 successive victories the Carlton 3rd eleven began the short journey down the road to Haddington CC in high spirits.

On arrival Whitaker’s warriors noted a particularly green wicket and what can only be described as a mouth wateringly short, mid wicket boundary in front of the pristine new tennis courts. After destroying the Haddington captain at the toss Lord Kev took it upon himself to stick Haddington into bat on what appeared to be a bowler friendly wicket.

Young Mikey Brown, fresh off an impressive spell the week before down at the Leith Links, opened up with a his slightly more senior partner Nick Thomson, who was returning to the side after a week’s hiatus following his impressive five wicket haul at the home of cricket (the Meadows). The two started well with good control resulting in Mikey bowling the young Haddington opener middle stump. As the sun shone down on the Borders town the runs began to flow from the bats of Haddington’s batsmen. This brought about the introduction of Carlton’s most lethal left arm spinner Alan ‘Spike’ McLeod and seasoned seamer Stevie ‘The Kid’ Elder. Having been away from the game for some five weeks Elder’s rustiness was very apparent from the two head high beamers he served up during his spell. At the other end Spike continued to bowl with great control and flight to effectively restrict the Haddington batsmen removing firstly Holland caught behind and then the destructive Dalrymple caught at slip from a ball which was described by many onlookers as ‘Gatting-esque’ in its nature.

This brought Haddington skipper Hiley and wicketkeeper Talbot to the crease. They both set about getting stuck into the Carlton attack, and with a combination of short boundaries and poor bowling saw a rise in the scoring rate. Following a brief spell from veteran leg spin bowler Paul Kentish, Lord Kev entrusted the final 18 overs to the little and large spin twins of Whitaker and Whatley. Both struggled with length early on in their spells and were duly dispatched and in big Ferg’s case onto the roof of the only car parked by the outfield. The two tightened up the run flow, however the wickets column did not improve as both Rob and Spike were determined to prove that dropping catches is still cool, much to the delight of the bowler who will remain nameless... Murray eventually got the scalp of Talbot, and Rob and Tom combined well to run out Logan in the later stages, restricting Haddington to 212 from their 45 overs.

As the players trudged off the park the heavens decided to open, the prospect of a lengthy tea break loomed large.

Following a decent tea (atmosphere ruined by the presence of hard boiled eggs), the traditional past time of one hand one bounce was changing room game of choice. In an attempt to recreate a Bradman style warm up young aspiring keeper batsmen Tom Simpson was given the unenviable task of facing Stevie Elder in a packed changing room. Sitting pretty on 15* Tom played a short ball down into the ground, first to react was finance student and prominent Yorkshireman Rob Atkin. Unlike in the field minutes earlier Rob’s left hand safely grasped the bouncing tennis ball and proceeded to celebrate the dismissal in the time honoured fashion (an abrupt raise of the hand). However our young scholar only succeeded in delivering what many startled on lookers described as a Chris Eubank style left hook to the nose of the aforementioned Simpson.

To patch up their differences Lord Kev sent the two to open the innings. Rob started the brighter of the two and in the 7th over Tom was caught at midwicket off a leading edge and was sent on his way for just 2. Lord Kev and Rob pushed the scoring on and the two looked in good touch until LK was given out LBW to the young seamer Meyell.

This, coupled with the steady slow mediums from Kumar and mixed bag of leg spin from Blades, really restricted the run rate and saw Carlton fall from 75-2 to 93-6 with Zaki, Paul, Rob and Stevie departing in quick succession.

This Brought M. Whitaker and N. Thomson to the crease. The left and right hand combination seemed to put the Haddington bowlers off as the pair added 40 for the 7th wicket. Nick was eventually bowled by Dalrymple by a ball that didn’t bounce and took his off stump. Ferg strode to the crease needing over 10 an over from the final 6 if Carlton were to have any chance of winning this game. With Murray playing well at the other end the two pushed the score on well but Ferg was eventually stumped for 20 as he attempted to ‘Pick a tree’.

Sadly the formidable 3s fell 29 runs short of victory, ending the much coveted winning streak and leaving Ferg very little choice but to begin the hunt for some new spikes.

Scorecard

Scorecard

Rob reports ...

A strong looking Carlton 3rd eleven played last weekend's home fixture at Peffermill. Playing on the artificial track Carlton found themselves fielding first after stand in captain Spike (Alan Macleod) lost the toss. Opening bowlers Everett and Rittoo bowled a probing Line and Length which tied down the Trinity Batsmen. Both bowlers took a wicket a piece in their tight opening spells restricting Drummond Trinity to 31/2 off 10 overs.

The pace was then replaced by the spin twins Fraser Allardice and Alan Macleod. The spinners took two wickets apiece with the most memorable moment from the inning being Allardice's second over (a double wicket maiden), with Fraser totally bamboozling the Trinity batsmen in one of the most bowler dominant overs this Yorkshire man has ever seen (who says it's a batsmen's game!). The strong bowling and fielding performance by the team helped confine Drummond Trinity to 60/5 at the drinks break.

Another wicket quickly fell after the drink break and Trinity were struggling at 70/6 however a strong partnership from Khan (40) and Mansoor (22) helped steady the Drummond innings. The batsmen played low risk cricket and ran well between the wicket helping to steer the team towards a more competitive total. Captain Macleod broke the increasingly frustrating partnership with a Caught and Bowled wicket removing Mansoor. Once the partnership was broken the specialist death bowler Steven Elder was brought on to mop up the tail which he did taking a total of 3 wickets including the final two in two balls meaning the next ball he bowls will be aiming to complete a hat-trick.

Drummond Trinity finished on a below par but competitive 133 all out from 41.3 overs. This was a very strong bowling performance from the whole unit with each of the bowlers (Everett, Rittoo, Main, Allardice and Macleod) taking at least one wicket however the job was only half done with the batsmen now required to do their job and win the game for the team.

Now it's time for everyone's favourite part of the match report, the Gav Rittoo tea review.                     

When asked about Saturday's tea Rittoo stated "there definitely needs to be a mention for the outside tea and lack of plates however this was still a strong tea. Special mention to Fraser Allardice who raised spirits by pulling out what looked like fantastic meat filled wraps but turned out to be just salad wraps which he made from what was left in the Allardice family kitchen. Still a strong tea for a home game not played at Grange Loan with a rating of 8.3".

In reply Carlton started strongly with openers Atkin and Wells looking to build a solid platform for the rest of the batsmen to build on. After 10 overs Carlton were 36 without loss and were in a very strong position to kick on and win the game well. Atkin and Wells continued to keep the scoreboard ticking with what some would call positive running however captain Macleod, who was umpiring at the time, was not as happy with the yes/no calling. Carlton also benefited from a couple of overthrows (what this Yorkshire reporter calls Buzzers) after the Trinity fielders were becoming more eager to claim a wicket and started to throw the ball at the stumps at every occasion.

Just before drinks Wells fell after spooning the ball in the air which was easily caught and he was on his way for a well played 26 leaving Carlton 66/1. This brought Ben 'the calves' Thurman to the crease who easily found his stride on the artificial track easily pushing the ball through the covers to get off the mark.

 

Soon after the drinks break Atkin also fell after nicking one through to the keeper for 34 (80/2). This brought Zaki to the crease. Ben and Zaki then increased the scoring rate both looking very fluent and easily finding gaps in the field as well as the boundary rope, which was a rarity in the game with a very lush outfield slowing the ball significantly. Ben and Zaki guided Carlton to a very strong eight wicket win and both finished 29 not out sharing an unbeaten partnership of 54.

The strong batting performance capped an all together very strong performance from the Carlton team who chased the Trinity total with 9.1 overs to spare. Hopefully the 3s can now finish the season strongly with two good performances v Murrayfield DAFS and Dunfermline.

Scorecard

Scorecard