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Three jumpers? Check. Woolly hat? Check. Snow in the week preceding? Check. Eager anticipation for another summer of cake eating? Check. Ahmad Shah? Check. It must be the start of the 2nd XI cricket season.

The 2's assembled a raft of old faces (yet mostly still well below voting age) for the road trip to newly promoted Kelso. Having enjoyed the rolling green countryside on the car trip down, the wicket on Shedden Park was also very green and promised to make for an interesting afternoon.

The skipper lost the toss and Carlton were asked to bat first. The first ball didn't get much above shin height so it was going to be key to play straight. Unfortunately Angus had to learn the hard way and was soon LBW. The following batsmen all tried to dig in but against some tight bowling, perished to leave us 4 down for not many. On the boundary, the early excitement of Elder replaying the watermelon video for the 450th (and far from final) time was replaced by anxiety at the task in hand. Up the other end, Ben Thurman was playing a different game, driving confidently and regularly to keep the scoreboard ticking over. However, when Rob was done by a slower ball and Ben was shortly after caught and bowled for an excellent 42 (worth about 70), we were in big trouble at 70/7.

Adeel and Elder came together for a hugely valuable partnership, showing common sense and good judgement and the score gradually ticked along. The partnership was only 30, but in the context of the match, it was a game changer. Once parted, the innings was quickly wrapped up, but with 108 on the board, we at least had something to defend.

The first tea of the summer was eagerly anticipated and we weren't let down. A fine selection of cakes and sandwiches set the bar high for the year to come.

The skipper departed from tradition, not by asking Rory to take the first over, but in asking Brad to bowl with the wind. While Brad kept it tight, it was Rory that made the big inroads with a superb first spell, 10 overs 3/18. All bowlers wickets with a plumb LBW in the first over, a sharp Elder slip catch and dumbfounding the opener with a faster ball that he shouldered arms to. We were on top with the first three wickets falling for 20.

However, Kelso captain Grindell, supported by another Grindell, built what seemed to be the match winning partnership by blunting the attack and taking advantage of the odd bad ball. Drinks came and went and at 73/3, we looked sunk. However, we only needed one wicket and it was the introduction of Angus, now a wily left arm spinner, that did the trick by removing the skipper for 33 LBW and following it up with another shortly thereafter.

Up the other end, the introduction of Ahmad tore the heart out of any middle order resistance with four wickets in quick succession, all bowled, and three of them searing yorkers. Quality sustained fast bowling on the slowest of wickets. Kelso had slumped to 90/9 and only one more piece of work was required.

However, the number 11 came in and looked better than his predecessors and started stroking the ball around the ground. Tensions were raised and memories of previous nightmare tenth wicket partnerships started to flow through our minds. However, with seven runs needed, Angus turned one square to bowl the number 11 and we were home. A superb comeback and excellent bowling by all but special mention to Rory (3/18), Angus (3/7) and Ahmad (4/17).

We return home next week for the visit of old foes Grange. Special thanks to Lynne Forrester for setting an unbelievably high standard in the scorebook - over to you Richard.

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Bright and breezy is the kindest way to describe the conditions that greeted Carlton 2s and Grange 2s as they met at Grange Loan for what may have been billed as the supporting performance to a match taking place across town between the respective 1st XIs.

Warm up happened. Toss lost, Carlton to bat.

Angus and newly promoted Zaki opened up, patient progress in the first 4 overs and then 2 quick wickets brought RuMac and Ali to the crease. RuMac was adjudged caught behind after the umpires conferred and the score was still in single figures, Mike upped the tempo with some quick clean hitting, unusually Ali was scoring slower than his partner and became the 4th wicket down with the score on only 30. Rory was busy and after Mike departed for 18 (to the 5th catch of the innings) he followed shortly after for 10 (bowled).

At this stage as the newswires (Hugh on twitter) were buzzing from the other side of town, it seemed there might have been some symmetry between the 2 matches with the team batting first struggling to set a target. Fortunately the skipper had departed to the middle prior to such karmic speculation taking hold and proceeded to change the flow of the innings. Firstly with Stevie the Elder (for he is one of those in this team) Rob set about increasing the rate. By the time Stevie departed having contributed a useful 20 the Carlton 2s had passed the total set across town by Grange 1s, - no further comparisons required.

The arrival of Adeel brought the real change as both batters set about the varied Grange attack with enthusiasm. The ball was regularly despatched to the rope and beyond, Adeel favouring the straight line over the pavilion on a few occasions but both sought out the road and the hill as well.

Rob passed his half century at a canter, followed by Adeel and it looked like they would both stick around to the end of the innings, but Rob always looking to move the total on and unconcerned by a looming century (and growing in confidence that this week he might be top scorer in the Thornton household) went for one run more than the legs would take and was runout for a superb 90, Adeel followed shortly after, missing the ball for about the first time and seeing his stumps disturbed for a terrific 62. Brad and Ahmad remained undefeated at the end, and with extras contributing 32 a total of 245/9 was a great turn around from 57/6 .

Tea was taken, the usual high standard was on offer (but as Gav Rittoo is furthering his education up north the level of flowery analysis that is his stock in trade is sadly missing today). The players had to be quick as it was rumoured that the 1s were on their way back and feeling peckish.

Rory opened up from the Arthur Seat end and bowled steadily (10 straight) maintaining pressure, with Brad taking the advantage of gravity (and seniority) from the other end, Brad had both the openers (with youngster Dickinson having made a brisk start before picking out Ali) back in the pavilion with the score in the early 20s. RuMac took over from Brad and immediately emulated him, wickets with the first ball of each of his first 2 overs had Grange on 41/4 but possible danger man Davidson still at the wicket. Having taken a brief sabbatical Mike ranout Prasad and then took 4 quick wickets including having Davidson (42) well caught by Angus. This left “opening” paceman Ahmad to join the attack in over 29 to remove the bewildered tailender and Grange were all out for 108 with 20 overs to spare.

Final comparison to across town: Carlton thumping wins x2.

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In 1995 a random phonecall to my parents' house resulted in this young specimen arriving in Edinburgh as the overseas amateur for Royal High FPs where Barnton became my home away from home. One of the first games was away at Corstorphine at Union Park.

21 years later the once mighty Royal High have become the RH bit of SMRH, who we play next week and on Saturday Corstorphine were the home team at Barnton. Same long walk from the world's darkest clubhouse to the ground, same batsman's paradise and a Carlton 2s team whose responses to my reminiscing ranged from 'that was 3 years before I was born' to 'I was two years old then...'

So, back to 2016. First toss won of the year, but third game batting first on a wicket we hoped would deteriorate (although not as a result of fielders illegally walking on the pitch...).

Ben and Gus summed things up early doors patiently waiting for and dispatching bad balls and it was a big surprise when Ben chipped one to cover. Ru and Beattie carried on building before both were disappointed to receive lbw decisions which ruined potential big scores. Ali did what Ali does best, the Corstorphine bowlers' frustration building as their deliveries kept rebounding off the football pitch fence. Raikes and Ollie both looked very good before both chipped balls to mid on.

Adeel was lbw first ball and the old man stayed with Ali to get the total towards 250. Ali didn't quite get his deserved ton and gave Ahmad a chance to try out the middle on his new bat.

251 on that deck, we would need to bowl well and get some luck. Two early wickets, both openers helpfully stranded half way down the pitch, one stumped off Rory, the other run out and we thought our luck was in, and even when we dropped the number 3 twice, he still gave us a third one, taken well by Beattie at cover off Mike. However, at no point had we been able to build up dot ball pressure and their quality Aussie pro was in his element, batting in the sun on a flat dry wicket, supported by their big number 5 who could hit a long ball, and a caught behind missed by the umpy, they put on the matchwinning partnership.

There was, however, a sting in the tail, after their pro got to 100 and was bounced out by Mike and Olly got one through number 5, our bowlers started to exert pressure and Corstorphine threatened to TottenHibs it, but in the end, it was probably the wides and no balls and the extra 20-30 runs we could have made that killed us as their number nine inside edged the winning runs in the 49th.

A competitive match with lots of mediocre chat from both teams, although I admit mine was probably the worst, Boydy or Wells please come back so I can get back to bowling.

Rors sneaks the fielder of the day over Ben, Brad and Gus who would have won it but he harbour bridged one when pressure was key.

In a league like this it is great experience for our young lads to come up against teams with quality pros and compete with them. Time and time again you realise even when you have a massive score every single run still counts. At least we've moved on from back in '95 when our pro bowled all 26 overs from one end at Barnton every week...

MATCH ABANDONED - RAIN

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Adeel Raza: “ Last night I was so excited for this game I couldn’t sleep”.

And who could blame him? A top of the table clash, in the sunshine, at home with Messrs, Elder, Rittoo, Craig and Zaki back in the team. What more could anyone ask for? 

Unfortunately things didn’t go quite as planned.

Stand in captain Elder won the toss and elected to bat in what started as bright blue skies and sunshine. Beattie opened up with the newly promoted Craig after his impressive batting display last week for the 3s. Here are some of his stats from that game.

Miles travelled to game: 46

Balls faced: 1

Runs: 0 

Minutes: 1

To be fair to Craig he did step it up a notch this week, quadrupling the number of balls he faced before he was trapped LBW for 0. Then the first spots of rain came. At first it was only showers and the lower batting order had their work cut out running the covers on and off again 2 or 3 times before the rain settled and we were off for a 1 hour delay. Charts were looked up, spreadsheets read and formulas were calculated during this time and when the rain cleared the game was reduced to a 35 over game.

Ben came and fell in similar fashion to Craig whilst Beattie made a decent start striking the ball cleanly before chipping one back to  the bowler for 15.  

2 new men, Zaki and Sean Olivier, did really well to dig in and ‘relay the scaffolding’ as Elder would say to take us out of a sticky situation. Both players then began to play their shots and the scoreboard rattled along at a fair rate of knots. Sean then injured himself but played on without a runner. With Sean handicapped and Zaki being Zaki quick singles and sprints between the wickets were few and far between (much to Zaki's delight). This was no issue as both batsmen struck boundaries constantly waiting for the bad ball and taking advantage. 

Zaki went in style, caught on the boundary trying to clear the man at long off. Adeel stuck around with Sean who brought up a well-deserved 50. Adeel clubbed a few decent boundaries and experimented with some IPL inspired switch hits and reverse sweeps to no avail and he was bowled. Elder slowly picked up his bat and helmet looking around as the rain began to come down again, his team mates on the hill got the message and rolled the covers on and we were off again.

 The rain continued to batter down and tea was taken. 

GAVS TEA REVIEW: 9.4/10

On days like this a good tea is literally the most essential thing ever. Thankfully head chef Kerry Simpson and her team were on top top form. First of all the kitchen did a great shift getting all the food out on time at such short notice due to the weather. In terms of the food, as usual, all the standards were excellent; sandwiches, scones, cakes etc. But what makes Carlton’s teas so special is the variety. Variety is key, a new addition of food can make all the difference. People get bored of eating the same stuff week in week out. You wouldn’t have the same thing for tea every night so why should you have the same cricket tea every week? Kerry and Co nailed it with the inclusion of; watermelon, meringues and a fast food favourite, chicken nuggets - apparently Tom Simpson's idea, so fair play Tom.   

HOWEVER…  Yes, the food was all unreal, but with summer holidays just around the corner does the Carlton tea offer that low calorie alternative for those dieting and attempting to achieve that #beachbody… Just some food for thought #NoCarbsBeforeMarbs

Everyone lay in a food coma for the next half an hour and watched the rainfall. After some one hand one bounce and failed hoola hooping session, enough was enough and the umpires called the game off at half 5.

However, the day ended on a real high when Hibs, for once, didn’t bottle it and David Gray’s injury time header won them the Scottish cup.

What a great day to be alive.

{Ed's note: The last two lines may have been edited after submission by the match reporter ...]

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Despite the persistent rain earlier in the week, the mighty Carlton 2’s arrived at a surprisingly mild weathered Cavalry Park. Before not long, the team were busy changing into warm up gear, putting on spikes and checking the wicket, a chain of events that is to be expected before most cricket matches. However, this soon escalated into the less mature members of the team going for nutmegs on each other, most of the time from point blank range (not really something to be proud about). Alongside this there was a great deal of betting going on between everyone, unfortunately I cant recall what it was about but I do know that Elder became a much happier man around 20 minutes before the start of the match.

After a good warm up consisting of dynamic stretches, Rob ended up winning the toss and decided to bowl first on a wicket that promised wickets providing the bowling was in good areas. Whilst everyone began to warm up for bowling, Ali and myself deemed it would be unhelpful to show up the others with sharp spin and deadly pace (not always mutually exclusive) and so we decided to take some more catches and get ready ahead of time.

Before not long everyone was back in the changing room and the Skipper reminded us that at that moment in time all that mattered was saving each and every run where possible. Whilst I was definitely listening at the time, this didn’t stop a free run being granted by myself within the first over (I was as surprised as everyone else). After this threatened to set the tone for the rest of the innings, both Ahmad and Calum bowled very well first up and before not long Ahmad had the breakthrough with the first wicket of former Carlton player Duerden. Despite a couple of chances going down, off the bowling of Calum, Leburn managed to keep the score ticking over slowly whilst at the other end Ahmad picked up his second wicket, bowling number 3 Coverley for another low score.

With resident fast bowler Steven Elder coming into the attack as well as Olly Brown, Carlton stayed focussed and Elder managed to get Prakash out caught by Ali. What followed was a nice little period for Marchmont and a frustrating one for Carlton. Before not long it was drinks and time for a very clear and to the point message from skipper Rob.

What transpired after drinks was more than ideal for the away side with a few quick wickets being grabbed all by Ahmad who continued to bowl very well. While Collier stayed in and played some big shots down the ground, each individual did their best to inspire their teammates to take the last few wickets. Personally I chose to keep encouraging the bowler like many others, whereas Rory thought it would be appropriate to put in some of his highly unnecessary diving stops to inspire the team.

After not long Calum managed to pick up a couple of wickets, bowling Van Jaarsveld and getting Sardesai out caught behind with a good catch from the skipper. Finally Adeel came on and after not long managed to take the final wicket of Collier, who made a very useful 39, caught on the boundary by Ahmad.

After a good teas break, it was up to myself and Angus to open the batting and create a solid start to the innings. It became clear from the start that shot selection would be vital to our success. After a few overs, Angus was out caught and bowled, meaning it would be up to Elder and myself to steady the ship and keep the scoreboard ticking along. However, this was a Carlton run chase, meaning things don’t often go according to plan. Elder found himself unlucky to be caught behind and following this I followed suit, being caught behind down the leg side. We found ourselves in a nervy position especially after Olly was bowled by a Yorker not long after. It was now up to Ru Mac and Ali to start to rebuild our batting innings. Both played very nice shots and obtained all the runs they could with some fast running between the wickets due to the slow outfield.

On the sidelines, the youngsters of the team found themselves talking about ‘revision’ which surprisingly turned out to be amusing to the likes of Olly, Rory and Calum. All was going well when Ali was unlucky bowled which meant that Rob would now join Ruari out in the middle.

Both batsmen went on to provide a good demonstration of how to bat on the wicket in hand, going fully through with attacking shots and being solid in defence. Both continued to tick along the scoreboard for a number of overs and despite Adeel being ready to go in and finish the job off, both batsmen took responsibility to see off the match.

In the end the total was reached in the 35th over and proved to be a good match and learning experience for all involved. We look forward to the return fixture against Marchmont later in the summer which should be another good, competitive game of cricket.

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After last week's no result, the 2's made their way across town in dribs and drabs to face a Holy Cross team without a win for the season to date.  Dribs and drabs because the message about the 1pm start time hadn't made its way from stand in skipper Elder to most of the team - better an hour early than late I suppose.

With the Scottish heat wave on, the Arboretum wicket was probably as good as it would get so it was no bad thing to be sent in for first use.

Kyle and Gus opened up but Gus soon got a leading edge to cover.  Simmo went in at 3 and was watchful against the accurate opening attack but with the first change on, Simmo was adjudged LBW for 10.

 
Kyle was making serene progress however, making batting look simple with solid defence and putting away the increasing number of bad balls, all mixed with excellent running as he and Ali put on a good partnership.  Just as Ali was looking good to repeat his century of last year, he was deceived by the spinner and was bowled for 27.

Zaki then joined Kyle for the decisive partnership of the match which took the game away from the opposition.  Kyle continued relentless accumulation while Zaki was devastating on any bad ball.  Kyle reached his milestone first with a well deserved, fantastic hundred and Zaki brought up his 50 two balls later.

Kyle was out shortly after, caught at long on for a fantastic 105.  Zaki (79 not out) and Olly then motored to the finish line with more important runs. Final score 258/4.

For the rest of us, it was a blissful three and a half hours laying on the grass in the warm sun being entertained by Elder and Ahmad discussing and practising massage moves.  Not many other sports where you get that.

A superb tea then followed, undoubtedly a highlight of the 2's tea season.  Surely a devious plot to ensure the opposition are slow and sluggish in the field.

However it was a sharp and focused Carlton that took the field with Brad and Ahmad on target from the start.  Holy Cross opener Jaffrey was looking to go long at every opportunity and having hit Brad for one six, the bowler got his revenge by bowling the opener.  20/1.  Brad then made it a double by yorking the other opener, then bowled through for 2/27.

At the other end, Rory replaced Ahmad and after a wayward start, was soon in the game bowling Robertson and then pinning the key man Javed LBW first ball.  50/4 and well on top.

Rory also bowled through, picking up Parvez LBW on the way to figures of 3/33.  He would have had four had keeper and first slip (who shall remain nameless) not got in each other's road to catch a dolly.

 
Ollie replaced Brad and bowled an excellent spell, regularly beating the bat.  It looked as if he would go unrewarded but picked up two in two in his final over.  Like most bowlers when put in the hat trick position, he didn't make the batsman play - fine spell regardless.
Gus replaced Rory and hoovered up the tail, picking up the last two - Holy Cross all out for 135 and a big win for the 2's.

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The 2's returned home to Grange Loan after last week's wash out at Penicuk.  This week's opposition was the fast moving bats of Edinburgh CC.    With father duties to do, skipper Rob had handed over the captaincy reins to young Elder and this was an inspired move as it enabled Rob to concentrate on his Saturday without the need for ground inspections, mopping up and the tortuous negotiations that surround these types of days.  Our umpires, both jolly chaps, had travelled from Fife so were keen to get some cricket in.  So, after some expert mopping up by Elder, Allardice and McKay and some expert watching by everyone else, we let the bursts of sunshine hopefully do their work.

Half hourly inspections took place until 2.30pm when the captains went out for the final time.  After some elaborate slipping over from one of Edinburgh's bowlers, some more chat took place, hands were shaken and we were told that the game was off.    Game off seemed pretty certain but not for everybody so further discussions took place also involving those outside the match day 22 players (without mentioning names, Gilmour), and incredibly, the game was back on.  If this wasn't enough, it was agreed that we'd start at 3.30pm but in the meantime, we'd toss and THEN have tea and THEN play. 

Elder won the toss and we elected to bowl first in a thirty over game.  Tea was spectacular as always.  We then weren't that spectacular in the field.  Thirty overs a side only increased the bat speed from the opposition and really played into their hands.  Sean Olivier took two tickets upfront, both bowled following wild swings and with Brad trying hard to bowl dots at the other end, we were on top with a couple of early wickets.    The rate was then upped as Ul-Haq and Hussain dealt largely in boundaries.  Good balls were often sent flying and bad balls were marmalised.  Saif suffered from both and it was eventually a slow half tracker that got Hussain (78/3).    GMac took his instructions of saving one to heart and effected a top runout and when Rory took two quick wickets, at 98/6, we were back in it.

Then just as standards had risen again, they dropped and two partnerships between 7, 8 and 9 at rapid speed took the game away. This period of the game is best not recounted in great detail although Adeel bagged a couple of wickets and Boydy took a couple of stumpings.  We did manage to bowl Edinburgh out within 30 overs but 187 was a big score.

It was a very quick turnaround between innings, with not even enough time to get the covers on during a short shower.  If we had any hope, a solid start was required.  Rory hit a few boundaries but his best shot picked out square leg (14/1).  Sean with one hamstring joined Zaki and as Sean dealt only in boundaries, the scoreboard rocketed along so that for the first 6 overs, we were in front.  He was then LBW for 24 and Zaki followed Boydy back in, at 62/4, we were back in trouble.    In the face of very good accurate bowling, the remainder of the chase never really got going although everybody got a start.  Credit to G Mac for his 13 not out as the tail batted out the overs for 132/8, thus registering full batting points.

We were beaten by the lack of consistency in our bowling and by the consistency in theirs.  We're now halfway through the season and doing well in third place - hopefully back to winning ways next week.

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ABANDONED

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Ah another Saturday, another mop up exercise. With rain overnight and the forecast not amazing, it was agreed to reduce our match against Kelso to 40 overs.

Winning the toss, we sent Kelso in and the plan was for Elder and McKay to use the conditions to bamboozle the opposition but also to be the slowest opening combination seen for some time. While Elder's radar took a while to settle, McKay took the advantage of a rare day bowling downhill to claim two opening wickets. Gus replaced Elder and picked up number 4, but a lull followed where Kelso reached 68/3.

Rob picked up the second amateur on the stroke of drinks and Rory picked up the other in the first over after drinks. At 68/5, game even. Then Adeel followed from the top end and the Kelso batsmen had no answer to the leg spin and he shot out the last five wickets for not much as we skittled Kelso for 105, Adeel picking up an excellent 5/12. Quality effort in the field too.

However, before we had a chance to get back on, a heavy downpour washed out the Carlton reply - big game next week, Grange away.

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On a fair weathered morning, the second XI made the trip across town to Fettes College, where they would take on Grange 2s. Everyone was looking forward to the challenge of playing against a team who have a good mix of players and always provide a good, competitive match.

As the team started to arrive, it became clear that Rory and Calum had already laid down the marker for the opposition by claiming the larger, home changing room, something I have never witnessed before…

It was not long before everyone had arrived and the players were spiking up and ready to go. Whilst the ‘unique’ motivational message on the board may have had something to do with this, I like to think that it was largely down to the skipper Brad who insisted we start warming up imminently. A nice little jog and stretch was followed by a pitch inspection and soon enough we found out that we were batting first.

Angus and Kyle opened up and made a good start, putting away the occasional bad ball and ensuring the batting remained positive, both in defence and attack. We were going at a nice rate, however, with the score on 86 Angus was out caught at mid wicket off the bowling of the experienced Davidson and not long after Kyle was next to go, being dismissed LBW by Yadav. All of a sudden the game started to become interesting with two new men at the crease and the two bowlers bowling in good areas. Ben and Boydy were the new men in but it wasn’t long before Davidson had another two wickets, bowling Boydy and getting Ben out caught.

Grange could sense they were now on top and it was up to Ali and Elder to negotiate the middle overs, Ali known for his aggressive style of batting and Elder for playing in the ‘V’ and his cool head. Both kept ticking the scoreboard along before Ali was caught by Brock off the bowling of Hillis. It was clear that the ball was swinging, even for those sitting at the side, Elder’s very clear hand signals to his batting partner during the over made it obvious. Next to go was Elder who received a nice in-swinging Yorker which had him bowled.

Cameron ‘Shoey’ Shoebridge came in and played freely, scoring 10 not out, whilst Hillis picked up two more wickets as well as J Dickinson getting two to his name.

Grange managed to fight back and bowl Carlton out for 130, a good result especially since the score read 85 for no wickets at one point. It was clear that Carlton would have to bowl and field well right from the start if they were to have any chance of winning the match. After some lovely teas, the team were back on the field warming up and ready for the second half.

Things started especially well with Calum and Brad bowling very tightly up top and managing to build a good amount of dots straight from the start. The first breakthrough came after Brad trapped McCreath in front for 15, something especially welcome after a six from the previous delivery. Brad then went on to claim the next three wickets, putting Grange four down for not many runs, the ideal start for the away side. Shoey then came on and after some strategic bowling to build the confidence of the batsman, managed to have him play the ball onto the stumps ... I’m sure that’s what he was going for…
What followed was a nice little spell of batting from Dickinson and Davidson, with Dickinson especially showing good composure not to give his wicket away whilst still scoring. Carlton would need to bowl out Grange if the result was to go their way and the breakthrough finally came when Shoey managed to bowl Davidson and break the partnership. Dickinson continued to negotiate the bowling of Adeel, Angus and Rory before Calum came back on and got him caught behind for 32. The team were now confident they could achieve a victory and Rory picking up two wickets for himself, it was up to Calum to take the final wicket of Yadav which saw a great victory for the away side.

Overall, it was a good match with both teams having to fight hard at certain points in the match, good individual and team performances could also be seen on both sides. Most notably for us, key performances came from Brad’s four wickets, providing a great start to the second innings and also the opening partnership between Angus and Kyle which ensured we had enough runs to defend in the end. This win puts us in good stead to face a strong Royal High Corstorphine side next week at Grange Loan which I am sure will turn out to be a good match.

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For the first and only time this season the Carlton 2nd XI played their second consecutive game at Grange Loan, with last week's disappointment still lingering in the memory of some players (the less said about that day the better). Rob returned to restore some professionalism to the team, with Simmo replacing Boydy behind the poles whilst young Pete Gill was handed his first 2nd XI cap following a late injury to DJ Ru Mac at Myreside.

Rob lost the toss and Carlton were sent into field on what started out as a glorious sunny day. The plan was to come out firing and rip through the top order batsmen. Rob and Beattie opened up and led by example. Angus bowled the Holy Cross young opening batsmen before Rob had his partner uncharacteristically dropped by none other than ‘specialist’ fielder Frallardice. Thankfully Fraser’s DROP didn’t cost us as Ali Shah bailed him out in the next over holding onto a straightforward catch in the slips. Rob got another one to tickle through to Simmo and after some consultation between the two umpires the batsmen was given out and Holy Cross were 4 for 3.

Razza replaced Rob from the top end and had an immediate impact getting a wicket with his first ball thanks to a good reaction catch down the legside from Simmo. 4 down and it looked as though Holy Cross’s plan B was to go for broke. A bit of block-block bash cricket saw a few balls run to the fence and some in fact over the fence. Beattie got his second wicket off the day removing the Holy Cross skipper thanks to a “genuine snare” from specialist gully fielder Gav – much to his delight/surprise. Rob then switched it back to seam in the shape of Saif and Gav. Saif bowled a consistent line and length and got his reward – a mistimed bash falling straight into Rob’s hands. Rittoo joined in on the action too, picking up two wickets of his own, and even more surprisingly only bowling a single figure number of wides. A great improvement on last week – well done. Pete Gill came on and bowled brilliantly during his two overs, bowling 12 dot balls and picking up his first 2nd XI wicket in fine style – uprooting middle stump. Holy were all out (9 down) for 114 in just 25 overs.

GAV'S TEA REVIEW (pt 1)

With the first innings only lasting 25 overs the decision to postpone tea until after the conclusion of the match subsequently postponed Gav's Tea Review until later in the report.

Simmo and Frallardice went out to bat with the intention of knocking off the runs ASAP. Both batsmen got off to a strong start and looked at ease with the Holy Cross opening bowlers, scoring freely and keeping the scoreboard ticking along – Carlton cruised to 32 without loss. Fast forward 20 odd runs and a dozen overs and the Carlton cruiser had crashed, badly. Simmo was out trying to hit first change bowler K. Parvez over the top and miscuing it to point. Ben then got a first baller chipping one back to bowler. Ali came and fell to another great catch in the gully before Ollie Rae was sent back to the pavilion given out LBW. Raza hit his first ball for 4 before being stumped a couple of overs later and when frallardice was out for a hard earned 30 alarm bells began to ring hard.

55 for 6; 60 needed; skipper and Beattie in. With Parvez’s confidence high after taking 5 quick wickets both batsmen cautiously saw out the remainder of his overs and began to rebuild the run chase. Angus did an excellent job taking the momentum out of the opposition by staying and batting around Rob who began to excel as Holy Cross changed up their personnel. With only 10 outfield players there were plenty of gaps in the field to exploit and both batsmen applied good pressure on the fielders, nicking quick singles here and there and turning 1s into 2s, 2s into 3s. Rob and Beattie's partnership continued past drinks and eventually got us home to a 4 wicket win in the 29th over. In the end all it took was two batsmen to stand up and take responsibility into their own hands. Rob pulled the game back into Carlton’s favour with his stylish and attack minded approach. Whilst Beattie did a phenomenal job of batting around Rob, playing the ball along the ground and preserving his wicket - they finished on 39* and 24* respectively and most importantly got us back to winning ways.

GAV'S TEA REVIEW (pt 2) :

For the first time in tea review history tea was taken after the conclusion of both innings. This can be seen as a both a positive and a negative depending on your role in the team. For example, if you are a tailender bastman that bowls dibbley dobblies in the middle overs then you're not really affected by the half time tea. Meaning you can afford to stuff your face every game and therefore get the job as expert reviewer.

But with post match tea you realise everyone is a lot greedier. Everyone eats A LOT. Around the table there isn’t a bowler in sight worrying about being sick mid run up or a batsmen worrying about not being able to run that quick single because he’s feeling bloated. Nope none of that, just 22 greedy cricketers stuffing their faces.

Thankfully the team of Richard and Caroline Allardice had everything under control and served up one of the GOAT (greatest of all time) teas. As the rain began to fall plates began to fill up ... with hot chicken nuggets, samosas, sausage rolls and pizza. Sandwiches were kept classic and current with the new exciting edition of the cranberry and brie mix – very good. The home baking and fresh fruit game was also very very strong. Kerry Simpson snooped in and arrived just in time to check out her rivals spread receive a well deserved 9.4.

RAINED OFF

OFF - WATERLOGGED GROUND

Scorecard