The Primary School Team’s first game of the season is traditionally held against a Heriot’s P6 team, and at Heriot’s request, kwik cricket with an incrediball was played rather than hardball.  Grange Loan looked immaculate, bathed in sunshine, albeit it on the cold side following hail showers of the previous day.  With Heriot’s fielding 10 players and the Primary Team 11, one home player rotated off every over in an enjoyable game of Twenty Twenty.

 

Starting on 200, Heriot’s batted first and their opening pair batted well to take the score to 214 for the loss of no wickets in the first 4 overs.  The home side started to take the ascendency from that point, with regular wickets and tight fielding restricting Heriot’s to a final score of 226 from the allotted 20 overs.  Well done to all the home team for their bowling and fielding, taking a total of 9 wickets.  Of particular note were Keir, donning the wicketkeeping gloves for the first time and taking 2 sharp stumpings, Finn who finished with 3 wickets for 6 runs from his 2 overs  and Gregor Mc who took 2 for 5, with 2 wickets in 2 balls.

 

A feast of biscuits was on offer at the interval, and the coaches were looking forward to the creation of a store cupboard of goodies for future matches.  21 hungry boys, a few hungry parents, and (it was observed) a few primary school team alumni playing in the nets, had other thoughts, and empty tins were all that was left when the home team took to the field to bat.

 

The interval team talk was for all pairs to bat sensibly, have good calling and not lose unnecessary wickets.  Each pair made steady progress, and after 16 overs the home team had reached 242, a lead of 16.  The last pair, or more accurately trio, as the home team were playing with 11 players, made the most of this position to take the final score to 277, a win by 51 runs.

 

So well done, a good all round performance.  Future matches will revert to more traditional cricket rules, with a wicket meaning the end of a batsman’s innings rather than the loss of 5 runs, so keep coming to the nets as often as you can for practice.

As the scoreline suggests, cricket can be a cruel game, especially for batsmen trying to score quickly in cold and wet conditions.  However, even in this game there were positives to take away as well as some development opportunities.

 

The game started in sunny conditions with Merchiston winning the toss and electing to bat.  Two of their batsmen scored quickly, retiring not out on 31 and 32, and they ended their innings having lost only 2 wickets for 121 runs.  Well done to Robbie who took both wickets, one bowled and the other caught at mid wicket by Gregor Mc.  The game also saw some tight bowling from Gregor Mc (4 overs for 9 runs), Kjartan (3 overs for 12 runs) and Harry (3 overs for 14 runs).

 

As Carlton took to the field to bat, the rain started, driving some parents to their cars, and the rain persisted for the rest of the match.  Needing more than 6 runs an over to win, and with wickets falling regularly, the game was soon beyond Carlton.  Well done to Hari, coming in to bat in the 5th over, for digging in, playing with a straight bat and refusing to give up his wicket, finishing the game as top scorer on 7 not out

RAINED OFF

The SMPS/Carlton primary team arrived for an away fixture against Stewart’s Melville Primary on a sunny but cold Wednesday afternoon.  Gregor M won the toss and decided to bat on what looked a nice hard wicket.  The decision to bat seemed to be a wise one, as opening pair Gregor (23) and Harry (21 Retired) built a solid foundation for the innings with a partnership of 59, displaying a healthy mixture of quick singles and boundaries.  Aside from the impressive variety of strokes played by the pair, the highlight of the partnership was Gregor falling over twice during the same single – and still managing to make it to his crease without being run out.  After both had departed, the middle order did well against a tight Stew Mel bowling attack, knocking the ball around for ones and twos and running well between the wickets. 

The visitors finished with a competitive 87-5, and took the field against a bracing cold wind which kept everybody eager to run after the ball, just so they could stay warm.  The Stewart’s Melville top order batted  very well, managing to reach their target for the loss of just one wicket, taking advantage of the fast outfield and finding the boundary with strong shots all around the wicket, despite a good bowling effort by the SMPS/Carlton boys.  The wicket taker, Gregor F, did particularly well with figures of 1 for 8 from 2 overs.  After the total was reached, two additional overs were bowled to make sure each fielder bowled at least one over (with the exception of Alistair, who was impressive with the gloves on his wicket-keeping debut).  It was during this final period that the fielding side showed some of the best pieces of fielding of the whole match, with two run-outs affected in one over.  While this didn’t affect the outcome of this particular game, those two excellent pieces of team fielding bode well for future matches.  A good effort from the whole team, who were upbeat and keen to encourage each other throughout.

On a beautiful Saturday morning, the Carlton SMPS 11 entertained an Edinburgh Academy side at Grange Loan, with the Academy winning the toss and electing to bat.  Both teams produced an enjoyable game which went down to the last over, producing the unusual result of a tie.  A game played in a good spirit, with coaching and learning throughout, as well as a number of stand out performances from both teams, was enjoyed by all present.

 

The first ball of the match produced a rush of adrenalin from Carlton, who managed to gift the visitors four overthrows.  Settling down, the Academy batsmen batted strongly and quickly, taking 23 from the first four of the twenty overs.  A change of bowling from captain Pete in the 5th over saw Angus take a great caught & bowled to reduce the visitors to 28-1. Another quick wicket from Harry in the 7th over made it 33-2, as the Academy’s run rate slowed.  Some steady batting took the Academy past 50 until Leo took his first hard ball wicket to make the score 56-3.  With the score progressing to 69-3, some straight and fast bowling saw Pete take a five wicket haul (5 for 8 off 3 overs) with the visitors finishing on 79-8.  Some great bowling from Gregor M as well, delivering the only maiden of the innings, and conceding only 4 runs from his 3 overs.  Well done to the Academy’s opening batsman who retired unbeaten on 21 from 10 overs.

 

Carlton’s opening pair, Gregor M and Harry, came to the crease on the back of a good performance during the week at Stewart’s Melville where they had shared an opening partnership of 59.  Once again, both batted with patience and maturity, playing themselves in and then playing some attractive shots, this time with an opening partnership of 51. 

Gregor M retired on 31 not out, and Harry fell for 16 to a good delivery which nipped back and took out his leg stump.  Another quick two wickets (one bowled and one direct hit run out) reduced Carlton to 64-3.  Needing 16 runs to win, Pete and Muzz levelled the scores with 1 ball to spare.  With the Academy side closing in to defend a single at all costs, the final ball of the match was a good straight Yorker which Pete did well to hit, and the resulting dot ball was met with relieved cheers from the visitors.

 

A really good, fun match.  Well done to everyone and some great performances with bat and ball.  With the Scottish sunshine set to last for a record second day, the coaches would encourage everyone to keep on practising, come to the nets whenever possible, and remember about backing up while fielding and more aggressive running between the stumps when batting. 

Watson’s always feels like a ‘friendly’ as there always tends to be a Carlton player or 2 on the opposition and this was the case again today with Adam Young the captain for Watson’s team.  Adam won the toss and elected to bat on a beautiful morning at Grange loan.

A strong start was made by the Carlton primary team with tight bowling from Pete and Ben be rewarded with wickets in each of their second overs and a further wicket in the 5th over from Gregor Farrer where he clean bowled their No 1 batsmen had Watson’s struggling on 10/1. 

However, a strong 4th wicket partnership ensued with a quick 33 made by their No4 batsmen. Finn Thornton making his primary school debut in P4 bowled out middle stump on his first delivery.  Ewan bowled very tight line and length for his 2 overs and got a well deserved wicket.  Continued good batting saw Watson’s score grow to above 100 before Finn took his second wicket and Watson’s eventually made 116 off their 20 overs. 

The boys were excellent in the field and vastly improved since the opening match – with good keeping from Keir and enthusiasm and maturity shown in the outfield.  The boys continue to HELP each other – H – Hands (not feet), E – Encourage others, L – Look to back up and P – Positive (for all 20 overs)

A good run chase was required but not before a feast of food – thanks to all the parents the boys from both teams got stuck in!

Gregor McI and Harry made a good start with strong running between the wickets and a fast run rate getting the total to 31 after just 3 overs which meant the required run rate had reduced to only 5 an over – was it to be a great run chase.  Unfortunately, just like the batting Watsons were to bounce back with Harry being bowled for 6 clipping the top of the bail as it went through.  Adam Young then bowled and bowled Gregor for a fast and furious 23.  Pete and Keir were dismissed cheaply playing across the line on good accurate bowling from Adam Young (clearly taught well at Carlton). 

This then bought Hari and Finn to the creases where they steadied the innings and started to see the ball and run well between the wickets taking the score above 50 before Hari was out caught.  Coll was bowled cheaply off a good delivery.  Ben batted well and had a strong 29 run partnership with Finn before he was caught well in the slip trying to guide a ball down to third man.  Finn continued to grow in confidence moving well and scoring freely and whilst he remained at the wicket there was a chance of victory.  Despite good running and strong effort by Gregor F,  Euan and Angus the combined efforts were not quite good enough today.  Finn ended up highest score on 28 not out on his hard ball  debut in the Primary school which was an amazing effort for a P4 boy against a P7 team from Watson’s.

All the boys played well and should not be disappointed in today’s result.  Carlton has a combined P4, 5, 6, 7 team and was technically stronger in many areas with the Watson’s coach very impressed with the quality of our bowling.  The team gets stronger each game and hopefully can find revenge against Watson’s in 2 weeks time.

On a sunny but windy morning at the Watson’s front field on Colinton Road Watson’s captain Adam Young won the toss and elected to bat.  Carlton Primary team were enthusiastic and ready to bounce back from the narrow defeat to Watson’s 2 weeks back at Grange Loan.

Watson’s opening pair looked confident with strong hitting and running between the wickets and pushed the score along early to 15 after 2 overs which was stopped after some good bowling from Gregor McI in his second over which was a maiden and ended with Harry making a direct hit and running out one of the openers.  Continued tight bowling from Gregor McI and Ben meant frustration for the batsmen and off the 5th over a ball was scooped up off Gregor’s bowling with an easy catch taken by Harry at mid-wicket.  Harry and Finn came on as first change bowlers with Harry taking 2 wickets in 2 balls and Finn 2 off his second over both caught and bowled with the second being the catch of the season.   Watsons were in trouble at 36 for 6 and Carlton primary team were bowling well, fielding fantastically and had taken 3 good catches in the first 10 overs.

Watson’s confidence remained and responded with 2 fours off the first 2 balls from Murray but instead of getting down the boys all remained positive and encouraged each other.  Murray bowled his next 10 deliveries for 3 runs and took 2 wickets clean bowled including the boy that had hit him for the fours – revenge is sweet!   Callum, Leo, Gregor F, Angus and Euan all enjoyed at least an over and the bowling was really strong being largely directed down the offside making it hard for the batsmen to score, with only 3 wides in total today.  A special mention to Angus where tight accurate bowling ensured only 1 run was scored from his over.  Harry as captain bought Finn back into the attack and he took his 3rd wicket with an excellent LBW and lastly another good run out completed by Keir ended the Watson’s innings in the 20th over.  

The boys had been superb in the field with a great all round effort which they should all be proud of as the improvement over 2 months is amazing! The boys continued to ‘HELP’ each other in the field.  H – Hands (not feet – football season is obviously a distant memory!), E – Encourage others (bucket loads today and some from the parents as well) L – Look to back up (only 1 overthrow today which was excellent) and P – Positive (for all 20 overs with Harry as captain leading the way).  Fielding award today goes to Euan for some great stops at long mid on – must have been 4 or 5 that may have gone for 4 and were restricted to just a single.

A target of 80 was set which looked achievable with sensible batting and that is exactly what we saw from Ben and Gregor McI move along with good running between the wickets and the odd 4 keeping the run rate at the required level. Ben was eventually bowled from a ball that kept low for 16 including 2 fine 4s.  The opening partnership had yielded a valuable 46 – the highest of the season.  

Finn joined Gregor where the good conservative batting continued and the score was moved onto 59 before Gregor was bowled for a mature 26 with some fine pull shots during his innings.   The job was almost done but you could see Watson’s were not going to give up without a fight and the runs slowed for a few overs and then Finn was bowled for 7 and Keir was LBW for 1.  Finn continues to show maturity with the bat  (and ball) well above his years - perfect your game in Scotland for a few more years and then trial for Australia (they need the help).  Keir was much improved today and far more patient in his innings and was unlucky not to score more.

5 overs to go 10 runs to get surely victory was in sight and thanks to a fine cut shot for 4 from Harry and some good running between the wickets by Callum and Harry meant the scores were equal.  Callum hit the winning single and the game was over with 2 overs to spare.

The Carlton team today was magnificent and the technical strength combined with drive and determination resulted in a fine victory over Watson’s.  The team should all feel great about the way they played and the improvement they have all shown across the season so far.  Keep the practice up boys as it can be even better with even more disciplined offside bowling (no wides, no byes) and technically stronger and more disciplined batting and even better fielding (no misfields/catches) - so get down to the nets to practice and get even better for the next match.  (PS: You will need to be even better again to beat the parents on 29 June)

POSTCRIPT: Sporting Moment of the Match goes to Ben Swann.  One of the Watson’s bowlers twisted his ankle on the 5th ball of an over.  Clearly in pain and a bit distressed, he was determined to finish his over, but couldn’t do a run up.  From a standing position, he bowled a looping ball, which the batsman could easily have hit for 4.  Ben played a defensive shot, and with a clear call of “No”, the over was completed with no addition to the score.  Watson’s coach was right to thank both batsmen.  Arguably the shot of the day.

Another dry and warm afternoon saw the Carlton primary team welcoming Loretto to Grange Loan for the return fixture of this double- header.  Carlton achieved a great win with 3 overs to spare.

Carlton won the toss and put Loretto in to bat on the artificial wicket. It was really pleasing to see all 10 players that wanted to bowl getting 2 overs each; special mention goes to Alastair’s 1 for 5, Fabien’s 1 for 6, John’s 1 for 9, Ben’s 1 for 11 and Angus who, having been on the receiving end of a few heaves by the big-hitting Loretto batsmen, got a fantastic caught and bowled off the last ball of his first over. Pick of the Carlton bowlers was Fin who kept wicket for half the innings and then came on to bowl and took 3 wickets for 8 runs, including a two wicket maiden! There was great encouragement from all the boys in the field and, while extras put in a very creditable second highest score, the fielding and accuracy of bowling are both definitely improving. Loretto nevertheless posted a pretty competitive total of 105 off their 20 overs.

Things didn’t look too promising as the run chase began – some unfortunate calling resulted in a couple of cheap run outs for Hari and Fin and at 19 for 3 Carlton had a big task ahead. However, the partnership of Ben and Kjartan steadied the ship with Ben eventually falling for a well played 13. Muz then joined Kjartan in a partnership of 32 before Kjartan fell for 14 to Turner. That brought in Euan who joined Muz in polishing off the total, with Muz pulling a 4 up the hill for the winning runs and finishing on 21 not out.

Overall a great team performance - the boys didn’t let their heads go down and showed great attitude and team spirit. A big thank you to Loretto for making both games an absolute pleasure, playing with great spirit, attitude and sportsmanship. 

Carlton Primary team made a horrible start with the loss of early wickets with the top 4 batsmen only making 8 between them and at 18 for 4 a mature batting effort was needed from the middle order.  Ben and Keir did just that with Keir making a sensible 30 after finding his eye and Ben holding his bat through and providing a valuable backbone to the innings with 29 not out.  Murray also batted well and had a good partnership with Ben and made a solid 11.  Good batting and some wayward bowling resulting in over 40 extras meant a final score of 120 off 20 overs.

Good controlled and accurate bowling at Grange Loan was the order of the day with everyone having a bowl, mostly 2 overs each, which meant a good all round effort from the whole team.  It was especially pleasing to see only 8 extras, which again was applauded by the opposition coach (and Carlton coach).   Also the fielding was excellent and the boys have improved a massive amount over the season which is great to see, as over the last 4 or 5 games this saved 20 runs compared with the opposition and was the difference in many games. 

Lastly, the team has showed real courage to keep fighting when there was the loss of early wickets showing the boys that cricket is a real team effort and that everyone has a part to play. 

The last match of the Primary School Team season is traditionally held against parents. This year, the eagerly anticipated match saw a holiday-hit 9 a side match featuring a collection of parents, uncles, brothers and stand-in parents playing our primary squad coming off the back of four straight wins, looking to take their fifth consecutive scalp. An exciting match that went to the last ball saw the parents snatching defeat (well a tie) from the almost inevitable jaws of victory, with 3 wickets tumbling in the final over including a fantastic catch by Muzz in the field off the last ball. The end of a great season, where the team has grown in confidence and ability, and played with greater depth with each match.