RAINED OFF

Edinburgh Academy batted first in a match that was reduced to 15 overs due to the late start.  Carlton bowled first and generally bowled well with some strong fielding all round.  Murray, Jamie, Gabriel, Jack and Billy all picked up a wickets each. Once again it was nice to see that everyone bowled an over. It was also good to see the wide count down compared to the previous match on Saturday but everyone needs to continue to focus on straight bowling to see if we can lower it further.  EA’s score was restricted to 75 with 2 good contributions.

Carlton then batted with Rua and William opening with Rua being bowled trying to hit through the line in the first over. EA had some very strong and accurate bowling (3 of them being Carlton players !) which restricted the run rate and caused frustration. Finlay , Jamie and Billy all fell cheaply with the score just 13 for 4 in the 6th over.  Carlton needed to up the run rate with 62 runs required from just 9 overs.

William and Muz batted well scoring quickly and running well between the wickets before Muz was caught for 2. Keagan (playing his first match for the Primary school team) and Jack offered some resistance, however, at 35 for 7 in the 12th over it was looking difficult.  Gabriel and William did well to successfully move the scoring on with some strong running and hitting in the final overs to get the score to 52 with a fine innings from William finishing on 26 and Gabriel 3 not out.  Unfortunately Georgia and Grace never got to bat on their debut match for the Primary School team.

A few lessons to take away:

• The value of good accurate bowling (Carlton did well but all of EA's bowling was excellent)
• Play yourself in when batting (get the feel of the pitch/bowling) and defend the good balls on the stumps (especially early in the innings).
• Look to score runs from the weaker balls (generally off the stumps) and try and hit through the gaps in the field (too many good shots went straight to fielders)
• Remember to back up at the non-strikers end (sneaky steps – Grace and Georgia have been taught this well by Eric in the girls’ group) and call loudly (Yes, No, Waiting) so that you put the fielders under pressure and get as many quick singles as possible.  (It is far better to get an extra 15 or 20 runs by pushing the running between the wickets and see the occasional run out from a direct hit than to not get the runs at all).

The game (as always at Edinburgh Academy) was played in a very enjoyable and friendly manner and the better team won on the day. 

A warm, cold, showery, sunny, clear, cloudy and blustery morning at Craiglockart saw the Carlton Primary Team beat Watsons in an entertaining contest that showed how batting in partnerships wins matches.

Winning the toss and electing to field, Carlton set a very energetic atmosphere with lots of support for the bowlers and some excellent fielding.  A tight opening spell from Finn (0-8), a wicket for Will (bowling Carlton’s own Nina W), a sharp run out (Freddie) and frugal overs from Murray and Jack left Watsons on 24-2.  The next change of attack brought two further wickets, with Euan’s first over of off-spin producing a second run out (Connor) and a fourth wicket - the ball was hit straight back into the bowlers midriff and Euan somehow managed to hang on. Watsons' batsmen Reinning and Logan then built a partnership of 30, despite tidy bowling from Charlotte, Shaun and Connor until a run out from Murray and a retiral brought new batsmen to the crease. Left armers Murray (1-7) and Freddie (2-2) took the next three wickets, with a solid catch by Jamie.  A final run out brought the retired opener back in, and a last-over c&b to Will ended the Watsons innings.  

Carlton’s successful run chase was built on two excellent 30+ partnerships. After Freddie was unlucky to get a good ball first up, Finn and Jamie put on 35 - defending good balls, running well and punishing loose bowling, with Fin hitting five 4s (including a couple of fine cover drives) and Jamie one, before Fin was bowled for 26.  Jamie (9) was unfortunate to be run out soon after, and with Will (5) and Murray (4) not able to hang around for long, Carlton were 54-5 at the 10 over mark.  Jack and Euan then batted very sensibly to see the team home to victory - solid defence, two fours each and some great running/backing up that grew in confidence as the partnership went on.

Well done to everyone from both teams for producing some really impressive cricket on all sides.  Good to see that the focus on fielding as a team and developing our running between the wickets is paying off.  Looking forward to the rematch(es) in a couple of weeks time.

Chilly conditions again, with a hint of drizzle, for the game between the Carlton primary school team and Merchiston Castle’s Pringle 3rd XI.  The game turned out to be an entertaining encounter played in an excellent spirit.

Carlton won the toss and elected to field.  Tidy bowling from Muz and Billy, including a maiden each, was followed up by Boris and Rua, with Rua nabbing Hill’s wicket clean bowled.  The impressive Merchiston batsmen Bissett and Boyle continued to rack up the scoring before retiring, while Stefan and Guy bowled tidily for Carlton.  Neil nabbed a well-taken lbw plumb in front before more Merchiston retirals.  Rory bowled very accurately with a miserly 1 off each of his two overs.  Shaun, Sayeed and Jamie completed the Carlton bowling with Merchiston reaching a total of 78; a decent target but well within Carlton’s capabilities.

The Carlton innings didn’t get off to the best of starts with Merchiston’s MacGregor bowling a good three-over spell for two wickets.  Sayeed will feel unlucky as he spooned one to gully after a couple of good defensive shots, while Rua was unfortunate in playing on to a ball that looped in then kept low.  Jamie will also feel he was unlucky as a hard shot was well held for a catch to dismiss him.  That left Carlton on 6 for 3.  Muz and Shaun were able to steady the ship with Shaun playing particularly impressively and hitting a number of excellent shots and boundaries before retiring on 23 for a partnership of 46 with Muz (also retired).  That brought Rory and Billy to the wicket, both of whom started to find the boundary. Shortly after surviving a run-out appeal Billy was able to strike the winning boundary for the primary school team, reaching the required total with 7 overs to spare.

The boys can be proud of their performance in the field and the way they battled back with the bat.  There is another meeting with Merchiston later in the season when we will have the chance to do the double – let’s hope the weather is kinder!

Playing Stewart's Melville is always a challenging match, and the Primary School team arrived at a sunny Inverleith expecting a good game against a strong side.  They were not disappointed.

Batting first on a good, hard wicket,  Stew Mel lost an early wicket (bowled Pete 1-2) and accurate bowling from Will (0-10), Fin (0-11) & Harry (1-3) restricted the scoring. By the time the second wicket fell in the 8th over (lbw Harry) the batting side were 31-2.  However the next wicket was not to fall until 40 runs later, when Gabby delivered the sort of over that changes matches, taking two wickets (lbw & bowled) to leave SM on 72-4 in the 14th over.  However, SM bat a long way down, and a 5th wicket stand of 35 took the score to 112 (Charlotte 0-10, Rua 0-19, Connor 0-17) before an excellent direct hit run out by Gabby.  Effective death bowling from Jamie (0-4) and Ewan (2-10) closed off the final overs with the Stew Mel total at 118.

Openers Will and Harry started tentatively, with a series of running mix ups over the first couple of overs culminating in Will being run out for 5.  Pete & Harry then batted very fluently before Pete retired on 26* (5 fours), bringing Fin to the crease who took on the bowling in typically swashbuckling style.  After Harry was caught out for 9, Fin and Ewan put on 22 for the third wicket with some good running between the wickets before Stew Mel had a two-wicket over of their own - Fin reaching out to hit a full toss straight at point and Rua Mac dispatching a short ball to the same fielder.  Carlton were 69-4, only 2 runs behind SM at the same point in their innings.  

Ewan then anchored the rest of the innings with a very sensible 13* accompanied by Jamie and Jack (5 each) but the bowling was too tight to match Stew Mel's end of innings acceleration and Carlton closed on 93-6.

Well done everyone for a great game that was, in the final analysis, closer than it looked.  Many thanks to Stewart's Melville for a high quality match, and looking forward to the return game in June.

It shows the growing strength of the Primary School Team that we were able to field two teams against Watsons – more cricket for everyone and for some their first taste of hardball.  The P6 match was played in pairs format, with 4 overs per batting pair and 2 overs per bowler, 24 overs a side!

 

Jamie and Ross bowled tightly for the opening overs, before Shaun and Gabby’s spell brought two super run outs: a direct hit from Gabby off Shaun’s bowling, and a wikkie-gloves-off throw from Jamie.  Tommy & Jack then took two more wickets – one for Tommy and a lovely leg-stump yorker for Jack.  Nate and Tom then bowled four overs with 16 dot balls, before two more wickets fell in Kegan and Boris’ overs – both bowled by Kegan, the second a beautiful delivery just clipping the off bail.  The final Watson’s batting pair put on a good fightback, but good bowling by Mark and Shaun restricted the Watsons total to 70.

 

In reply, Shaun and Mark set a excellent foundation with 19 off the first 4 overs. Boris and Tom then batted well against some accurate bowling, followed by Nate and Keegan who put on 11. Tommy and Ross added a further 10, with some really good calling and running between the wickets.  With scores about even with Watsons after 16 overs, it was important to finish well … the twins + Jamie came up trumps with their own brand of “defend or smash” batting (copyright Jack), and with the last balls blocked out with Boycott-like care we finished on a score of 79.

 

A great experience for everyone, and the lessons to be learned are all the simple ones:  stay alert in the field, bowl accurately with fewer wides, defend the good ball when batting, and continue to develop our calling and running.

 

Well done to everyone for a great game, and thanks to Watsons for hosting two games on the same sunny morning.

Overs	4	8	12	16	20	24
Watsons	12 Jamie & Ross	16 Shaun & Gabriel 2 Run Outs	25 Tommy & Jack 2 wickets	40 Nate & Tom	44 Kegan & Boris 2 wickets	70 Mark & Shaun
Carlton Primary Team	19 Shaun & Mark	18 Boris & Tom 2 wickets	29 Nate & Keegan 1 wicket	39 Tommy & Ross 1 wicket	64 Jack & Jamie	79 Gabby & Jack/Jamie

It was a cold and blustery day (again!) for the primary school team’s game at Fettes, but the rain mostly kept off and the sun eventually shone allowing the full 20 overs a side to go ahead.  Carlton fielded first and right away the experienced Fettes openers were able to punish the looser balls while Carlton’s first four bowlers struggled to make an impact.  A direct hit run out (Thomas) and a retiral slowed the Fettes run rate, though the next batsmen put together a good partnership.  Jamie and Ewan were the pick of the bowlers, both pegging back the score in the final third of the innings.

The Carlton innings didn’t start particularly well, with Fettes bowler Harry showing what he has been practising in the nets at Grange Loan while picking up 2 wickets.  Carlton slumped to 4 for 4, although Mark was unlucky being stumped and William fell to a swinging ball.  At that point Freddie and Ewan came to the wicket and steadied the ship before Ewan fell to an excellent catch off a well-hit ball.  Jamie was unlucky to be run out shortly after and at 15 for 6 it looked like it might be an early finish.  However, Murray was able to play himself in and find his rhythm with some nice shots, ably assisted by Freddie until the latter was bowled.  That brought Fabian in for a cameo of 10, including two successive boundaries, before he was well caught.  Finlay came in and made 6 before being caught hitting out as the required run rate climbed, leaving Thomas and Murray to play sensibly to keep the last wicket and bat out the 20 overs, as Carlton reached a respectable total of 89.

This game also marked the retirement of the scorebook, which is now full and has been with the team since 2009 – it’s great to look back through the book and see the familiar names who played for the team in the past and who are still playing at the club.

On a rather cold, windy and wet start to the day the primary school team had a short game of kwik cricket at Cliftonhall. Carlton batted first and the game was played in a quick and enthusiastic manner with some strong batting and running from all the Carlton batting pairs. Particularly mention should go to Jack who hit a few enormous sixes in the last pair to help the team total to 134.

When Cliftonhall batted we kept the bowling and fielding tight particularly in the early overs which meant with 2 batting pairs remaining the Cliftonhall team required more than 60 runs which ended up beyond them. Everyone bowled well and there was a good positive attitude in the field. Everyone was encouraging of other players across the team which was great to see. Keep it up. A special mention should go to the captain on the day Murray who was always thinking of the play and the required field positions.

Thanks to all the parents who braved the cold and rain and an enjoyable morning was had by all the players despite the weather.

MATCH CANCELLED

Carlton bowled first and Murray struck in the first over with a good fast Yorker, bowling the Cargilfield opening batsman. Jamie also bowled straight from the other end and took a wicket in his 2nd over. Taking both of the strong opening batsmen cheaply was a real bonus.  

Freddie also bowled well in his 2 overs taking a wicket in both - one a very good catch at square leg from Murray.  A few loose overs allowed the score to grow and Cargilfield looked like they were heading for a score upward of 120 when they were 76 for 4 after 13 overs.  Murray bought himself back on for one over and took the wicket of Haston the Cargilfield top scorer who was running well between the wickets and had hit a few good 4s.  The trio of spinners of Grace, Harry and Ewan then kept it very tight for the last 6 overs where they only managed to get 17 runs and finish on 95 after 20 overs.

A quick tea was had by all and then we were ready to bat. 

Ewan and Ruairidh opened the batting and unfortunately Ewan was bowled by a very good opening bowler Henry in the first over - similar start to the 1st innings. This brought Harry (last minute selection as no P7s available due to secondary transition day) to the crease and with Ruairidh they played sensibly defending the good balls (and there were many more from Henry in his spell) and moving their front foot to the line of the ball and hitting the wayward ones strongly but safely along the ground (many for 4).  Unfortunately, on the first ball of the sixth over Ruairidh scooped a ball up to mid on and was caught for 15 with the score on 30.  Shaun came to the crease and was not on strike but after Harry had hit 2 4s and a single the first ball Shaun faced was struck straight down the ground for 4 - despite the wicket the over had gained us 14 runs and the score was 44 after 6 overs. Looking good.

Harry and Shaun batted very well with sensible and further strong hitting and good good running between the wickets - Shaun's confidence was growing all the time both made it to 30 and retired.  Rory hit a nice 4 and was judged to be LBW for 5.  Murray then hit the winning runs with Jack running superbly (despite not facing a ball). 96 in 13.2 overs. Well done.

Sorry to those who did not get a bat this week but that is sometimes the case in this kind of cricket and it is a good sign as the batsmen were not getting out from poor shots which are costly in this cricket - not just -5 runs like U11s!

A special mention must go to Murray who was always thinking in the field - with field placements, changes of bowlers and also promoting others in the batting order who had less of a bowl at the expense of himself.  It was fitting that Murray hit the winning run.  As a result Murray will be the captain on Saturday against Stewart Melville - a match to win to get revenge for our narrow first time loss (and the fact a few play for Grange makes it equally important!)