Cheeky wee weekend for Carlton

Played 5, won 4 – that was the Carlton return from a busy a weekend of cricket played, for the most part, in fine summer weather.

Steve Gilmour starred for the first eleven as they trounced Ferguslie to stay in touch at the top of the table. He took 5 for 27 as the home side were restricted to 138 for 9. Carlton cruised to the win with Woody hitting 48 not out, Bryn 33 and skipper Jamie Kerr 25 not out.

Our 2nd XI had mixed fortunes, as they faced up to Murrayfield DAFS in the league on Saturday and Musselburgh in the President’s Plate semi-final on Sunday. After bowling the visitors out on Saturday for 175, the home side’s top order collapsed against DAFS for the second season in succession. At 19 for 6, Steven Elder joined the softly spoken Fergus Guppy and the pair put on 101 before Fergus was caught going for a big shot. Eventually the 2s fell just short with Steven last man out for 62.

Next day, chasing just 93 to win, the top order failed spectacularly again and it was left to Fergus and Steven to see the side home once more.

Our 3rd XI turned their game around in remarkable fashion at Goldenacre on Saturday. With over 100 on the board and only 1 wicket down things looked bleak. However, tight bowling and excellent fielding rattled the home side and Heriot’s 3rd XI were soon dismissed for 186. That man Brent Lockie was in great form again, scoring 80 and with skipper Akeel hitting his highest score of the season before retiring with cramp, Carlton ran out winners by 4 wickets.

It was a great day for juniors at Grange Loan on Sunday as our 4th XI, featuring no fewer than 5 of our Under 13 squad, had a comfortable win over Preston Village. Neil Irvine-Hess picked up 2 wickets to add to the 3 earned by his dad Bob.

However the star of the day was young Chayank ‘Cheeky’ Gosain whose first two overs were wicket maidens. He changed the pattern slightly in his third over as he picked up 2 more wickets to finish with figures of 4 for none off his three overs.

In reply, veteran Grigor Brown (he plays for the Under 15s!) hit 53 as he shared a match winning stand with Keith Murray (29).

3 in a row for Cup Winners Carlton.

Carlton picked up the Masterton Trophy for the third year in succession when they beat Grange by 43 runs in the final at Grange Loan on Thursday night.

Man of the Match Fraser Watts hit two big sixes - one of which had spectators scrambling for safety - on his way to 54. Tight bowling from all five home bowlers then strangled the Grange reply and enabled midweek skipper Jamie Kerr to lift the trophy once again.

Carlton now move on to the Murgitroyd national Twenty20 Cup finals day at Poloc Cricket Club on Sunday August 3. The other clubs participating are Clydesdale, Dunfermline & Dumfries.

The action starts at 10 a.m. with the first semi-final between Clydesdale and Dunfermline, with Carlton due to take to the field at 1pm against Dumfries in the second semi-final. The final then kicks off at 4pm. The club are hoping to run a supporters' bus on the day. Watch this space!

This weekend Carlton continue their Premier League title bid in Paisley as they play Ferguslie. Sitting in third place close behind Greenock and leaders Grange, Cedric English's side will be hoping for a dry day and a good performance.

At home on Saturday are Carlton 2s, who entertain Murrayfield DAFS before travelling to Mussleburgh on Sunday for their President's Plate semi-final. Akeel Aslam's 3rd XI cross the city to Heriot's on Saturday while our 4th XI entertain Preston Village 2s at Grange Loan on Sunday.

Good weekend all round.

For a while it looked like the same old story. Another wet Saturday, another Carlton home match and another 2 points for a no-result. However, late on Saturday morning the rain finally stopped and news drifted through from north of the city that the Grange game had been cancelled. Due to the great efforts of the groundstaff and the players, a massive mopping up operation paid dividends and the umpires were sufficiently satisfied to OK a 35 over per side match.

From the moment JK dispatched a ball over the wall in the first over it was clear that Carlton were determined not to let the opportunity pass and yet another fine English-Wooden partnership was the cornerstone of a total of 200 that the visitors never threatened.

While our 2s were spared a trip to a wet Fauldhouse thanks to an early morning call off, our 4th XI triumphed over Drummond Trinity 2s on the new artificial strip at Inverleith. With our four under 13s again starring in the field, DT were bowled out cheaply and Ali Scott’s 49, backed up by good knocks from youngsters Kyle and William, saw the 4s to a 6 wicket win.

On Sunday it was another success story for our youngsters, as our 3rd XI won a nail-biting match by one wicket against Boroughmuir 2s. Rajan Bhopal picked up 4 wickets and Fergus Whatley followed his impressive 9 overs of leg spin with an unbeaten 36 to see his side home. The final word though belonged to the slightly older Alan Murray, who had earlier picked up 3 wickets, as he skilfully ‘guided’ the ball just wide of slip to notch up the winning runs.

Poloc next up at Grange Loan .

This Saturday, Carlton entertain Poloc in a must win match. With just six games left – four of them at Grange Loan – there’s still all to play for at the top of the Premier League.

With Fraser Watts, who top scored with 75 at Poloc earlier in the season, skippering Scotland in Canada, Ben Duerden retains his place and Mo Afzal comes in to replace Tour de France fan Dave Robertson.

As always, the match starts at 1pm and admission is free.

Our second XI will hope that their trip west to Fauldhouse doesn’t fall victim to the weather on Saturday as they aim to follow up last week’s good win over Glenrothes. When the two sides met earlier in the season, Carlton won a thriller thanks to a remarkable partnership between Nathan Pietsch and Omar Ahmad. Also on Saturday, Carlton 4s take on Drummond Trinity 2s at Inverleith.

On Sunday, a youth-laden 3rd XI will entertain Boroughmuir 2nd XI at Grange Loan with a 1.30 pm start.

2s the only winners but Fraser hits top form for Scotland.

Carlton’s title aspirations were dealt a heavy blow on Saturday when they lost out to Heriot’s by 5 wickets at Goldenacre. Batting first on a challenging track, the visitors stuttered to 154 all out, with Bryn Lockie top scoring with 37. Defending such a low total required every chance to be held – unfortunately that wasn’t the case and Heriot’s passed the total with 2 balls to spare.

Brad McKay’s 2nd XI got back to winning ways at Grange Loan as they trounced Glenrothes by 7 wickets. Top bowler once again was Tom Clarke. He and Chris Hoefling both picked up 3 wickets as Glenrothes were dismissed for 99. A fine unbeaten 60 by the returning AJ Williams saw Carlton home with plenty to spare.

Fife once again proved an unhappy hunting ground for the 3s as they were pipped in a thriller at Dunfermline. Ian Thompson’s valiant 46 wasn’t quite enough as the 3s lost out by just 6 runs.

On Sunday, the prolific young and not-quite-so-young partnership of Kyle Macpherson and Brent Lockie were to the fore again, putting on 64 for the first wicket. Unfortunately, wickets tumbled thereafter as the home side could only muster 110. Some top bowling from young debutant Neil Irvine-Hess, ably backed up by his dad Bob, almost dragged Carlton back into it but the visitors won by 3 wickets.

In sunnier climes, Fraser Watts led from the front as he skippered Scotland to victory in the 4 day Inter Continental Cup clash in Bermuda. Fraser top scored in both innings as he racked up 176 in the match.

Fraser and the Scotland side head to Canada next, while his Carlton team mates are in action in the rearranged 20:20 Murgatroyd Masterton Trophy Final on Thursday at Grange Loan. Play gets underway at 6.15 pm and admission is free.

Rain the winner on Saturday. Under 13s go so close on Sunday.

Rain was the only winner on a miserable weekend in the East of Scotland with all 4 senior Carlton sides washed out. Our first and second teams both played for just 14 overs on Saturday before the rains came, while our 4s survived for 30 overs at Clackmannan County, which was enough time for Brent Lockie to hit 60 not out.

On Sunday, our 3s home tie with Murrayfield DAFS was washed out without a ball being bowled. Meanwhile up in Perthshire, our U13s recorded a fine win over Huntly in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final at Glenalmond College. William Brown, Kyle Macpherson and Gair Currie all hit 30s before retiring under the rules of age-group cricket.

With only a ten minute break between matches, Carlton found the going tougher in the final against a talented Clydesdale side.

Skipper William led from the front again with another unbeaten 30 as his team posted 90 off their 20 overs. However a few chances and half-chances went begging early on and Clydesdale edged home by six wickets after a few nervy moments. All in all, it was a great performance by the Carlton youngsters, with their superb fielding reaching new heights during both matches.

There’s another cup final ahead this week as Carlton’s senior side take on local rivals Grange in the final of the 20:20 Murgatroyd Masterton Trophy at Grange Loan on Thursday. The match starts at 6.15pm and the barbecue will be in operation with the bar open as well. 20:20 skipper Jamie Kerr will be looking to repeat his side’s performance of last season when they beat Grange in the final.

All eyes on Clydesdale

Following last’s weeks emphatic win over Ayr, Carlton are at home again this Saturday. They take on Clydesdale, keen to gain revenge for their Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of the same opponents last month. In a thrilling match at Grange Loan in the cup, the match was in the balance up until the last ball when big-hitting Michael Radnidge failed to land the ball in the road for the third time in the over.

Carlton will feel they can do much better in the league on Saturday, with a number of batsmen in prime form and all the bowlers amongst the wickets in recent weeks. As always, the admission is free and the action starts at 1pm.

Also on Saturday, our 2s travel across town to play old rivals Grange 2s while our 4th XI will hope to put last week’s batting collapse behind them as they visit Clackmannan County 2s.

On Sunday, our 3rd XI entertain Murray field DAFS 3 at Grange Loan at 1.30. Elsewhere, there is a big day for our Under 13s at Glenalmond as they play Huntly Highlanders in the Scottish Cup semi final. The winners of that match go forward to the final later in the day to play either Clydesdale or Grange. Good luck to William and his team.

English back with a bang

At Grange Loan on Saturday, Carlton shrugged off the early loss of Fraser Watts for 0, to post an impressive 255 for 6. The key to the total was a commanding 3rd wicket partnership of 170 between Cedric English and Bryn Lockie.

In reply, only Kiwi pro Matt Horne looked able to threaten the Carlton total and when Cedric removed him for 69 on the way to figures of 3 for 23, the match was all but over. Woody chipped in with 3 for 16 as the home side ran out winners by 96 runs.

Fife proved to be an unhappy hunting ground for Carlton as our 2s and 3s both failed on their trips north. The 2s posted 189 for 6, with good knocks from Ben Duerden (again) and Mo Afzal. However, it proved to be insufficient as Freuchie won by 4 wickets.

Meanwhile, our 3s started well in their top of the table clash at Broomhall, removing star batsman Jamie Grant for a golden duck. However, the home side recovered to post 211, a total that Akeel’s side never threatened as Carlton were unable to build any partnerships of note.

At Kirk Brae, the home batsmen chanced their arm to build a promising looking total before skipper James Hilton and Ali Scott combined to pick up 5 wickets between them. The 4s approached the target of 138 with confidence but a series of rash shots saw them stumble to a disappointing 97 all out. Top scorer was Dave Prosser with 22.

(No, honestly ...)

All to play for at the halfway stage

The disappointment of last week’s No Result against Watsonians was fresh in Cedric English’s mind when he delivered his half-term report to the Carlton website.

“Every season we say the same thing, 'where did the last 9 weeks go?' Last weekend against Watsons was undeniably a disappointment on two points. The first was personal as having to sit out of a game due to injury is never easy. I guess you could call me a control freak, so as you can imagine, a control freak twiddling his thumbs is never a pretty sight!

Secondly, I thought the way the game finished was not good for the game and yet another nail in the coffin of the fixed points ruling. Having played on in the rain from the 11th or 12th over only to come off in the 19th does make a 'no result' an even more bitter pill to swallow. If we were to have come off for the rain it should have been sooner so no questions could have been asked.”

There was much better news for Fraser Watts during the week as he was named as skipper of the Scotland squad that will visit Bermuda and Canada on Inter-Continental Cup duty next month. Fraser has already skippered Scotland to victory on the big stage, as they beat Lancashire at Old Trafford earlier in the season, and everyone at Carlton wishes him all the best in the next stage of his international captaincy career.

While Scotland’s gain will be Carlton’s loss, Cedric remains confident going into the second half of the season:

“There are still 9 weeks left in the season and much can happen in that time. We will be missing Fraser for much of July as he departs for sunshine and Scotland duty. We wish him all the best. I do feel there are teams in the league who will be hit harder than ourselves with respect to Scotland callups therefore I still believe the league is there for the taking. Rain, rain stay away! “

Meanwhile, Carlton progressed to the final of the Murgatroyd Masterton T20 Trophy on Thursday with a comfortable win over Stenhousemuir. Good knocks from Rob Thornton and Fraser Watts – whose highlight was a massive straight six over Lovers Loan – took Carlton to 133 for 7 off their 20 overs. Despite a promising start from Glenn Rogers, the visitors were never up with the required rate and Carlton ran out deserved winners.

Rain delivers a cruel blow

Carlton stuck to the task well in the field on Saturday when they entertained Watsonians and restricted the visitors to 205. With rain on the way, openers Fraser Watts and Ben Duerden (in for the injured Cedric English) constructed a finely judged partnership of 66 off 19 overs to ensure they were ahead on Duckworth/Lewis calculations. However, with the rain beginning to get heavier and still one over to go until a valid result could be declared, the umpires decided to take the players off.

To make matters worse, closest rivals Grange played just 3 overs more at Raeburn Place to win their match on Duckworth/Lewis while Greenock skittled Ayr for just 46. So, 10 points each for Grange and Greenock and just 2 for Carlton.

Any academic wishing to conduct a study on the relationship between motivation and performance should have been at Goldenacre on Saturday to watch our 2s. Cider makers, Magners, had announced that anyone hitting 50 on midsummer’s day in the East League Division One would win a case of cider. To nobody’s great surprise, Fergus Guppy– whose Carlton career to date has not exactly been awash with half-centuries – suddenly batted like Kevin Pietersen to smash an unbeaten 73 and drag his side to a respectable 187. Sadly, the rain ensured there was no result ensuring Ferg had more free time to anticipate delivery of the crate of his favourite tipple.

At Inch Park, Brent Lockie had his first competitive outing of the season as the 4s took on Edinburgh South 2nd XI. Brent hit 76 as his side racked up 222 for 6 off 40 overs. In reply, the home side were 85 for 4 off 21 when the rain came.

On Sunday, the heavy overnight rain took another casualty as the covers were unable to cope with the deluge and the intended pitch for the 3s clash with Grange 4s was declared unplayable. A new strip was hastily prepared and Grange were soon bundled out for just 68. Ian Thompson and the rapidly maturing Nick Martin then knocked off the runs without loss to put the 3s title bid back on track.

JK ready for Watsonians

Fresh from a morale boosting victory over Grange at Raeburn Place last week, Carlton will feel that their season is back on track. However, there will be nothing taken for granted against bottom club Watsonians when they visit Grange Loan on Saturday.

The visitors’ points tally doesn’t reflect some of the performances they’ve put in so far this season and indeed they left Grange Loan as victors last time they were here on league duty in 2006.

Carlton, however, are full of confidence following a great all-round team performance at Grange. The turning point of that match was the dismissal of Grange pro Warren McSkimming, thanks to a brilliant leg-side stumping from Jamie Kerr off a wide ball from Dave Robertson. While Robbo just smiles when asked about his part in the dismissal he, like his team mates, is full of praise for the Carlton keeper.

Jamie, who represented Scotland B against Yorkshire 2nd XI in midweek, shows fantastic reflexes up to the stumps and he’s already got a phenomenal 10 league stumpings under his belt this season. He’ll be looking to add to that tally tomorrow when he’s sure to be in the thick of the action at Grange Loan.

Meanwhile, Brad McKay’s 2nd XI travel to Heriot’s, anxious to get their title bid back on track following back to back defeats against Edinburgh Accies and Watsonians. Also on Saturday, the 4th XI head to Edinburgh South keen to keep up their recent sparkling form.

Finally, on Sunday, Akeel Aslam - who is desperately keen to point out that his side only lost out last week because he had to send one of his players to Raeburn Place as a substitute fielder for the 1sts - will lead out the 3rd XI at Grange Loan against Grange 4s.

Carlton bounce back to second

Carlton stopped the rot in spectacular fashion on Saturday with a superb win at title chasing Grange. Cedric English shrugged off a hamstring injury to hit 57, while Jamie Kerr and Michael Radnidge put the foot on the accelerator over the last 5 overs to help their team post a healthy 240. A fine bowling and fielding performance saw the hosts dismissed for 200 and Carlton jump up to 2nd in the table.

Not such good news elsewhere as our 2s suffered the agony of a one run defeat at Watsonians, despite a maiden century from Ben Duerden and an excellent spell of left arm spin from Tom Clarke. Down at Leith Links, good batting from John Barnes and Fraser Boyd was followed by accurate bowling from Dave Carter and Rajan Bhopal to put Carlton 3s in a seemingly impregnable position after three quarters of the match. However, the 3rd XI thereafter imploded spectacularly to lose only their second game of the season.

Much better results from the juniors on Friday evening though, as our Under 13s won through to the Scottish Cup semi-final following an entertaining victory at holders Kinross, while our U15s progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a crushing win over Corstorphine.

Finally, there was the strange - and frustrating - sight of Grange Loan standing empty on Saturday afternoon as the 4s’ opponents, Preston Village 2s, failed to turn up as they thought the match was on Sunday!

There was action at Grange Loan on Sunday, as our Sunday XI faced our old friends the Woodcutters, winning an entertaining match in which some of our youngest players played starring roles.

Carlton's new boys take centre stage

By a strange quirk of fixturing, this Saturday sees all 4 senior Carlton sides playing in Edinburgh. Cedric English's side visit old rivals Grange in an intriguing derby clash, while our 2nd XI, led by Brad McKay, will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they travel to Myreside to take on Watsonians 2nd XI. And with Akeel Aslam's table topping 3rd XI travelling to Leith the Grange Loan ground belongs - for once - to our 4th XI.

Skipper Alan Murray took some time out this week to explain what the 4th XI is all about: "The 4s are normally made up of a mixture of youth & experience. Typically the older guys mainly are looking to enjoy their cricket and let the kids do most of the running!"

However, there's much more to the role of the youngsters than chasing leather. "We started the 4s this year to take on the remit that the 3s originally had - providing juniors with an introduction to senior cricket. The strength of the club in the last couple of years had meant that opportunities were limited, despite the junior section turning out a wealth of talented youngsters.

With almost half of the season gone, it seemed a good time to ask Alan how the reality of life with the 4s was matching up to his original vision. Happily, his response was very positive:

"To gauge the success of this I think we have to look at the 3s & 4s together. The 3s are probably playing more youngsters this year than last, partly due to the maturing of certain players who are now able to make a major contribution in Div 5, but also because the 4s can accommodate some of the older guys. It's taken a wee while to get the balance right between the two sides, but we're definitely moving in the right direction."

As someone who carries out a huge amount of unseen work behind the scenes to keep the club on an even keel off the field, you might be forgiven for thinking that the last thing Alan needs on a Saturday is the challenge of captaining Carlton's newest side. But he genuinely seems to enjoy the challenge.

"In the old days the key skill of the skipper of the lowest team was the ability to get 11 faint pulses on the park on a Saturday. What happened after that was the easy bit. Nowadays it's a lot easier due to the support of the junior coaches in identifying suitable targets for phone calls on a Thursday or Friday night. I guess we are also more interested in trying to make sure everybody gets something to do. It's not always possible, especially in tight matches, but our job is to develop players and that has to happen by doing, not watching. The only other real challenge for the skipper is juggling the batting order so that we always have enough adults (or competent juniors) available to umpire!"

And the highlight of the season so far?

"For me it was last week at Leith. Not just the result (we won), but the performances of the youngsters in the side. Although it was 2 older players who scored 50s, young Saif Azhar batted longer than he had ever done before and although he only scored 9 he was involved in the biggest partnership of the game. Iain, Craig & Haris were making their senior debuts and they fielded magnificently, along with the other juniors, and this kept the pressure on the chasing side and eventually won us the game."

Alan does take a break from time to time for family reasons, when he hands the captaincy over to James Hilton when the 4s play out of Edinburgh. "It's only fair to pay tribute to James. He adds considerable quality to the side, both in terms of playing ability and also captaincy when I have family commitments (and also when I don't). He also appreciates exactly what we're trying to do with the side and is a big help to the youngsters."

1s and 2s falter; 3s and 4s march on

After posting a reasonable 213 at Uddingston – thanks mainly to 114 from Peter Wooden –and having removed Uddingston’s prolific Ed Cowan cheaply, there was reason for optimism for Carlton on Saturday. However, not for the first time, Paul Hoffman proved to be the thorn in Carlton’s side, hitting a rapid unbeaten 41 to see the home side to victory.

Our 2nd XI also lost out, failing to capitalise on a steady start from the openers to end on a rather paltry 135 all out. A brave effort in the field saw Edinburgh Accies pushed all the way, eventually finishing as rather relieved winners by 3 wickets.

Carlton 3s went clear at the top of Division 5 with a big win over their Falkland counterparts at Roseburn. AJ Williams fought off a hangover and a streaker to hit a fine half century, while Martin Robertson thumped a brutal 40. Rajan Bhopal then hinted at his exciting potential, picking up 4 wickets in two fine spells.

There were also 50s for Shaun Barrett and James Hilton as our 4s won a thriller over Leith FAB 3s at Leith Links. This was a particularly pleasing result as the Carlton side featured no fewer than four under 13s.

Our even younger players had a win of their own on Saturday, beating the George Watson’s primary team.

In Sunday's Scottish Cup tie, Carlton would have been reasonably pleased to restrict Clydesdale to 244 after they looked to be heading for 280 at one point. A quality spell from Charles Leggett was the highlight of the Carlton effort. In reply, Fraser Watts looked to be in great form but when he was caught on the boundary the run rate slowed dramatically. In the end Carlton were left with too much to do, although Michael Radnidge almost saw us to a remarkable victory, hitting two thumping sixes in the final over but failing to repeat the feat off the last ball.

Spotlight falls on Carlton 2s this weekend

This Saturday, Carlton 2nd XI entertain fellow title challengers Edinburgh Accies at Grange Loan. With Carlton 2s sitting on top of the East of Scotland league, it's little wonder that skipper Brad McKay is a happy man.

"I'm delighted with how the season has gone so far. We've had a few close shaves and won games that we really had no right to win, which shows the determination and confidence the team has. Given that we've chased and won four times this season, we've come a long way as this hasn't happened in the past. We now have the confidence to believe we can win from just about any position. Plus, all team members have made telling contributions at different times."

Of course, winning streaks apart, captaining teams in the level below the SNCL is far from a bed of roses. Brad was happy to give an insight into just what the job entails:

"As Akeel and Alan will agree, the mobile phone becomes an integral part of your kitbag! I find that I start to relax when the game actually begins on a Saturday - after I've selected the team, made sure they are at the ground, set up the ground if at home, or figure out which mode of transport is required if away, lose the toss, decided on a batting order etc. The on field stuff comes a little more naturally so I can just run with it, with assistance from my vice captain and other senior players. Then afterwards, it's match return forms, phone calls from the newspaper, tidy the ground and then around half 9pm, I can finally have a beer!"

It's been part of the club's long-term plan to ensure our 2nd XI were playing at the highest level possible and victory in the East 2nd Division in 2006 saw Carlton 2s make their debut in the top tier last year. Brad feels that the team are now beginning to feel at home in the division.

"After our first season in Division 1 last year where we finished 6th, we've now adjusted to the standard of the Division. When we were promoted, we felt that we should at least be trying to match the other 2nd XI's and be the best of those - as those typically have the best cricket grounds. Some of the others take a lot of getting used to and didn't tend to favour our style of cricket. But we've shown we can adapt well - nobody thought we could chase 190 at Murrayfield DAFS recently!"

Although he's leading a successful side at the top of the table, Brad is discovering that success brings its own challenges. "Being the second team captain requires a reasonable amount of juggling. Because there are 16 or so players who are vying for places in the 1st XI, the pressure is on to perform. When this is coupled with the pressure coming from the 3's and 4's, which are full of talented young players, I'm usually trying to fit 18 names into 11 places! Of course, this should be a dream position as it highlights how strong the club is. The job does require good communication skills in trying to keep people happy and explaining the reason behind selections. And all the time I have to consider the bright future of the club as well as the present task of winning the league.

On the subject of winning the league, Brad believes that this week's clash could have a huge bearing on the outcome:"This is an important game for both teams. For us, a win will put a gap between us and Accies who are currently second. For Accies, they'll be keen to win the game as a boost to their hopes of winning the East and gaining promotion back to the SNCL. We'll prepare in the usual manner, and with the strength of the team and the club as a whole at the moment, I'm confident we can win."

Another win for table toppers Carlton 2s

A battling 92 from Fraser Watts wasn’t enough as Carlton slipped to 2nd place in the Premier League on Saturday following a 55 run defeat at Greenock. The team then missed out on an opportunity to bounce straight back when their Scottish Cup tie with Clydesdale fell victim to the Sunday monsoon.

Much better news from the 2nd XI, as they notched up their 5th straight win to tighten their grip at the top of the East League Division 1 table. Ani Majumdar provided the backbone of the innings with 79 and was well supported by Craig Marshall, Omar Ahmad and Guy Wiliamson. Tom Clarke turned in another impressive performance, picking up 3 for 18 off his 10 overs, as the Twos won by 73 runs.

 

On Friday evening, our Under 13s made the long trek to Fife, winning a tough match at Largo to move on to the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals. Their reward is another tough away trip – this time to holders Kinross. They clearly made a big impression on their hosts, whose own match report had the following to say about our youngsters on their website: “Carlton were a real credit to cricket in the way they played and behaved and we look forward to meeting them again in the future and also wish them the best of luck in the next round.”

And on Saturday morning some of our budding stars were to the fore as our Primary School team played out a thrilling tie with Edinburgh Academy. Ruari and Keshav impressed the watching 1st XI with a fine batting partnership, while a number of our bowlers turned in good spells.

Remarkably, with the help of our sporting hosts from Dunfermline, our 4th XI managed to play through the rain in Fife on Sunday and pulled off another good win.Sadly, the rain arrived just in time to wash out our 3s at Edinburgh Accies.

Big weekend ahead for Carlton.

While it would be wrong to say that the wheels came off the Carlton bandwagon last weekend, it certainly was an uncharacteristically poor performance as our 1st XI slumped to defeat against Ferguslie. One of the few players to escape the match with his reputation enhanced was Steve Gilmour, whose entertaining unbeaten 42, which contained a couple of big sixes, helped Carlton post a reasonable total.

Steve is convinced that Saturday’s defeat will not be preying on his team mates’ minds as they approach two important weekend fixtures; travelling to Greenock on league duty on Saturday before entertaining Clydesdale in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

“Let’s just say we've learnt from last Saturday,” he says. “Everyone is keen to look forward and get stuck in this weekend.”

After being promoted to opener a couple of times already this season, Steve was pleased to be back in the middle order on Saturday. “I think my best spot is in the middle order as I like to try and hit the gaps and run hard between the wickets, which is important in the later overs. It was good to get a few against Ferguslie - I don't really hit many sixes so I really enjoyed them!”

If you ask anyone at Carlton, they’ll tell you that Steve is a real team-player and when asked for his personal ambitions for the season his answer said a lot about the man: “My aim is simply to do everything I can to help Carlton win the league and cup this season.”

And when it comes to the Scottish Cup match at Grange Loan on Sunday, Steve won’t be lacking motivation. ”Playing in the final last year was a great experience for the team,” he says. “However it was my 3rd time losing in a Scottish cup final, so I'm determined to go one better this year!”

1s slip up but wins all round elsewhere

It was a case of a bad day at the office for Carlton at Grange Loan on Saturday, as they batted, bowled and fielded poorly to slump to defeat to Ferguslie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 4 for 2, having lost Darren Spink and, rather unluckily, Peter Wooden, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for Carlton. Ced battled hard for his 48 and a fine, hard-hitting 42 from Steve Gilmour late on dragged us up to 185 but, despite a good opening spell from Michael Radnidge, it was never going to be enough.

Better news on Saturday from Muirhouse, however, as our 2s  - with three 16 year olds in the side - chased down a challenging 190 against Murrayfield DAFS to stay top of the East League. On the same day, our 4s returned to winning ways with a good win over the water at Kismet.

And on Sunday, Akeel Aslam’s 3s recorded their third win on the bounce with a thumping win over Heriot’s 3s.

Rad looks forward to Saturday

Anyone meeting teenage Aussie Michael Radnidge is immediately struck by the level of maturity he shows for one so young. There’s a determined edge to everything he does and this approach has helped him settle into Scottish cricket remarkably quickly, with 6 wickets for Carlton at an average of less than 20 already this season.

“This is my first time in the UK, so I think I’ve performed pretty well so far”, says Michael. “I would like to have had a bit more luck and some better figures with the ball but I’m yet to go wicketless, so I’ll take that.”

‘Rad’ is also an enthusiastic coach at the three midweek junior coaching sessions at Grange Loan and, already, he’s a big fan of the club … and the city: “Carlton has a great group of guys to play with and kids to coach. And Edinburgh is probably the best city I’ve ever lived in or visited.”

Under no illusions about the tough challenge posed by Ferguslie on Saturday, the young man from Sydney has a healthy respect for Scottish cricket: “So far, I’ve found that every team has a few really good players,” although he quickly adds: “Whereas Carlton have 11 really good players!”

While he’s only been in the country for a handful of weeks, Michael already feels the trip is going to pay off in terms of his cricket development: “I can see the benefits already. Learning to adjust to different conditions and bowling to different styles of batting will be a massive advantage for when I head back home.”

Meanwhile there was good news for both our U13s and U15s over the last 7 days as both picked up league wins while also winning through to the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup.

1s and 2s stay top

On Saturday Carlton won a tight encounter at Poloc with good innings from Fraser Watts and Peter Wooden setting a decent total for the hosts to chase. Once again, accurate bowling in the latter part of the match was enough to see Carlton home, with two wickets apiece for Michael Radnidge, Peter Wooden and Steve Gilmour.

The following day, Carlton ensured there were no slip ups against the Scotland U19s with a comfortable win, based on clinical 100s from Cedric and Woody.

Our 2nd XI maintained their winning league ways with a dramatic win over Fauldhouse at Grange Loan on Saturday. A remarkable 9th wicket partnership between Nathan Pietsch and Omar Ahmad took Carlton to victory when all had seemed lost.

 

 

 

 

On Sunday a scratch 2nd XI side lost a Presidents Trophy match they should have won after setting Edinburgh CC 2nd XI a challenging 201 to win at Leith Academy.

Our 3s had their match cancelled mid-morning on Saturday when their opponents unilaterally called off the match because of the weather. Our 4s probably wished their match at the Meadows had been called off when they were well beaten by an impressive Dunbar outfit.

Better news for our juniors over the weekend as our U13s progressed in the Scottish Cup on Friday, while our U15s notched up another win at Heriots on Sunday.

Double header weekend for Carlton

It’s a Premier League double header for Carlton this weekend as they travel to Poloc, before hosting the Scotland U19 side at Grange Loan on the following day. The aim for Saturday will be to make it three wins out of three in the West, following victories on the road at Ayr and Clydesdale so far this season.

And on Sunday there should be little chance of Carlton taking the Scotland U19s lightly after their stunning win at champions Greenock last Sunday. Carlton’s Ally Evans will face his U19 colleagues after featuring in the youngsters’ 3 league matches so far.

Carlton, of course, sit proudly on top of the league following their rain interrupted win over Heriot’s last weekend. Centurion Peter Wooden gave an insight into his determination to succeed when it was suggested to him that he marked his first century for Carlton in a rather subdued fashion: “Well, it’s just a century isn’t it? The most important thing was to go on and win the match. To be honest, I was disappointed it’s taken me so long to notch a hundred for Carlton. I just hope it’s the first of many!”

Carlton 2nd XI also have a double header this weekend, entertaining Fauldhouse before travelling to the north of the city to play Edinburgh CC in a Presidents Cup tie on Sunday. Our 3rds travel to Roseburn to take on Boroughmuir 2s on Saturday, while our 4s host Dunbar at the Meadows on the same day.

Carlton go clear at top of table

On a day of wildly fluctuating weather conditions, Carlton went 7 points clear at the top of the SNCL following a fine win over Heriot’s.

Carlton batted first and the experienced duo of English and Wooden had to battle hard as the ball moved around in the humid conditions. In the second half of the innings, both batsmen upped the scoring rate as 73 for 1 after 25 overs became 244 for 3 after 50, with Man of the Match Woody hitting his first century for Carlton, ending on 130 not out.

Following a thunderstorm, Heriot’s batted in damp and gloomy conditions and were unable to lift the scoring rate sufficiently against disciplined and accurate bowling from all the Carlton attack.

Our 2nd XI returned from Glenrothes with a hard fought win. 4 for 15 for Nathan Pietsch while Tom Clarke and skipper Brad McKay picked up 3 wickets apiece as the home side were dismissed for 142. In a tense finish, the twos earned a 2 wicket win with 20s for Siddique, Williamson and Pietsch.

At the Meadows, it was a different skipper and another 3-for with Alan Murray picking up 3 for 14, supported by leggie Fergus with 2 for 22. Chasing 121 to win Carlton 4s were undone by the thunderstorm, which brought the match to a premature end.

On Sunday, excellent performances from Tom Barrett and Fergus Guppy took Carlton 3s to a an important win over previously unbeaten Dunfermline 2s at Grange Loan. And earlier in the day our U15s notched up an impressive Scottish Cup victory at old rivals Watsonians.

Premier League action at Grange Loan this Saturday

This weekend sees the first Premier League action of the season at Grange Loan as table toppers Carlton take on capital rivals Heriot’s. The match starts at 1pm and admission, as always, is free.

Club captain Cedric English believes that this season’s side are well worth watching: “As Club Captain for the 6th year out of my 11 seasons at Carlton I truly feel that we have now gathered together a group of cricketers that will not only test any opposition but will also be a joy to watch.  In particular, I think our youngsters could learn a lot from watching them.”

This week sees the home debut of two new players, plus the return of a familiar face. Cedric believes all three will have a big role to play on the coming months.

"The season has started well for us with us comfortably winning our first two away games. As Captain of a team your players can make life difficult or easy, the 1st team makes my life easy and the success of team can rarely be put down to one player.

Fraser Watts has returned to Carlton this year and has already scored a hundred against Ayr and as you might know Fraser captained Scotland to a great win against Lancashire on the weekend.

Another of the 'new boys' is Darren Spink who joins us from Arbroath. Darren has also represented Scotland and is an exciting player to watch both with the bat and in the field. Our new amateur for the season is young Michael 'Rad' Radnidge who loves to run in and give it his all. All a captain wants is commitment to the task from his players and Rad gives me this.

These guys are just a few of a very good bunch of cricketers and I urge you to come and watch us take on Heriot’s.  We’ve always had a good game against our city rivals and I'm sure we’ll not disappoint.  I believe this is our year for the league title.”

In other news this week, Head Coach Peter Wooden presented the U11 Lothian Indoor Trophy to skipper Haris. Our Under 11s finished joint winners of the trophy after tying a pulsating final with Watsonians in March.

And on Wednesday evening, our U15s began their defence of the Lothian League title with a crushing win over a young Edinburgh Accies side. Rajan Bhopal top scoring with a fine unbeaten half century.

4 out of 5 on Saturday as 1st XI win again

Carlton shrugged off the absence of Fraser Watts, who was travelling south with the Saltires, to win at Clydesdale on Saturday 3rd May. Peter Wooden demonstrated his love of all things Scottish, particularly early season wickets, by taking 5 for 20 and helping restrict Clydesdale to 125 for 9 in their rain-restricted 44 overs. After a difficult start, experience carried the day for Carlton with 50 from Bryn Lockie and 36 from Jamie Kerr seeing us home with 12 overs to spare

Our 2s posted a challenging 195 against old rivals Grange 2s at Grange Loan thanks to good knocks from Craig Marshall, Ben Duerden and Guy Wiliamson. Nathan Pietsch picked up 3 wickets to dent the Grange reply and some tight bowling and fielding saw Carlton home by 16 runs.

A Dave Carter inspired 3rd XI had a comfortable win at Roseburn against MF DAFS, while our 4s, playing on the adjoining pitch, only just failed to defend 74 against Peebles 2.

Earlier in the day our Primary school team had performed well to defeat Edinburgh Academy.

And on Sunday, a Carlton XI won a close and enjoyable friendly against a Musselburgh XI.

Fraser to captain Saltires

Our very own Fraser Watts has already had a fine international career. He's been capped 126 times, he's smashed Makhaya Ntini for 6 in the World Cup and he top scored for Scotland in the Twenty20 World Cup. However, this weekend the absence of Ryan Watson brings yet another honour to Fraser as the selectors have asked him to captain the Scottish Saltires.

"I'm obviously very excited with the prospect of captaining Scotland for the first time; it's a great honour to be chosen to lead the side in Ryan's absence" he said. "I captained sides throughout my junior career at South Morningside and Carlton and always had it in the back of my mind that I would like to get the opportunity to do it for the national side."

The Saltires travel to Derbyshire on Sunday and then move on to Old Trafford on Monday to play the might of Lancashire. As you would expect of Fraser he is looking forward to the challenge: "It's going to be tough but I feel I'm ready to step up to the plate and do a good job, I'm also lucky that I'll have lots of senior players to give me some help when I need it. I'm looking forward to the challenges that present themselves over the weekend and hopefully we can return north with a couple of wins under our belts."

Mixed fortunes on opening weekend

Faced with a trip to a soggy Ayr, Carlton got their SNCL title bid off to a great start with a big win. Fraser Watts' patient innings of 117 and an impressive 3 wickets for Ally Evans being the highlights.

At Grange Loan on Saturday our 2s batting failed to fire although the bowlers performed well trying to defend a total of just 77.

The following day our 3s also lost out at home, although their young side will feel a little unlucky as one opposition batsman scored 2/3rds of his side's runs.

 

Our new 4th XI celebrated their East League debut in style with a thumping away win against Broomhall 2s. Youngster Saif Azhar and Ali Scott taking 4 wickets apiece.

And on Saturday morning a very young and inexperienced Primary School side

performed brilliantly to score an 8 wicket win over Stewarts Melville.

Pre-season action

On a typical January day in April, a Carlton XI was in action at Edinburgh South.

The council had dutifully cut a strip ready for play but after a few practice deliveries had taken out more divots than Hugh Parker on the golf course, the decision was taken to switch to the artificial strip. Only one problem: someone had cut a neat square out of the surface on a good length.

With all the deliveries bowled from one end, Carlton bowled tidily at the outset with youngsters Cameron Simpson and William Brown impressing along with the much(!) older Alistair Duncan. As the opposition went after the bowling later on, Carlton were left with too much to do when batting, although Simpson and Brown both batted well to underline their all-rounder potential.

At Grange Loan, a hardy bunch of senior players braved the icy wind to get in some much needed practice. Woody, fresh off the plane from Sydney, showed his mettle by playing in short-sleeves, while young Aussie Michael Radnidge bowled well although he must have wished he’d packed another couple of sweaters.

Top performer though was Jamie Kerr who had success with both bat and ball (honestly).

Click here for more pictures.

At Goldenacre our primary school team battled bravely before losing out by just one run to George Heriot’s.

Sunday saw a good run-out in damp conditions for a combination of 1st XI and 2nd XI players against Dunfermline CC with 4 wickets for Tom Clarke and two for overseas amateur Michael Radnidge.  In Carlton's reply, Cedric hit 38 & Peter Wooden, recently returned from a succesful season with his club in Sydney, scored 36, retiring to give the lower-order some batting practice.

Dunfermline 129 for 9, TE Clarke 4 for 19, M Radnidge 2 for 20
Carlton 122 all out, CV English 38, PM Wooden 36 (rtd), S. Fryer 5 for 31

Woody's Summer Camp is back for 2008!

**UPDATED**

After the great success of last summer we are running two cricket camps this season.

Information Poster

Download the Registration Form

The camps are open to boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 13. Whether an experienced junior player or complete beginner, sign up to learn the secrets of the game from the Carlton coaching team, led by Australian Professional Peter Wooden. The team aims to develop cricket skills through innovative games and drills providing lots of fun in a safe and friendly environment.

The camps run Monday to Thursday, 9.00am to 12.30pm at the ground at Grange Loan on the weeks beginning 14th and 28th July and are open to both members and non-members.

Hurry - places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis!

New artificial pitch installed

Installation of our new state of the art artificial pitch has been completed, with the laying of the top surface in glorious spring sunshine at Grange Loan. This installation is the first element of an ambitious investment plan scheduled to take place at the ground over the next few years.

After the pitch has completed its 2 week bedding down period, it will allow for increased practice on the square and will enable matches to take place in conditions when it would otherwise be impossible because of ground conditions. It will also provide a consistent surface for use in junior games.

Pre-season ground work

Although there are still nearly four weeks to go till the first games at Grange Loan (3rd XI v Musselburgh on 12 April and 1st XI v Penicuik on 13 April), work has been taking place for more than a month on preparing Grange Loan for the season.

A team of volunteers organised by Saltire Fraser Watts, with Team Leaders Guy Williamson, Steven Gilmour, Fergus Guppy and Tom Clarke, has been at the ground every weekend, when the weather permitted, tidying up the tree debris brought down by the gales and, most importantly cutting and rolling the square. Russell Weir has also been cutting the outfield; and fertiliser and worm treatment have been applied. So far the rolling has been with the cutting machines and the light roller; but the familiar summer sight of the heavy roller trundling across the square will soon be seen.

In the coming weeks, in addition to the intensive rolling, the team will be scarifying and marking out the square, putting the benches round the ground, putting the tops and the hoses on the covers and the labels on the scoreboard and sorting out the sight screen. Work on preparing the first pitches will begin in the next two weeks.

Having no full time groundsman, the Club relies heavily on voluntary labour in preparing pitches and maintaining the playing area and the surrounds. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with Fraser on groundhelp@carltoncc.co.uk.

2008 Fixtures ... and Results

The draw for the 2008 Masterton Trophy sees holders Carlton hosting Edinburgh CC. And our 2nd XI begin their assault on the President's Trophy with a trip to ... Edinburgh CC. To see the full draw for both competitions visit the new ESCA website.

This year's Scottish Cup draw sees Carlton start off with a home tie against fellow Premier League side Clydesdale. And full league fixtures for all our 4 senior XIs and our junior sides are now on the Fixtures page.

Also, our Under 13s got Carlton's 2008 campaign off to a winning start with a victory in their first outing in the Lothian Indoor Competition. A young side defeated Penicuik in a close encounter at Westwoods. Check out the details on our 2008 fixtures page.

Cricket Teas - Can you help?

Every cricketer will tell you that a fine cricket tea is as important a part of the summer as fiery fast bowlers and hard-hitting batsmen.

At Carlton, we have been fortunate over the years to have a wonderful team of talented tea-ladies and tea-lads. However, as fixtures have increased and more juniors coming through has increased the numbers of teams we put out, our current tea team is in dire need of reinforcements.

So if any WAGs, Mums, Grannies, Sisters or Aunties (or Dads, Grandads or Uncles for that matter) would like to help the club by volunteering for the odd stint on one of our tea teams, please let us know.

For further details please email Ann McConnell at annally@tiscali.co.uk or call her on 0131 667 5490.

Junior Indoor Practice 2008

Senior Indoor Nets 2008 & other news

Academy Success for Carlton Youngsters

Following a series of trial sessions, no fewer than 12 Carlton Juniors have been selected for the u14 & u16 Eastern Academy squads for 2008.

Congratulations to Tom, Nick H, Fraser, Nick M, Rajan, Cameron, Zaki, Angus, Henry, Kevin, Kyle and Leigh. More of our talented youngsters came very close to selection.

To those who didn't make it this year, don't worry. We'll make sure you'll receive top quality coaching and plenty of competitive cricket during 2008.

2007 Season Review

2007 saw one of the finest seasons in our long and proud history. Our 1st XI won the Masterton Trophy, reached the final of the Scottish Cup and spent most of the season battling for the Premier League title. Our other sides, both junior and senior, chased more silverware, picking up a further 5 trophies.

Under the leadership of Cedric English, and supported by inspirational Aussie Peter Wooden, the First XI had a season to remember. While the persistent midsummer weekend monsoons put paid to a brave title challenge, the cups brought success to Grange Loan.

Ferguslie and West of Scotland were put to the sword during a fine Scottish Cup run which took Carlton to the final at Paisley . Despite a thrilling comeback, Carlton just lost out to double winners Greenock in a low scoring contest. The following weekend, the season ended on a high with a superb victory over old rivals Grange in the final of the Masterton Trophy.

Brad McKay's 2nd XI made their bow in the 1st division of the East of Scotland League, consolidating their position with a series of fine displays, most memorable of which was a hard fought win over Grange 2s at Raeburn Place .

And, set a target of winning ESCA Division 6, the inspirational team talks of Thirds' skipper James Hilton clearly paid off as his side romped to the title with a 100% record.

As well as supplying talent to the 2nd and 3rd XIs over the summer, our juniors also had plenty to offer in the under age competitions. Our U13s matched the 3rds by winning their league with a 100% record, to mirror their achievement earlier in the year of winning the Lothian Indoor League. They also matched the 1st XI by reaching the Scottish Cup Final, where an under-strength XI put in a brave performance before losing out to Kinross.

And our U15s won their league, then capped a memorable season by turning in a superb performance to beat Watsonians in the Lothians Cup Final.