The first under 11 match of the season took place between Carlton and Grange Panthers at the Edinburgh Academy sports grounds.

The match was very much in doubt at 25 minutes before the game as there was a rather heavy downpour as well as some hail which threatened to cancel the first game of the season but, as luck had it, the rain cleared and and allowed for both teams to take to the field despite the cold and wet conditions.

Carlton won the toss and elected to bat first in the 20 over fixture, the opening Carlton pair getting off to a great start scoring 36 in their 4 overs with some big strong hitting from Harry. The momentum was kept going in the second pair as the managed to add another 31 in their 4 overs taking Carlton to 67 after 8 overs!

As the first heavy thunder shower hit the match and caused the ball to become very wet and slippery the game seemed to level out a bit with Carlton only managing to put on 4 runs in the third pair and 8 runs in the fourth pair. The final 4 overs saw the Grange bowlers having an extremely difficult task with the wet ball with a Grange boy commenting "this ball is worse than a bar of soap" but that allowed the final Carlton pair to put on 24 in the final 4 overs which meant Carlton finished on 109 after 20 overs.

It was then time for the Carlton team to bowl and that they did! The Carlton bowlers were proving far too strong for the Grange batters which meant that Grange could only end up with 9 runs off the first 8 overs! This then bought yet another storm which lasted right until the end of the match meaning that the bowlers had difficulty with gripping the ball as well as slipping as the pitch became very soggy and wet! Grange fought hard but Carlton were up to the task with Adam just missing out on a hatrick! Carlton stood strong and Grange could only end up with 89 runs meaning Carlton Under 11's get their season up and running with a 21 run victory.

Special mention must go out to both teams and parents who did not once complain about the weather although it was cold and wet! They allowed all the players to enjoy a very good competitive game of cricket!

Well done!

Team: Harry, Gregor, Hari, Duncan, Cameron, Nina, Benjamin, Adam & Brodie

RAINED OFF

CALLED OFF BY PENICUIK WHO WERE UNABLE TO RAISE A SIDE

After a close encounter with Grange at Fettes two weeks before, the Carlton U11’s looked to continue their winning ways.  This time they had the home advantage at the familiar surroundings of Grange Loan.

Zack as elected captain did the toss and once again won. Carlton chose to bat. The innings got off to a good start with Cameron and Douglas getting the side to 126-1 (from the starting point of 100) off their 4 overs. The loss of only 1 wicket was encouraging after the 12 that were lost during the previous encounter with Grange. Some tight bowling and sharp fielding from the Grange side halted the progress of Carlton and after the second pair of Brodie and Harry were done they were 132-4. With a quick outfield and short boundaries either side Carlton were in need of a good score to have a chance of defending and this was the responsibility of Adam and Muzz. They didn’t disappoint, putting on a further 25 runs for the loss of no wickets and took the team total to 157-4. The good work was then continued by Gregor and Zack. The captain assisted by Gregor took the team to a respectable final score of 176-5.

After a slow start 176 was a competitive score and definitely gave the Carlton bowlers something to defend.

With Carlton having the momentum after a batting onslaught from the last two pairs, they went into the field full of confidence. The usual culprits picked up wickets. Gregor, Muzz and Adam managed to keep the Grange side under control. However, a couple of missed catches and some sloppy fielding let the Grange side back into the game. A strong performance from the third batting pair put Grange right back in it and it meant that the last pair needed only 15 runs to win providing they lost no wickets. A steady head from the Grange captain allowed Grange to surpass the Carlton score, and meant that the pair only had three deliveries to face to secure victory. Muzz bowled good areas and tested the batsmen however it was too little to late for the Carlton side and Grange ended on 178.

It was another close match between Grange and Carlton and was exciting for all to watch.

Another sunny Friday blessed the Carlton U11’s. This week they came up against Watsonians. With the absence of Gregor Mc and Douglas, opportunities arose for Gregor F and Euan.

 The Carlton side was under new leadership this week and the wise old head of Harry was elected Captain. In true Carlton U11 tradition Brodie accompanied the Captains out to the middle to inspect the toss and advise the captain on what decision he should make. Harry won the toss and after consulting team chatty man Brodie he decided to bat.

In the absence of Douglas, Cameron had a new opening partner in the shape of Gregor F. The duo got the side off to another steady start, taking the team to 123-1 after their 4 overs. Their departure brought the arrival of Adam and Zack to the crease.  Adam seemed particularly motivated this Friday, this may have been down the fact he was playing against his school mates. This extra motivation proved costly for the Watsonians side, Adam smacked the ball to all areas of the park and added a staggering 45 to the teams total. 168-2 off 8. It was an impressive and entertaining four overs for the travelling parent support.

However after Adam and Zack departed, the innings was steadied by some tight Watsons bowling but also some cautious Carlton batting. Broadie and Euan took the side to 176-3 off 12. It was an extremely respectable total as it was, however Muzz and Harry did not seem content and they went on the attack again. They didn’t match the hitting abilities that Adam had displayed however what they lacked in power they made up for in touch and running between the wickets. They added another 33 runs to the Carlton total taking them to 209 off 16 overs.

The Carlton side continued the momentum picking up wickets regularly through the Watsonians innings, a strong fielding performance from the side set the standard for other matches. The Carlton bowlers stuck to their lines and lengths throughout the innings and kept Watsonians down to only 112-6.

It was a clinical performance from the boys and was very impressive to watch. They beat Watsonians by 97 runs.

This was a rare Thursday night outing for the Under 11’s in a rearranged match against SMRH at Inverleith.  SMRH won the toss and put Carlton in to bat on the artificial wicket.  The first pair of Douglas and Gregor W put on a fine 22 and were perhaps a little unlucky to lose a wicket due to a calling mix up on the last ball.  Next up were Adam and Muz who put on 55, in part due to some fortuitous byes and overthrows, the highlight being Adam’s 6 aimed straight at the watching Carlton parents on the boundary!  Next up were Gregor F and Fabian who added a further 20 without loss against probably SMRH’s best bowling pair.  Last up were Brodie and Zack who took their chances well, hitting a few boundaries and taking the Carlton total to 129.

Douglas and Gregor W opened the bowling and some sharp fielding bought a run out in the first over.  Both bowled tightly to restrict the total off the first 4 overs to 19 runs.  Next on were Gregor F and Fabian.  Gregor opened with a maiden, while a good throw by Muz brought a run out in Fabian’s first over.  Gregor then picked up a wicket before Fabian went for just one run in his final over.  The next two bowlers up were Adam and Muz who were a little expensive in the byes and overthrows department, but Adam still managed to pick up a wicket and was perhaps a little unfortunate not to get an lbw decision in his favour.  That left the final overs to Zack and Brodie who gave up his wicket keeping duties to bowl and promptly took a wicket with his first ball, following that up with another from his last ball of the over and finishing with figures of 2 for 3.

Overall it was an assured performance with everyone contributing well to the team effort, epitomised by the enthusiastic encouragement in the field.

East of Scotland XI won by 3 runs

Photos

In the midst of our 150th Cricket Week the Under 11’s somehow found time to squeeze in a rearranged league match against West Lothian CCC in Linlithgow.

Carlton won the toss and batted, setting an excellent total of 180 including the loss of 5 wickets. Harry and Gregor F got the innings off to a good start with a partnership of 22 against good bowling, to which they both contributed boundaries. Pete and Euan showed good technique with excellent shots on the off-side, although their total of 27 would have been much better but for two daft run-outs... Hopefully an important lesson was learned: you don’t have to run on every ball! Muz and Fabian continued well with a partnership of 14 before captain Gregor Mc and debutant Cameron rounded things off with another 27, of which Gregor Mc hit 17 including 3 boundaries.

However, it was the Carlton performance in the field, following a rain break, which was particularly impressive, for the all-round quality and accuracy of the bowling. They held a useful West Lothian side to a total of only 135 including the loss of 8 wickets. The opening pair of Euan and Fabian both took wickets – Fabian had a double wicket maiden in his first over, generating some steep bounce off a good length to have one of his victims adroitly caught behind by Harry (on what was hard to believe was his wicket-keeping debut). Next was a very impressive bowling debut from Cameron, who made the step-up from that morning’s kwik cricket festival look deceptively easy and conceded only 4 runs in his first two overs. Gregor F bowled also bowled accurately to contain the batting. Gregor Mc and Pete both got wickets although they also conceded some boundaries to West Lothian’s strongest batter. Having earlier suffered from a muscle strain, Pete showed the miraculous healing power that the prospect of a wicket can have when he took a sharp C&B for his second wicket. It was left to Muz to close out the innings with two tight overs for only 4 runs, with Cameron and Fabian each having an extra over at the other end.

Overall this was a great performance with everyone contributing well. The boys’ enthusiastic but sporting team spirit in the field was particularly impressive.